Impact of Social and Programmatic Experiences on Students' Interest in Pursuing a Graduate Degree in a Computing Field
Conference
Kargarmoakhar, M, Lunn, SJ, Ross, MS et al. (2021). Impact of Social and Programmatic Experiences on Students' Interest in Pursuing a Graduate Degree in a Computing Field
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Kargarmoakhar, M, Lunn, SJ, Ross, MS et al. (2021). Impact of Social and Programmatic Experiences on Students' Interest in Pursuing a Graduate Degree in a Computing Field
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There is a substantial shortage of students pursuing graduate degrees in computing fields in the United States [1], and when examining participation rates of minoritized populations the disparity is even greater [2]. In order to attract more domestic students to graduate schools in computing it is important to understand what factors encourage or discourage them from participating. Literature suggests that students' family, friends, school, and society play an important role in their educational paths and self-perceptions. Using social impact theory as the guiding lens, we explored support from family and friends, as well as social and program-related experiences, in this study to assess their impact on undergraduate students' reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree. The research questions that guided this study are 1) Which social and programmatic experiences have the greatest impact on students' interest in pursuing a graduate degree in computing?; and 2) How does a student's gender/racial/ethnic background and their participation in social and programmatic experiences impact students' interest in pursuing graduate degrees? We answered these research questions using data from a survey conducted at three large public universities in Florida which targeted students in computing fields (n=740). Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as well as logistic regression. The findings revealed that “presenting work to other students,” and “research experience” are two experiences which lead to an increase of students' interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. This study also demonstrated the importance of having same gender friends and reported interest in pursuing a graduate degree in a computing field. These findings provide insight into which experiences may impact domestic students' interest in pursuing graduate programs in computing fields. The results of this study are beneficial for universities to consider what factors may encourage more students to pursue a future in academia or in the workforce after obtaining a graduate degree.
