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Abstract
MORGAN AVERETTE. Exploring the Relationship between Varsity Sports Participation and College STEM Declaration.(Under the direction of DR. MARTHA CECILIA BOTTIA)This study investigates the association between high school interscholastic sports participation and college STEM declaration. Prior research indicates that student athletes generally perform better academically and are more likely to attend college. Higher academic performance has been identified as an important factor that helps predict students’ participation in STEM majors. The objective of this thesis is to examine if there is a significant relationship between varsity sports participation and college STEM declaration, as well as if gender and race are potential moderators in the relationship. Results from binary logistic models show that there is no evidence of a significant relationship between varsity sports participation and college STEM declaration for the full sample. Once gender was included as a moderator, a significant relationship between varsity sports participation and higher odds of majoring in STEM emerged, specifically for female students who played varsity individual sports in high school.