A Multi-institution Study of Student Demographics and Outcomes in Chemical Engineering

Authors

  • Susan Lord University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
  • Richard Layton Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN
  • Matthew Ohland Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
  • Catherine Brawner Research Triangle Educational Consultants, Raleigh, NC
  • Russell Long Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Abstract

Using a large multi-institutional dataset, we describe demographics and outcomes for students starting in and transferring into Chemical Engineering (ChE). In this dataset, men outnumber women in ChE except among Black students. While ChE starters graduate in ChE at rates comparable to or above their racial/ethnic population average for engineering, women choose and graduate in ChE at similar or higher rates than men of the same race/ethnicity. Trajectories of ChE students differ by race/ethnicity, but gender differences are small compared with the differences by race/ethnicity and the gender differences observed for engineering as a whole and in other engineering disciplines. 

Author Biographies

Susan Lord, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA

Susan M. Lord is Professor and Chair of Electrical Engineering at the University of San Diego. She received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University and the M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Dr. Lord’s teaching and research interests include electronics, optoelectronic materials and devices, service-learning, and first year engineering courses. Dr. Lord is a Fellow of the ASEE.

Richard Layton, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN

Richard A. Layton is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He received a B.S. from California State University, Northridge, and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Washington. His areas of scholarship include student team formation and peer evaluation, persistence, migration, and retention in engineering education, expanding the use of cooperative and active learning in engineering laboratories, data analysis and visualization for investigating and presenting quantitative data, and modeling and simulation of dynamic systems. 

Matthew Ohland, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Matthew W. Ohland is Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University and a Professorial Research Fellow in Engineering Education at Central Queensland University. He received the B.S. in Engineering and the B.A. in Religion from Swarthmore College, the M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and the M.S. in Materials Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from University of Florida. Dr. Ohland’s teaching and research interests include the longitudinal study of engineering student development, peer evaluation, team formation, and high-engagement teaching methods. Dr. Ohland is a Fellow of the ASEE and the IEEE.

Catherine Brawner, Research Triangle Educational Consultants, Raleigh, NC

Catherine E. Brawner is president of Research Triangle Educational Consultants. She received a B.A. in Economics from Duke University, an MBA from Indiana University (Bloomington), and a Ph.D. in Educational Research and Policy Analysis from North Carolina State University. Dr. Brawner specializes in educational program evaluation and engineering education research. 

Russell Long, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN

Russell A. Long is Director of Project Assessment in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University. He received the B.M. in Vocal Performance from Augusta College, the M.M. in Vocal Performance and the M.Ed. in Student Personnel Services from the University of South Carolina. Mr. Long manages MIDFIELD.

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Published

2014-09-16

Issue

Vol. 48 No. 4 (2014): Fall 2014

Section

Manuscripts