Exploring the Relationship between Mental Health-Related Problems and Undergraduate Student Dropout: A Case Study within a Civil Engineering Program

Dropout has always been a concerning issue within higher education. In this context, this research seeks to explore the relationship between mental health-related problems and undergraduate students’ dropout rates, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and within a civil engineering program. The study is quantitative, descriptive, with a non-experimental and longitudinal design. Results show that the dropout rates of civil engineering students from a private university have increased, comparing before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily due to mental health problems. Three strong tendencies within these rates have been detected, which have a direct relationship with the COVID-19 pandemic. It was concluded that undergraduate students’ mental health has been undermined due the pandemics which has had a direct impact in the increase of dropout rates.Funding: None to declare. Declaration of Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Patient Informed Consent Statement: Patient consent was obtained prior to the start of the study.