2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Female International Students in Engineering Graduate Programs: Transnational Pursuit of Professional Success with the Burden of Intersected Marginalities

This work in progress presents preliminary findings from our phenomenological research aimed at elucidating the key facets of the acculturation process and program experiences of female international students in engineering graduate programs. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), we interviewed 10 international female students currently enrolled in three different engineering graduate programs at an urban research institution in the Southeastern United States. Our preliminary IPA analysis yielded four themes; 1) presence of dynamic and comprehensive transnational social networks that inspired and enabled participants’ pursuit of professional careers through U.S. higher education, 2) an established ethnic/cultural community on campus that serves as a safe haven; 3) segmented cultural assimilation characterized by the lack of meaningful cultural exchange and mingling; 4) experiencing intensified vulnerability grounded in overlapping marginal identities (gender and nationality/legal status in US).

Authors

Dr. Jae Hoon Lim http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8167-1866 University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Jae Hoon Lim is a Professor of Educational Research at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on the educational experiences of diverse student populations in K-12 schools and higher education. She has served as PI, co-PI, or external program evaluator for multiple external grant projects, including a 1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation and three Department of Defense Grants supporting engineering student veterans and under-resourced rural middle and high school students’ STEM engagement. Her research has been published in premier scholarly journals, such as the Journal of Educational Psychology, the Journal of Higher Education, and the Journal of Teacher Education. She is a contributing author to several books published by Oxford University Press, University of California Press, and Springer. She is the author of a case study textbook, Doing Case Study Research, published by Teachers College Press.
Yuting Chen University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Dr. Chen's research focuses on construction safety and health, and transportation safety, especially railroad trespassing and safety.
Soe Yu Nwe University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Soe Yu Nwe is a graduate student and researcher in Construction and Facilities Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her academic and professional interests focus on engineering education, construction safety and health, resilient safety climate, and the experiences of diverse student populations in STEM fields. She has professional experience in construction cost estimating, including archi, civil, mechanical, and plumbing systems, where she applies practical industry knowledge to support project planning, cost analysis, and decision-making. Her work connects real-world construction practice with academic research in engineering education, workforce preparation, safety management, and construction management. She is a recipient of the Glenda K. Mayo Fellowship, a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, and has been recognized as an Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant. Her broader interests include resilience engineering, safety and health, student success, and supporting underrepresented and international students in STEM pathways.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

For those interested in:

engineering
gender
Graduate
race/ethnicity
Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology