Across the United States, students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors are dropping out of their majors at roughly twice the rate of all other subject areas combined, according to a recent report in The New York Times. Yet Binghamton University’s Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science has bucked this trend — it has seen an increase in retention rates during the past few years.

The Times reported last week that 40 percent of students who plan to obtain degrees in STEM fields either switch their majors or fail to obtain a degree entirely — 60 percent of pre-med students are included.

For every 379 students who enroll in the Watson School each year, 60 to 80 drop out, according to Peter Partell, Watson’s associate dean of academic affairs and administration.

Watson’s retention rates have been on the rise for the past three years. Between the fall 2010 and fall 2011 semesters, 93 percent of freshmen were retained in engineering majors, and 89 percent of freshman were retained in computer science majors. Watson’s six-year graduation rate currently ranges between 70 and 80 percent.

James Pitarresi, a professor and chair of the mechanical engineering department, said most Watson students who switch schools and majors tend to do so during their freshman year.

“It’s pretty rare for someone who’s a third-year engineering student to drop out,” Pitarresi said, “There might be a little bit of shifting sophomore year and then the rest typically stay on. Once they’re in their sophomore year they’re pretty much committed to the program.”

Michael Elmore, the head of the engineering design division (EDD), Watson’s freshman program, partially credited the rise in Watson’s retention rates to the hands-on, project-oriented classes that the EDD offers.

“These students come in … really excited about studying engineering,” Elmore said. “Research has shown that students, if they have project-based experiences in addition to their theoretical work, are going to get a lot more out of engineering, they’re going to enjoy it more and probably stick with the program.”

Watson’s 103, 104, 111 and 112 courses are all two-year-long courses that offer Watson students opportunities to perform hands-on engineering work and create their own engineering projects. One includes the “Reverse-Engineering Project,” where students disassemble common household appliances and suggest redesigns of the products to address customer complaints, according to Elmore.

In the spring semester, freshmen have to find a project on the website for the World Bank — an institution that provides financial and technical aid to developing countries — and create a technical solution for the project and write a report on it.

Elmore said that these engineering courses are not particularly hard for students who consistently keep up their work. The most difficult classes for freshman engineering students tend to be the calculus, physics and chemistry courses that Watson students are required to take.

Despite Watson’s relatively low attrition rate, both Pitarresi and Elmore agreed that engineering is a field that is not suited for all students.

“We’d love it if all 300 freshmen stayed in engineering and graduated,” Pitarresi said. “The problem is that engineering isn’t for everybody … it’s necessary to be good in math and science to be an engineer, but it’s not sufficient. Part of the freshman program is for students to figure out [if] they really want to do engineering. We don’t expect 100 percent of them to come in and continue through their sophomore year.”

Bill Buehler, a freshman in the Watson School, said he thought that the interactive lab classes are taught effectively, but that lecture classes in calculus and chemistry are not taught as well.

“The teachers basically go through the workbook and regurgitate the information at us,” Buehler said. “[It] reminds me very much of how a basic required high school class is taught.”