ENGINEERING OR RESEARCH: GENDER ANALYSIS IN AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING STUDIES

In the process of adaptation of degrees to the European Higher Education, engineering studies have been assimilated into university degrees, with duration of four years, such studies must end with a final project or report, which, according to the university may have different orientations: research or application, the latter being more typical of traditional engineering. This study analyzed gender orientations of final projects of agricultural engineering at the University of Almeria in its history to the present. There are 5 degrees taught from 1988 to the present, studied more than 2000 students, where approximately 40% are women and the rest men. This study examines the orientations of applied engineering or research from the gender perspective to see if exist any trends and if this one has also a gender orientation over time. This study allows us to examine whether agricultural engineering studies are being directed toward research as a career or to the application of engineering and also if there are gender differences in this respect.