Understanding General Engineering Students’ Identification as Engineers Authors: Racheida Lewis Ph.D. Student, Virginia Tech rslewis@vt.edu 202-352-6077 Tamara Knott Associate Professor, Virginia Tech knott@vt.edu 540-231-9543 This paper is a work in progress analysis of major choices by first year engineering students in the General Engineering (GE) program at Virginia Tech. Students whose major is GE are enrolled in Foundations of Engineering I and II (fall and spring respectively), two courses that are part of Virginia Tech’s First Year Experiences. These courses are designed to equip students with problem solving skills, inquiry skills, and integration of learning skills necessary for navigating college level curricula [1]. The series surveys are administered to GE students at three times over the course of their first year: in August at the beginning of the fall semester; in December at the end of the fall semester; and in April at the end of the spring semester. All three surveys collect data about which majors GE students are interested in pursuing at the three points of administration. Survey results used in this study include responses from students who were in the GE program during the 2015-16 academic year and completed all three surveys with a 67% total response rate. Students are required to take these surveys and submit their confirmation of survey completion as a homework assignment in the first-year courses; however, their participation in research is voluntary. Most adults have multiple things they identify with whether it’d be their race, gender, occupation, or even relationship statuses to a spouse, offspring, or other family members. Having social identities provides a person with social validation and a framework for which they navigate the world. These identities are usually beneficial but can also be challenging if one has difficulty incorporating one or more of their identities in their life [2]. Domain identification theory is the extent to which one define themselves through a role or ...