2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Humanitarian Engineering (HE) graduate programs aim to address global infrastructure inequalities while creating inclusive engineering spaces. However, these programs often struggle with recruiting and retaining students from marginalized backgrounds, particularly those from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) and communities of color. We conducted and analyzed 67 in-depth longitudinal interviews with 19 students across six US graduate programs in humanitarian engineering between 2021-2023 to examine how deficit mindsets—viewing marginalized communities through perceived shortcomings rather than recognizing their strengths—manifests in HE education. Our findings reveal how institutional practices, programmatic approaches, and field assumptions can reinforce deficit-based thinking even as programs strive to address global inequities. Specifically, we found that: (1) a lack of diversity in HE programs undermines students' sense of belonging and cultural worth, (2) an emphasis on hardships diminishes recognition of students’ assets, and (3) savior narratives perpetuate deficit views of partner communities. However, our research also identifies transformative moments where programs recognized and built upon students' cultural wealth, suggesting pathways for institutional change. This research illuminates specific ways that deficit mindsets persist in educational settings, while highlighting concrete opportunities for creating more inclusive and equitable engineering spaces for marginalized students.