Recommendations toward an antiracist engineering: Informing an institutional agenda to enhance Black engineering student experiences

Abstract

This qualitative study collected recommendations provided by Black doctoral students in engineering to explicitly inform the institutional efforts necessary to enhance their academic experiences. This process has informed what needs to be done to support Black students through their direct accounts that provided in-depth understanding of the impactful yet missing components in their engineering pursuits, and especially, at the Ph.D. level. Situated in the theories of racialized organizations, this community-based participatory action research project conducted semi-structured interviews with n = 24 Black doctoral students enrolled in engineering programs across the United States (and one abroad). Four recommendations themes emerged from our analysis: (1) a vital need for greater representation of Black scholars across roles in engineering communities; (2) capacity for awareness, acknowledgment, and accountability of/for the lived experience of Black scholars in engineering; (3) more intentional institutional efforts to support Black scholar communities and connection; and (4) a need for re-envisioning institutional policies and practices impacting Black scholars. This paper will address that which Black students identify as missing in engineering academic environments that, if addressed, could stand to drastically improve the lived experience of Black engineering students. Institutions must be proactive in their accountability for the wellness and success for all students and can start by taking heed to the recommendations of Black doctoral students, specifically.