Decline Engineering Majors in U.S

Abstract

The numbers of students studying engineering have declined in recent years, both in the United States and in Western European countries. Many factors have contributed to this decline - including the difficulty of the curriculum, the attractiveness of alternate paths to good technical jobs, and the lack of attractiveness of projected employment paths for engineering graduates. This decline has occurred at a time when the employers of engineers face new challenges due to globalization, offshore outsourcing, and the need to “move up the food chain” in innovation and technical expertise in order to remain competitive - thus creating a demand for more highly qualified engineering graduates. Much of what needs to be done to make engineering more attractive to bright students is well known - but educational institutions, employers of engineers, and government policy makers have been slow to move aggressively to address the issues effectively. The authors attempt to describe “what can be done” in a comprehensive way.

Decline Engineering Majors in U.S

Introduction

The number of engineering graduates at the bachelor's level in the US peaked at around 80,000 per year in the mid 1980's, then declined to about 65,000 per year until the end of the century (Engineering Workforce Commission 2004). The number of graduates is increasing again, but not yet keeping pace with employer's needs. To put these numbers in global perspective, it is of interest to note that China currently has 3.7-million engineering students in its pipeline.

Discussion Analysis

Pipeline Issues

There are many reasons for the decline of student interest in engineering:

The curriculum is difficult - Much difficult study and hard work is included in the current undergraduate curriculum in engineering, and that is built on top of strenuous prior preparation requirements in the secondary education years. Engineering curricula typically start with two years of intense mathematics and science - including calculus, probability and statistics, modern physics, chemistry and biology - often taught by service department faculty members who do not put this preparatory work in the context of engineering applications. This is typically followed by challenging engineering science courses, taught by engineering faculty members - but often research oriented doctoral graduates with little applied engineering experience to bring into the classroom for motivation.

The curriculum is densely packed and inflexible - Even though the number of credit hours required for graduation in engineering has drifted downward as other parts of the university head for only 120 credit hours for graduation, the actual time required for engineering students to complete degree requirements remains much higher than for other fields. The four-year bachelor's degree programs in engineering schools are typically highly lock-stepped, with prerequisites offering little flexibility for individualized programs or broadening experiences - such as a semester abroad. Engineering students who miss a required step in the proper order often must take an additional semester or year to complete their studies - at considerable extra expense and loss due to postponed employment.

Other paths to good jobs are easier - High school students looking at various options for university level study often compare engineering to ...