This study examines gender differences and socioeconomic effects on Korean undergraduates’
major selection using the data from the Korean Youth Panel Survey and the Graduates
Occupational Mobility Survey. Influences of sociological variables on decisions of matriculates
are statistically estimated considering economical and psychological variables: expected income,
academic achievement, and career maturity. The result suggests that college major selection is
largely affected by the respondents’ gender. Male students major in more lucrative study field
compared to female students, and the possibility of female students specializing in engineering
fields are lower than that of male students. Furthermore, matriculates whose parents are of
higher educational level are more likely to enter into lucrative study fields at selective
universities, and prefer human science fields to engineering fields. Academic achievement in
high school is also a decisive predictor of college major selection, whereas regression
coefficients of expected income and career maturity are only partially significant; Students
whose high school scores in Math and Science are high tend to specialize in engineering fields
rather other fields while those whose scores in Korean language and English language are high
are more inclined to choose human science fields.