The decision to pursue a degree in immunology may be influenced by the timing at which students are introduced to the field

Abstract

Abstract The decision to pursue an academic plan of study is influenced by several factors. Educational and personal experiences through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood can have a powerful impact on the academic preferences of students. Immunology, a popular field of study at the graduate level, is largely ignored at the undergraduate level. Identifying the type and timing of experiences that influence the choice of current undergraduate and graduate students to pursue immunology is critical for developing and refining immunology curricula. To identify potential influencing factors, students were surveyed about their exposure to the immune system or immunology-related topics. There were 283 total respondents (45% immunology majors, 55% other science majors) of which 39% were graduate students and 61% were undergraduate students. There were no significant differences in the demographics of immunology majors compared to non-majors. Although there is no difference between immunology majors and non-majors in the number of respondents having an educational or personal experience involving immunology, an educational experience was more influential than a personal experience for both graduate (85%) and undergraduate (66%) immunology majors. However, more undergraduates (33.7%) pursue immunology based upon a personal experience compared to graduate students (14.6%). Importantly, students who chose to pursue an immunology degree were introduced to immunology at a later academic stage compared to students who are not pursuing an immunology degree. These data suggest that timing may be more influential than the type of exposure in influencing the choice to pursue immunology.