Same Major, Different Peers: Gender Sorting Across and Within Majors

This study documents segregation within majors by examining student experiences at a student-by-course level. We measure the variation in the proportion of students’ classmates who are their same gender and which levels of sorting explain this variation. Our study offers a guide for measuring this phenomenon in various campus contexts, examining how curricular choice can affect student sorting within majors. This study suggests that previous work examining sorting only at the major level misses some important opportunities for understanding the mechanisms through which gender segregation occurs in higher education.