AIP Completes Five-Year Study of Student Persistence in Physics

In a long-term study at four large university physics departments, only a third of students persisted to get their physics degree.

The first-of-its-kind, five-year study by AIP’s statistical research team followed nearly 4,000 physics students to understand how they become interested in the subject and why so many of them don’t remain in the field. The study also examined how attrition rates differed among students based on gender and racial identity.

Conducted from 2018 to 2023, the study focused on the forces at work on undergraduate students pursuing a physics bachelor’s degree. Using data from surveys and one-on-one interviews, AIP’s research team compared the experiences of students who graduated with a physics degree and students who were no longer interested in a physics major. The resulting report, Attrition and Persistence in Undergraduate Physics Programs , includes recommendations physics departments can implement to encourage student persistence, based on report findings and the expertise of report reviewers working in physics.

“This is one of the longest longitudinal studies on undergraduate physics persistence ever conducted,” said Anne Marie Porter, AIP assistant director of social science and report author. “We followed the experiences of undergraduate physics students for five years, from the very first week of their introductory physics course.”

Compared to other STEM fields in general, the number of physics bachelor’s degree earners is growing more slowly over time. Education research is crucial for understanding how to attract and retain more physics students while improving the physics educational environment and promoting equity. The AIP report contributes to the field by investigating who is most likely to be interested in a physics major, who is most likely to leave, and how the student’s gender identity or race/ethnicity affects their interest and persistence in undergraduate physics.

“I would like to thank all the physics students who shared their stories and participated in this project over the last five years,” said Porter. “We couldn’t have done this without them. We hope the results and recommendations in this report will bring the physics and astronomy community together, and spark discussions about how we can encourage student interest and persistence in physics. Because physics is a great field to be part of.”

Of the 3,917 students surveyed during their first physics course, 745 students intended to major in physics. Those students were sent annual follow-up surveys and participated in one-on-one interviews over five years. Of those students who did not persist in the physics major, the AIP Research team was able to remain in contact with 171 students to understand their motivations for leaving.

“Challenges with underrepresentation in physics begin early,” said Porter. “We found that women and Black/African American students were already less likely to be interested in pursuing physics — before they even experienced their first college physics course.”

The underrepresentation of women and people from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in undergraduate physics majors begins with college introductory physics classes, and despite a similar attrition rate compared to white, male students, they report more negative experiences.

Students identifying as underrepresented races in physics (Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Middle Eastern, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Native American or American Indian or Alaskan Native, and “another race/ethnicity”) who left the major were less likely to feel encouraged by their professors and believed the courses were less interactive than their white counterparts.

Nearly three-quarters of the interviewed students who graduated with a degree in physics became interested in physics through high school classes or programs. This finding has significance for a range of students but is of particular note for underrepresented minorities because Black and African American high school students are less likely than white students to attend a high school that offers physics. Black/African American students in the study’s introductory college physics courses constituted just 5% of those intending to major in physics.

Of the students who left the physics major, 73% did so by the beginning of their second year, emphasizing the importance of early interventions for undergraduate physics departments. There was no statistical difference in the number of women, men, and racial minorities leaving physics, but there were different factors in leaving.

The report describes push and pull factors influencing students’ decisions to leave the major. Pull factors included positive experiences in other majors, such as interests in different topics or career paths, and more positive experiences or environments in other departments. Push factors included negative experiences or environments and issues with course sequencing.

Though women make up nearly half of high school physics students, they were just 20% of introductory college physics students initially interested in the physics major. Compared to men who left the physics major, those who identified as women and left were more likely to experience, witness, or hear about discrimination. In one-on-one interviews, some women who sought other majors recounted experiences where they were treated as less capable than their male peers. Discriminatory experiences such as these likely contributed to the lower self-efficacy reported by women who left the major.

Based on these results, the report lists recommendations for physics departments and teachers to improve their teaching and climate.

“During a physics student’s first or second year at college, we encourage departments to discuss physics careers, introduce research opportunities, employ active-learning principles, and nurture positive, collaborative interactions among students and faculty members,” said Porter.

Improving physics education outcomes relies on physics departments taking proactive steps to encourage persistence and equity. The findings highlight the importance of early intervention and implementing positive changes within students’ first year in introductory physics. Additionally, programs should focus on physics outreach activities with high school students or younger students.

“Our Physics Department at George Washington University strongly values the diversity of the student population and inclusion of everyone in our classrooms and department,” said Alexander J. van der Horst, associate professor and deputy department chair at GW in Washington, D.C. “It is important to get a better understanding of attrition and retention of students in physics in general, and of underrepresented groups of students in particular. Doing thorough education research into these issues is important not just for us, but for the entire physics community, and therefore we thought it was important to participate in this study.”

According to the study, to encourage more physics students to succeed and persist in the major, physics departments and programs will need to support students’ needs — academic, career, social, and personal — and create a more welcoming department environment for students of any gender identity or race/ethnicity.

“The thorough research and analysis demonstrated in this report is impressive,” said AIP Chief Research Officer Trevor Owens. “We are grateful for all the time and effort that students and faculty put into this project. These findings will inform future research and are directly relevant to everyone who is working to build a more equitable and diverse field and improve student outcomes.”

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Report Title: Attrition and Persistence in Undergraduate Physics Programs
Authors: Anne Marie Porter, Raymond Y. Chu, Rachel Ivie
Author Affiliations: AIP