A recent survey determined engineering majors to be the most studious college students.
The National Survey of Student Engagement found that 42 percent of engineering students spend at least 20 hours per week studying, according to [The New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/education/college-student-survey-shows-balance-of-work-and-study.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimes&adxnnlx=1322506179-YXQUU2EWbxBV5G/WQQmjmA).
The study showed that some other majors who were not deemed as studious were more focused on internships and job experience.
“Engineering majors turning out to be more studious doesn’t surprise me,” senior chemical engineering major Laura Musick said. “It’s calculation-intensive at its core, so you quickly learn to be diligent and detail-oriented.”
After engineering, the majors with the most studious students were physical sciences, biological sciences, arts and humanities, education, and social sciences and business, according to The New York Times.
“While the data might be accurate, it doesn’t tell the whole story,” senior international business major Laureano Kuri said. “Through my four years here, it does seem that engineering majors study more than business majors. But extracurricular activities can have a more positive impact on your career than studying.”
Students like Kuri have been keeping busy with not only paid jobs as the study suggests but internships, as well. Kuri will have a job at General Mills following graduation after having completed an internship with the company last summer.
“(Unpaid) internships are an interesting topic,” NSSE Institute Associate Director Jillian Kinzie said. “For our survey, we only ask if students have done, haven’t done, or plan to do them.”
Kinzie said activities like internships and study abroad opportunities are classified as high-impact practices.
“High-impact practices like these are called high-impact because (they) educationally can pack a bigger punch and are educationally sound experiences,” Kinzie said.
The study shows that business majors spend the most time at paying jobs with an average of 16 hours a week, whereas engineering majors spend an average of nine hours a week at paying jobs.
The NSSE survey results are a compilation of information from various colleges and universities, but the NSSE does not make information specific to a single school public.
“The purpose of this survey is not to evaluate or rank but to improve,” she said. “It’s to see how well the institution is performing.”
She also wanted to make it clear that this is a huge, diverse study and that showing different levels of studiousness was barely scratching the surface of all the survey had to show those who read it.
“Mizzou has always taken results seriously,” Kinzie said. “And historically, they’ve worked to improve where and when they can.”
MU elects to participate in the survey every three years, Kinzie and MU assistant research analyst Beverly Peterson said.
