Student Characteristics, Pre-College, College, and Environmental Factors as Predictors of Majoring In and Earning a STEM Degree: An Analysis of Students Attending a Hispanic Serving Institution

  1. Hispanic students’ high school percentiles were found to be significantly higher than that of White students. However, this was not found between Hispanic and White STEM majors.
  2. The likelihood of declaring a STEM major was uniquely influenced by students’ gender, ethnicity, SAT math score, and high school percentile.
  3. The odds of declaring a major in STEM were 1.37 times as large for Hispanic students and 1.93 times as large for Asian students when compared to White students.
  4. The likelihood of changing from a non-STEM to STEM major was found to be related to students’ gender, ethnicity, SAT math score, and enrollment in Biology I or higher.
  5. The likelihood of earning a STEM degree was uniquely associated with students’ gender, ethnicity, SAT math score, high school percentile, first-semester GPA, enrollment in Biology I or higher, and enrollment in Algebra I or higher during the first semester of college.
  6. The odds of earning a STEM degree were 2.48 times larger for Asian American students when compared to white students.
  7. Enrollment status and Pell grant support were not found to influence students’ decision to major or persist in STEM.
  8. Transferring from another institution and parental education did not impact students to select or persist in a STEM major.
  9. Earning a STEM degree is related to students’ first semester GPA and enrollment in mathematics and science “gatekeeper” courses.
  10. Hispanic Serving Institutions may be an important point of access for students in STEM fields and may also provide opportunity more equitable outcomes for Hispanic students.