Undergraduate Engineering Students' Understanding of Engineering Disciplines: An Empirical Study

This study investigates the perceived familiarity with different engineering disciplines among engineering students atSouthern Illinois University, Edwardsville (SIUE), with a focus on disparities across gender, race, and academic majors.Data were collected via an online Qualtrics survey from undergraduate engineering students at SIUE during the Fall 2022and Spring 2023 semesters. The survey, which achieved a 25% response rate with 275 completed surveys, assessed students'ability to identify six key engineering disciplines. Quantitative analysis methods, including linear regression andmultivariate analysis, were applied to examine how demographic factors influence students' familiarity and identificationskills. Weighted data were used in the analysis to correct for non-response bias related to gender, race, and major selection.Findings indicate notable disparities: male and White students exhibited higher familiarity compared to Female andGender Queer (FGQ) students and students of color, especially Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students.Students enrolled in broad-based and interdisciplinary engineering programs demonstrated better overall understandingthan their peers in more specialized programs. The study confirms that perceived familiarity significantly predicts correctidentification, suggesting that increased educational exposure to various engineering fields can enhance accuracy. Theseresults underscore the importance of revising educational curricula to include more inclusive and comprehensive exposureto all engineering disciplines. Interventions such as redesigned coursework, expanded mentorship programs, andincreased support for underrepresented groups are recommended to address the observed disparities. Future researchshould aim to validate these interventions and explore longitudinal trends in engineering education familiarity