How Introductory Courses Weed Out Women From STEM Degree Completion

A new study by researchers at Pennsylvania State University and Williams College in Massachusetts finds that performance in core introductory courses required for STEM degrees is strongly associated with degree completion. In 2018, women earned 58 percent of all bachelor’s degrees, but only 36 percent of STEM bachelor’s degrees

The researchers analyzed nearly 110,000 student records from six large, public, research-intensive universities in order to assess whether introductory courses in STEM fields were disproportionately weeding out women and underrepresented minority students. They found the association between low performance in an introductory STEM class and failure to obtain a STEM degree is stronger for women students, even after controlling for academic preparation in high school and intent to obtain a STEM degree.

For those students who got Cs or better in all their introductory STEM courses, White males have the highest probability of obtaining a STEM degree at 48.4 percent. White women who got Cs or better in all introductory courses had a 41.3 percent probability of obtaining a STEM degree. Black female students who got Cs or better in introductory courses only have a probability of 28.2 percent of graduating with a STEM degree.

For White males who received a grade of D or F in one introductory class or withdrew from a course, the probability of them obtaining a degree in a STEM field dropped to 33.4 percent. For those who received two grades of D or F or who withdrew, the probability of STEM degree attainment dropped to 20.8 percent.

For White women who had a grade of D or F or withdrawal from one course the probability of STEM degree attainment dropped to 28.5 percent. If they received two grades of D or F or withdrew, the probability of STEM degree attainment dropped to 18.1 percent. The probabilities of degree attainment for women from underrepresented groups who got grades of D or F or withdrew were significantly lower than for White women.

The authors conclude by saying that “we encourage institutions to take the results from our study and other studies to continue working towards change at multiple levels — course, department, and institution — in order to make STEM pathways diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

The study, “Do Introductory Courses Disproportionately Drive Minoritized Students Out of STEM Pathways?” was published in PNAS Nexus. It is available here.