Minority retention and success in engineering: Diversifying the pipeline through the development of social capital

Abstract

Diversity is a cornerstone to innovation in engineering problem solving. The retention and success of minorities in engineering is necessary for building diversity in academia and industry. The majority of engineering programs, however, suffer from a lack of minority students, particularly in graduate programs. A perceived individualistic and weed out culture of engineering, ethnic isolation, and a lack of interaction with faculty and the broader university are barriers which may inhibit minorities from matriculating through college and entering graduate studies. One mechanism for supporting minority students is the development of social capital which can help to eradicate these barriers. While universities have developed some programs and curricular opportunities to support minorities in engineering majors, student-run organizations are relatively untapped resources that can directly facilitate the development of social capital. Using survey and interview data from participants in a mentoring program of the National Society of Black Engineers, the authors demonstrate how student-run organizations can make the development of social capital a reality, and thus bolster the pipeline toward a diverse population of successful graduates for the workforce and academia. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2007.