Journal article
Seeking STEM: The Causal Impact of Need-Based Grant Aid on Undergraduates’ Field of Study
The Journal of higher education (Columbus), Vol.94(7), pp.921-944
2023
DOI: 10.1080/00221546.2023.2209003
Abstract
Increasing the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees is a national priority and one way to promote the socioeconomic mobility of students from low-income families. Prior research examining why students do not complete STEM majors often points to students’ lack of academic preparation, preferences for non-STEM majors, or lack of information about the value of STEM. This paper uses a randomized experiment to investigate an alternative explanation, that some students lack the financial resources to succeed in demanding majors. In a control group of university students from low-income families, 18.6% of students had declared a STEM major by their third year of college. In a treatment group who were offered additional need-based grant aid upon entering college, 26.5% of students declared a STEM major. Among students who had graduated within six years after entering college, 12.2% of control group graduates had earned a STEM degree compared to 20.2% of treatment group students. Need-based grants thus appear to have the potential to increase the share of low-income students studying and earning degrees in STEM.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Seeking STEM: The Causal Impact of Need-Based Grant Aid on Undergraduates’ Field of Study
- Creators
- Drew M. Anderson - RAND CorporationKatharine M. Broton - University of IowaDavid B. Monaghan - Shippensburg University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Journal of higher education (Columbus), Vol.94(7), pp.921-944
- Publisher
- Routledge
- DOI
- 10.1080/00221546.2023.2209003
- ISSN
- 0022-1546
- eISSN
- 1538-4640
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 06/17/2023
- Date published
- 2023
- Academic Unit
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies; Sociology and Criminology; Public Policy Center (Archive); Center for Social Science Innovation
- Record Identifier
- 9984430360202771
Metrics
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