Work in Progress: Is Engineering For Me? A Qualitative Case Study of First-Year Students

This work in progress describes the experiences of two first-year students from a cohort of eight prospective engineering students at a private university in the western United States. The work presented is part of an ongoing qualitative case study of the cohort of students as they navigate through their undergraduate career. Our preliminary findings provide some initial insights into the intensely personal and largely unshared complex academic major decision process. Over the course of the first year, one student discovered an aptitude for studies outside of engineering, while the other, in pursuit of a more well-rounded education, began to consider alternate pathways towards an engineering career. These narratives illustrate two exits out of undergraduate engineering; both related to the tensions between the students' interest in engineering and other areas of study. The data referenced are based on semi-structured ethnographic interviews with the students at the conclusion of their freshman year