Gender Differences in the Academic Performance and Retention of Undergraduate Engineering Majors

This study examined the role of academic performance factors, and personality traits as measured by the "Hogan Personality Inventory" (Hogan & Hogan, 2007), in the academic success and retention of undergraduate engineering majors. With regard to academic performance, the academic measures of ACT score and high school GPA were significantly related to second semester GPA for both genders. Personality measures also played a role for both genders with higher GPA's associated with more prudence and less sociability. However, these same academic factors and traits were significantly related to the retention of the male but not the female engineering undergraduates. It may be that female engineering majors make a stronger commitment to pursuing a degree in this non-traditional field before entering college such that these factors have less predictive power with regard to their retention in college. (Contains 1 table.)