Research Initiation: Analyzing inequities in undergraduate workforce opportunities between biomedical and other engineering disciplines

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

Biomedical Engineering majors have been shown to exhibit higher rates of transfer to different engineering majors, lower rates of internship and career employment offers, and lower average starting salary compared to other engineering majors. These inequities in undergraduate workforce opportunities are having adverse effects on the professional formation of Biomedical Engineers. This study seeks to initiate a characterization of the challenges in the university-to-industry pipeline through investigating workforce opportunity between biomedical engineers and three other engineering majors at a large Midwestern University. Undergraduate biomedical engineering programs commonly have a high percentage of female students, therefore identifying inequities, improving retention, and maintaining appropriate pathways into the workforce is required. This research provides context upon which broadening participation in biomedical engineering can be furthered, as well as establishes foundations upon which further work can inform interventions designed to mitigate negative impacts. Through a theoretical lens of Social Cognitive Career Theory a multivariate regression analysis is implemented on existing data to compare different factors of undergraduate workforce opportunity and student profiles. Through Social Cognitive Career Theory, student self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and contextual supports and barriers that influence students' interests in their chosen engineering majors and post-graduation plans are investigated. A validated, transferable survey tool is established by adapting existing Social Cognitive Career Theory measures and adapting the model of career choice to the problem domain of undergraduate engineering workforce opportunity. Self-efficacy, outcome expectation, and supports and barriers are the Social Cognitive Career Theory constructs that will comprise the independent variables within the developed assessment tool. Existing instruments will be adapted and validated for each of these constructs to provide insight into students' interests (dependent variable) in engineering major and post-graduation plans. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.