An analysis of factors influencing intra-major specialization choice among second-year women engineering students

Background: While extensive research has analyzed how engineering students select majors, less is known about how students choose to specialize within their majors (i.e., intra-major specialization), which may have implications for student career decisions and outcomes. Further, understanding intra-major specialization may be particularly important for shedding light on the chronic underrepresenta-tion of women in engineering.Purpose: This study sought to understand factors that influence women students' decisions to special-ize within their engineering disciplines early in their undergraduate careers.Design/Method: A comparative case study design included three engineering majors with varying program requirements and representation of women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 participants-30 second-year women students and nine faculty/staff. Thematic analysis, informed by social cognitive career theory, was used to identify factors that influence specialization decisions.Results: The analysis identified four main factors influencing intra-major specialization decisions: (1) interests shaped by curricular and extracurricular activities, (2) program structural choice con-straints, (3) perceived fit with post-graduation career plans, and (4) peer influence.Conclusions: In light of the potential impact of intra-major specialization decisions on student ca-reer decisions, the factors related to specialization choice identified here should be considered by educators and advisors in developing engineering curricula and program structure. Moreover, fu-ture research should explore whether these factors change over time and how they impact career decisions.