Engineering students experience high levels of mental health distress and low rates of professional treatment use – a trend often linked to what researchers have called a “culture of stress” in engineering programs. While this pattern is well-documented, relatively few studies have examined the extent to which these issues are unique to engineering. To address this, we analyzed publicly available data from the 2021-2022 Healthy Minds Study, a national survey on college student mental health. Our sample included responses from over 50,000 undergraduate students, including approximately 4,500 engineering students. We examined self-report measures related to mental health, treatment use, and prior diagnoses. Because mental health outcomes are influenced by various sociodemographic factors (e.g., gender identity, race/ethnicity, and financial stress), which vary across disciplines, we used regression analyses to assess differences across field of study while controlling for these variables. Results showed that engineering students were less likely than students in several other fields to report symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, over 40% of engineering students still screened positive for mental health distress (i.e., reported symptoms associated with current depression and/or anxiety). Among the approximately 2,000 engineering students who screened positive, only 40% reported having received past-year therapy/counseling, and they were among the least likely to have received a diagnosis for depression or anxiety. These findings point to important differences in mental health and treatment use between engineering students and their peers. We discuss how cultural norms within engineering shape the way students interpret and respond to their mental health. For example, engineering students may underreport distress or delay help-seeking due to the normalization of chronic stress and emotional suppression. This underscores the need to address engineering culture directly in efforts to improve student mental health and access to care.
