There is a long-standing stereotype that labels females as nurses and males as engineers. A breakdown by gender of these majors at Marquette revealed that, for the most part, this division still exists.

Since the beginning of the nursing profession, more females have been involved than males. At Marquette and across the nation, this trend remains a reality.

Of the 439 students enrolled in the College of Nursing, only 24 are male, said Lea Acord, the college's dean. That's less than 6 percent of the total class.

Things haven't changed much since 1985.

Males constituted 4 percent of the total number of undergraduate nursing students 20 years ago. These numbers are not unique to Marquette's campus.

"It's a national trend for more women to go into nursing than men," Acord said, "but it's a good field for both men and women to enter."

One of the college's main goals is to attract more male students and faculty members. The college currently has three male faculty members, including professor Richard Fehring.

"I don't think a lot of young men are directed toward nursing," he said, giving several speculations as to why.

Not only do "people associate nursing with females," but television programs typically show women playing nurses, Fehring said.

In addition, television often depicts males in professions associated with high levels of decision-making, including law and medicine.

"Males might want to be in a position of power," Fehring said. "They may also shy away from nursing because of a fear of being feminine."

Fehring discouraged this kind of thinking.

"There are all types of nursing you can go into," including emergency and critical care nursing, he said.

In the past 10 years, the variety of choices for nurses has dramatically changed the scope of the field, Acord said.

"It's gaining attention from both men and women because of the many opportunities," she said. "It's not just at the bedside anymore."

Other colleges have been known to attract students of one gender over the other as well.

Like the College of Nursing, the College of Health Sciences has always had more female students than male.

"Realistically, the professions and majors offered in the College of Health Sciences are more female-oriented," said Jane Mundt, assistant dean in the College of Health Sciences. "When you look at careers, some have a tendency to attract more females than males."

The undergraduate majors offered in the College of Health Sciences include biomedical sciences, athletic training, speech pathology and audiology, clinical laboratory science and exercise science.

The College of Engineering has always attracted more males than females, according to Jeff Hock, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering.

Last semester, eight of 64 students majoring in mechanical engineering were female, Hock said, or 12.5 percent.

From 1960 until about three years ago, "the number of women interested in engineering has increased, especially in the area of biomedical engineering," Hock said. Recently, however, those numbers have been declining.

"Why the percentage of women interested in engineering is less than that for their male counterparts is not well understood, but I have no doubt that it is a cultural phenomenon probably mostly involved with how we raise our children," Hock said.

For more information on majors offered at Marquette, go to mu.edu/programs.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 22 2005.