Underrepresented Minority Students and Graduate School

The technology demands on the U.S. workforce are increasing. Not only does the United States need more engineers and computer scientists, but now more than ever, more of these professionals are needed with a Master's of a PhD degree. Some companies want at least half of their hires to have a graduate degree. The reasons for this demand are obvious: companies may outsource work which requires low skills, but they will not outsource their research which is needed to keep them competitive and at the leading edge in their products. Most engineering graduates are looking to start their career with a good salary upon graduation with the Baccalaureate degree, not go to graduate school. In an Academic Success and Professional Development Program at Arizona State University with many transfer students, we encourage all of the students, minority and Caucasian, to go right on to graduate school. In this paper, we will particularly look at the program underrepresented minority students to learn what their main pros and cons were for going to graduate school. We also note the influence of the program on the decision to go to graduate school for the two groups and observe that the larger effect was with minority students. Suggestions on how to increase graduate school interest for both groups are discussed.