ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the experiences of four undergraduate students who left engineering, and provides insight into their reasons for leaving. It attempts to capture participant's points of view as they explain how they navigated through their decision process. The chapter is divided into three major sections. The first section reviews research done on retention and graduation rates for undergraduate students. The second focuses on literature dealing with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students in general, and engineering undergraduate students in particular. The third section discusses how this research project contributes to the existing literature. This qualitative research project adds the important dimensions of narrative and lived experience to understanding the low rate of student retention in engineering. It is imperative that the lived experiences of undergraduate students in university engineering programs be better understood, so engineering educators can improve retention rates. Qualitative inquiry into the lived realities of these students has much to offer the field of engineering education.
