A study of the career maturity of undergraduates in professional preparation degree programs compared to the physical and social sciences, humanities, fine and performing arts

The purpose of this study was to compare the career behavior and maturity of Ball State University undergraduates by degree program. It analyzed students in a select number of degree programs looking for differences in between those in professional preparation degree programs (PPDP) and the physical and social sciences, humanities, fine and performing arts (SHA).A sample of 690 Ball State University undergraduates were surveyed during the 1998 spring semester. A total of 422 responses were received, yielding a response rate of 61.2%. Four of the responses were unusable, leaving 418 usable responses for a 60.6% response rate. Data were collected on 56 variables, describing personal characteristics, academic and career objectives, resources used in making major and career decisions, work experiences and involvement in career-related organizations, participation in job search activities, involvement in networking activities, and fulltime professional employment.Students in PPDP were much more likely to have declared a major (96.1%), chosen a career objective (92.2%), and be comfortable with these decisions (80.8%) than students in the SHA (81.8%, 83.6%, and 66.4% respectively). Students in PPDP and the SHA were similar in the resources used to make decisions regarding career and major. Students in the sample are also similar in their work experiences both on and off-campus and during university breaks. Only 38.2% of students in the SHA had career-related experience compared to 48.4% in PPDP. Students in PPDP were more likely to join professional organizations (34.1%) than those in the SHA (19.1%). With a few exceptions, students' participation in job search activities were consistent between those in PPDP and the SHA. Students in PPDP were more likely to use world-wide web resources (23.7%), speak with professors about the job-search process (38.0%), and prepare a professional employment portfolio (32.1%) than students in the SHA (15.5%, 30.9%, and 23.6% respectively).Nearly 70% of students in PPDP reported using their networks whereas only 64.5% of students in SHA reported using their networks. About 22% of students in the SHA and 27.9% in PPDP had reported attending on-campus career or job fairs. Off-campus fairs had been attended by 13.3% of students in PPDP and 10.9% of students in the SHA. About one fourth of the students had begun to search for fulltime, professional employment. Over 18% of those in PPDP had received offers of employment whereas 22.7% of those in the SHA have received offers. Eleven percent of those in PPDP have accepted employment offers and 13.6% of students in the SHA had accepted offers of employment.Each student was assigned a career maturity level which was equal to the number of career maturity activities they have completed divided by the total number of career maturity variables. An average score was then calculated for each degree program from the individual scores. The career maturity score for students in the PPDP was 38.0% compared to 35.0% for those in the SHA. The total population had a career maturity level of 37.0%. An ANOVA revealed that the effect of academic degree program on career maturity was not statistically significant (F (1, 412) = .894, p = .345) for Ball State University undergraduates in the 1998 spring semester.Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of EducationThesis (M.A.