Identifying the Motivational Influences on Students' Choice of Engineering Major

Contribution: This paper identifies key motivational influences affecting students' choice of one of the following majors: electrical, computer and mechatronics (ECM). The findings support prior research carried out in domains other than engineering. Background: Given various ECM majors to choose to pursue, students are motivated and influenced by a number of factors to choose one major over the others. Research Question: What are the motivational influences relating to engineering students' major selection? Context: This study is carried out at a private higher education institution (HEI) in Cairo, Egypt. Methodology: A quantitative study is carried out, utilizing a survey and gathering 309 responses. Correlation as well as regression analyses are carried out, identifying which constructs have a significant effect on students' choice of engineering major. Findings: Financial motivations have a paramount significance for students when deciding which engineering major to select. Other factors identified, in order of their significance, are mentor influences, intrinsic motivations and social good motivations.