2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Empirical Research Paper (Research Brief) presents perceptions of sense of belonging in engineering among students from underrepresented groups. Sense of belonging has important, positive outcomes for engineering students, especially underrepresented students. Yet, sense of belonging can be interpreted in multiple ways and differentially across contexts. As part of a mixed-methods longitudinal study on student sense of belonging in engineering, we sought to describe students’ own perceptions of what belonging in engineering means. 11 engineering students (7 women, 3 men, and 1 non-binary student; 4 students were white and 7 people of color) participated in semi-structured interviews. This paper focuses on qualitative responses to one question from these interviews, which asked “What do you think belonging means?” Transcripts were inductively coded, and emerging themes were discussed by the authors. Findings highlight 3 important themes: competence, positive learning environments, and positive social engagement. Many students related belonging to their competence or abilities in engineering. Students also highlighted the importance of their experiences in the academic environment (do they enjoy themselves, do they feel comfortable) on their sense of belonging. Lastly, students emphasized the importance of forming connections and fitting in, seeing others like themselves or having shared experiences. These findings are important for educators and practitioners seeking to provide inclusive, equitable learning environments for underrepresented students in engineering.