Both the report Europe Needs More Scientists, published by the European Commission in 2004, and an OECD report from 2008 conclude that there is a need for increasing the number of graduates in science, engineering, mathematics and technology (S&T). The OECD report concludes that mathematics and the physical sciences are particularly hid by decreasing share of the enrolment. An increase in the number of graduates can be achieved both by increasing recruitment and retention. Previous research has addressed both the students’ interests in sciences (Osborne et.al 2003) and the issue of retention (e.g. Yorke & Longden 2004). Both the recruitment and the retention of students are complex processes that include that are influenced by issues related to students’ interests, how they conceive of the content of the study compared to what they actually experience, their notion of future career possibilities, and their formation of an identity. The paper presents results from a small scale study concerning both the reasons given by students for applying for studying physics and how the first 16 months experience lead them to opt out of or to pursue the study. The theoretical basis of the paper is that the student experience at university is a process of socialisation (Becher 1989, Hasse 2002) and about the students’ ability to cope with the encounter with the study programme. The students enter university with a set of expectations about what the study is about and what it means to be a student, and with an idea of what they will become – both in relation to their future career and the formation of their identity. Furthermore there previous experiences as students in primary and secondary school have provided them with a repertoire of how to engage in the practise of studying. Likewise each study programme in its structure, mode of teaching and through teachers’ perceptions of what the study is about and what students should do, holds an implicit idea of the student (Ulriksen forthcoming). The focus of this paper is at the part of the study that may pin down what interests lead students to apply for studying physics and what experiences and reflections that lead the students to decide either to leave or to stay on.

This is a small scale study based on semi-structured interviews. Since the study focuses on students’ experiences and how different aspects of studying influence this experience a qualitative rather than a quantitative approach is suited for gaining insight into these processes. A qualitative interview is particularly suitable for enquiries into the life world of the interviewed (Kvale 1996) and how the interviewed makes sense of the world around her. Fourteen first year physics students were interviewed after two months of study, 10 in focus groups and four individually. The interviews focussed on the students’ experiences of studying physics, their reasons for choosing physics, and their prior experiences with physics and sciences. Five students were re-interviewed 14 months later focusing on the students’ choices and experiences since the first interview. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed roughly following Kvale’s procedure of ‘critical commonsense understanding’ and ‘theoretical understanding’ (1996, 214).

Many of the students study physics in order to understand how different elements in the natural world are interrelated and to get explanations for the phenomena they experience. For some it is an interest in the universe, and several students emphasise the affinity between physics and philosophy addressing fundamental questions. Other students refer to every day phenomena as waves around a boat. Also the students have experienced being good at physics in upper secondary school. If students decide to leave the study of physics there are several interwoven reasons. One is the difficulty of the study programme whereas issues related to the mode of teaching is another, disappointment in the content a third and lack of promising career perspectives a third. Apparently students with interests stemming from concrete experiences are more subject to opting out than students whose main interests go in the directions of the abstract and theoretical dimensions.