This engineering education research project will focus on three organizations outside of the formal engineering program that provide mentoring support for African American engineering students to determine how participation in such organizations impacts academic and career pathways. The project, building from a successful pilot, will examine how such organizations provide positive support to assist African American engineering students, the most effective aspects of this support, and how this support aids in developing professional identities that lead to long term success.
The broader significance and importance of this project arise from better understanding the mechanisms which effectively support one group of under-represented engineering students. Such understanding can potentially lead to educational practices which can improve how engineering degree programs attract, retain, and support groups of under-represented students, thus improving the national pipeline for STEM talent and the STEM workforce. This project overlaps with NSF's strategic goals of transforming the frontiers through preparation of an engineering workforce with new capabilities and expertise. Additionally NSF's goal of innovating for society is enabled by creating results and research that are useful for society by informing educational policy and practices.
