Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: The Effect of the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) Program

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This research investigates policies that could increase the supply of college graduates educated in a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) field, either by encouraging students to undertake a STEM major, or by increasing the retention of such students. In particular, this project will measure the efficacy of one program, the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES), in increasing STEM participation and educational attainment. MITES is a summer program held annually at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that has been serving at-risk, high-achieving high school students for over 30 years. This project will conduct a rigorous, randomized evaluation of the MITES summer enrichment program in order to assess the effect of MITES on the educational attainment of its participants, as well as whether MITES increases interest in STEM fields. The objective of the study is to give the strongest possible evidence on the impact of the MITES program, and provide a breakthrough in the effort to identify the barriers to STEM education.Evaluating the impact of MITES is necessary and valuable, both for the administration of the program itself and to further the understanding of how to encourage educational attainment and participation in STEM among underrepresented student populations. The MITES program is resource intensive and has significant capacity constraints. With so much need in the community of underserved students, it is important to be sure that universities are reaching out and offering enrichment opportunities as efficiently as possible. An evaluation can help illustrate the impact of MITES relative to MIT's other programs, as well as which groups benefit most. Finally, estimates of the impact of MITES could help other universities and partners systematically adopt a similar program design and serve more students in need.This project adds to a growing literature that rigorously evaluates education interventions. The target population of high-achieving, at-risk students has been largely overlooked, despite documented lags among such students in college completion, STEM participation, and quality of the college of matriculation (Adelman 2006; Pallais and Turner 2006). In addition, a recent literature emphasizes the importance of the period immediately preceding college applications in influencing the choice to apply to, enroll in, and complete college, and the choice to apply for financial aid (Bettinger et al. 2009; Carrell and Sacerdote 2012; Avery and Kane 2004). This research project explores how interventions during this sensitive time can also impact a student's choice of major.In order to conduct an in-depth impact evaluation of the MITES program, the researchers will randomly assign a subset of MITES applicants to either participate in a summer enrichment program implemented through the MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs (OEOP), or to be part of a comparison group. Using data from the OEOP, the National Student Clearinghouse, surveys, and social networking websites, the researchers will identify the causal impact of the OEOP's programs on education investment decisions and STEM participation in particular. The study will measure changes in the educational attainment of subjects, including: the quality of the college of matriculation, as estimated by college rankings; the proportion of students who complete a degree; the average amount of time taken by students to complete a degree; a student's cumulative college GPA; and whether a student majors in a STEM field. This project will make an important addition to the research on educational interventions that strive to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields and higher education.