{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]],"date-time":"2025-10-08T00:24:57Z","timestamp":1759883097977,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]],"date-time":"2025-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1735689600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fordham University Internal Research Grant"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>University students faced unprecedented challenges and stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. STEM students experienced unique challenges because many had traditional lectures and hands-on learning in laboratories or field settings. This qualitative study aimed to explore STEM university students\u2019 experiences and difficulties perceived during the pandemic. Secondary analyses of 2 waves of interviews among 12 participants yielded 12 themes across 4 categories that captured the essence of the STEM university student\u2019s experiences: academic and practice, emotional influences, discrimination, and finance. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs15010032","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]],"date-time":"2025-01-01T11:24:19Z","timestamp":1735730659000},"page":"32","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["University STEM Students\u2019 Perceived Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0631-9157","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi","family":"Ding","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York, NY 10023, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1886-706X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qian","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Engineering, Manhattan University, Riverdale, NY 10471, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yingying","family":"Yao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York, NY 10023, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuwei","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York, NY 10023, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2996-8376","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiayi","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7068-3666","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qiong","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Education, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"Marrinan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York, NY 10023, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Aarntzen, L., Nieuwenhuis, M., Endedijk, M. 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