ABSTRACT

Abstract

In this project, I explore how and why students make their decision regarding if, how, where and what to undertake in graduate engineering studies. I conjecture that many students currently tend to go to graduate school only after they have narrowed the range of problems they want to solve, rather than with openness to defining new, potentially transformative research areas. With information about the student choice process in hand, my team will prototype and test specific ways to increase the size and quality of the applicant pool for engineering graduate studies. I will also explore the experience in graduate school by both students and recent graduates to understand what elements of graduate studies support or inhibit their desire to undertake transformative research upon completion of their degrees.

The decision of who chooses to pursue or not pursue graduate studies is definitive for what the engineering community will be like into the future. This project seeks to have an impact in terms of who is attracted to engineering research and the effect of their work on society.  This is particularly important in terms of students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in engineering. The researchers will to select and interview students from a wide range of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, and use this information to inform our approaches to encouraging talented students from all backgrounds to consider and pursue graduate studies.