College Major Choice in STEM: Revisiting Confidence and Demographic Factors

Using national freshman survey data, the authors examined confidence and background variables (e.g., gender, minority status, parental occupation) as predictors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major choice. Logistic regression analyses revealed that students were more likely to choose STEM majors if they had strong confidence in mathematics and academic areas and had parents with STEM occupations. Although female students were unlikely to choose a STEM major, African American and Latina/o students were equally as likely to choose a STEM major as were White or Asian American students. Findings suggest that students' confidence level in their academic and mathematics abilities makes a significant difference in their initial STEM major choice. Study findings could assist educators, counselors, and policy makers in their efforts to promote student choice of STEM‐related majors and careers.