Though graduate students in engineering are understudied compared with undergraduate education, the intersection of sociological and psychological factors predicting attrition (i.e., leaving a program of study) for graduate students is particularly unexplored. The Council of Graduate Schools report that in doctoral engineering programs, ten-year degree completion rates are only 56% and 65% for women and men, respectively. Persistence rates for students from historically marginalized racial groups are lower than 50%. The lack of “socialization” is generally noted as a main reason for doctoral attrition; however, few researchers seek to understand and characterize the socialization process in graduate engineering students and how the mechanisms of attrition or persistence work within a single disciplinary setting. Propagated by a lack of research, administrators, faculty, and graduate advisors often work to “solve” retention given their anecdotal experiences with graduate students, rather than understanding the entire picture surrounding graduate student attrition, persistence, and career trajectories.
This seminar will present results from several of my ongoing studies, including the most current findings from my NSF CAREER grant, characterizing master’s-level departure (anecdotally known as “mastering out”) from the engineering PhD. Though doctoral attrition and consideration of leaving is common--our work shows that approximately 70% of engineering PhD students consider or strongly consider leaving,-- students often feel isolated, thinking they are alone and hesitant to discuss their issues with either their peers or their advisors. My group’s research across several funded projects weaves together to support a more nuanced and accurate understanding of the processes involved in attrition—including how graduate students come to consider whether they should depart from their PhD; how various sociological or structural factors interact with psychological issues in graduate students; and how thriving is different than surviving. Ultimately, my research platform breaks new ground in understanding issues related to doctoral and graduate student success, while also developing new and innovative methods to collect, measure, interpret, and communicate data about attrition processes.