This document discusses factors that influence whether students major in physics or astronomy based on a study of 7,505 college freshman and sophomores. It finds that female students' interest in physics increases in high school but then declines, while interest in astronomy remains steady. Interest in physics is higher for students whose parents attended college and for first-generation immigrants. The study has limitations as it relies on students recalling past interests rather than longitudinal data.

1. AAPT Summer Meeting
July 2012
Philadelphia, PA
Majoring in Physics or in Astronomy:
The Answer Is In Students’ Past
Florin Lung
Clemson University

2. Students’ Past
• Their individual past (early interests, school
experience, nuanced by gender)
• Family and group experience: immigrant
generation, college generation, race/ethnicity,
gender
Sociocultural dimensions influencing career
interests
Interpretation grid: Bourdieu’s concepts of field (rules of
the game), habitus (feel of the game) and capital (social
constructivism)

3. A Look at Data
Category N %
Total sample 7505 100
Astronomer 20 0.29
Physicist 38 0.54
Engineer 786 11.26
Chemist 54 0.77
Mathematician 42 0.60
Science 16 0.23
teacher
Math teacher 72 1.03
Other teacher 556 7.96
N/A 524 7.51 AIP, 2007: physics bachelor degrees earned
PRiSE data (fall 2007): 7505
freshman and sophomore career AIP, 2011: PhD dissertations:
options - 10% astrophysics
Proportions likely to change - 14% US citizens
before graduation - 5% non-US citizens

4. Gender
Gender Female Male
Sample (valid N / percentage) 3697 (52.94%) 3287 (47.06%)
Middle school to college shift
- Consider shifts both in numbers and proportions
- Distinguish between overall trends and trends
specific for a certain category
College Physics 10 (28.57%) 25 (71.43%)
Astronomy 6 (31.58%) 13 (68.42%)
AIP Focus, 2011: females received 36% of total Astronomy Bachelor degrees
and 21% of the total Physics Bachelor degrees

5. Gender
Gender Female Male
Sample (valid N / percentage) 3697 (52.94%) 3287 (47.06%)
Middle school to college shift
Middle school Physics 3 (12.50%) 21 (87.50%)
Astronomy 70 (42.94%) 93 (57.06%)
Beginning of high Physics 11 (22.92%) 37 (77.08%)
school Astronomy 19 (31.15%) 42 (68.85%)
End of high Physics 13 (27.66%) 34 (72.34%)
school Astronomy 7 (25%) 21 (75%)
College Physics 10 (28.57%) 25 (71.43%)
Astronomy 6 (31.58%) 13 (68.42%)
Physics: female students’ interest start low, then gradually increases
during high school; it subsequently drops
Astronomy: female students’ interest is more even at all times

6. College generation
College generation 1st 2nd+
Sample (valid N / percentage) 1462 (21.62%) 5299 (78.38%)
Middle school to college tendencies
Middle school Physics 4 (16.67%) 20 (83.33%)
Astronomy 31 (19.50%) 128 (80.50%)
Beginning of high Physics 6 (12.77%) 41 (87.23%)
school Astronomy 14 (22.95%) 47 (77.05%)
End of high Physics 5 (11.36%) 39 (88.64%)
school Astronomy 5 (18.52%) 22 (81.48%)
College Physics 5 (14.71%) 29 (85.29%)
Astronomy 4 (22.22%) 14 (77.78%)
Physics: 2nd college generation’s interest increases in high school, drops again
afterwards
Astronomy: 1st college generation’s interest is similar to 2nd generation’s

7. Immigrant generation
Immigrant generation 1st 2nd 3rd+
Sample (valid N / percentage) 498 (7.24%) 1010 (14.70%) 5366 (78.06%)
Middle school to college shift
Middle school Physics 3 (13.04%) 3 (13.04%) 17 (73.91%)
Astronomy 18 (11.25%) 28 (17.50%) 114 (71.25%)
Beginning of high Physics 7 (15.22%) 8 (17.39%) 31 (67.39%)
school Astronomy 7 (11.48%) 12 (19.67%) 42 (68.85%)
End of high Physics 8 (17.78%) 7 (15.56%) 30 (66.67%)
school Astronomy 0 (0%) 3 (10.71%) 25 (89.29%)
College Physics 6 (18.18%) 7 (21.21%) 20 (60.61%)
Astronomy 0 (0%) 3 (15.79%) 16 (84.21%)
Physics: 1st generation starts higher (2.5x), increases further, then 3rd generation’s
interest drops
Astronomy: 1st generation’s interest starts low and drops even lower

8. Putting it in context: immigrant generation
• Correspondence
analysis of college
students’ desired
careers:
• 1st generation is
associated with
Physics career , while
2nd generation is
associated with both
physics and astronomy
• Also, engineering is
associated with both
first generations

9. Conclusions
• Gender:
– High school female students’ interest in physics increases steadily
(physics course taking is about even)
– Female students’ interest in astronomy first drops, then remains
relatively constant, but below the middle school level
• College generation:
– Physics: the persistence effect for 1st generation
• Immigrant generation: the immigrant advantage (physics)
• Physics: richer in new immigrants
• Astronomy: more homogeneous with regards to gender and
college generation

10. Limitations
• Not a longitudinal design
– Responses are representative for the college student population, not
for the past middle school and high school population
– Subjectivity – recollections of past career interests are part of
students’ personal narratives
• Frequencies are fractions of percentage points – caution
advised in interpretation
• No distinction made between astrophysics and astronomy
• Instrument did not distinguish between subfields; AIP, 2011:
PhD dissertations, 26% condensed matter
- 31% non-US citizens
- 20% US citizens