NACME: Growing ‘Opportunity Gap’ Exists in the Number of Minority Students Pursuing STEM Degrees: WASHINGTON
Interest among American students of all races and ethnicities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has dissipated over the last several years. As a result, the pipeline of American engineers has dwindled. In a new report, the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) asserts that the rates of participation among underrepresented minorities in STEM fields have flat-lined, and in some cases declined.
The report titled “Confronting the ‘New’ American Dilemma” reveals that fewer than 12 percent of baccalaureate engineering graduates in the United States are underrepresented minorities, suggesting that only a meager few will matriculate through the various levels of graduate academia to become faculty members or STEM professionals.
Certainly, since the Civil Rights Movement underrepresented minorities have made some progress in gaining access to engineering, however engineer colleges continue to produce a majority of graduates who are White and male despite the proportion of ethnic minorities among college-going students.
