Dive Brief:
- New research presented at the American Educational Research Association's annual meeting on Saturday shows that undergraduates at four-year institutions have become more interested in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) since 2005.
- The percentage of freshmen planning to major in STEM fields nationally declined from 1997 to 2005, rose from 20.7% in 2005 to 21.1% in 2007, then rose to 28.2% in 2011.
- The increased interest from 2007 to 2011 was most prominent in engineering and biology majors: up 51.7% for engineering and up 28.2% for biology.
Dive Insight:
The report also notes that the gender gaps in some STEM fields were relatively unchanged, according to Inside Higher Ed. Applied fields show declines during the study period, including a 5.9% drop for both business and education majors. The research was presented Saturday at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting by Jerry Jacobs, sociology professor of the University of Pennsylvania, and Linda Sax, education professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. The report, "STEM Majors, the Liberal Arts, and the Great Recession," is not yet available online.
