THE CHALLENGE OF RETURNING: TRANSITIONING FROM AN ENGINEERING CAREER TO GRADUATE SCHOOL

摘要

While many graduate students have progressed directly from their undergraduate education to graduate school with little or no time passing in between the two, many graduate students have not followed this pathway. Because of these experiences, "returning" students are different in many ways from "direct-pathway" students, and these differences can enrich the graduate experience both for the returning students and for their fellow students. However, these returning students also face certain challenges that direct-pathway students do not. While the published literature on returning students has discussed some of their special skills and particular challenges, there are many unanswered questions, particularly in regard to returning students in engineering and other STEM fields.