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Title: U.S. Military Students in Civilian Undergraduate Engineering Programs: A Narrative Review of the Student Veteran and Servicemember Literature
The ever-increasing need for engineers to offer innovative solutions to complex interdisciplinary and global-societal issues requires an engineering workforce that is broadly diverse in experience and thought. Along with current efforts being made to increase diversity in engineering education programs and the engineering workforce on national and international scales, U.S. military students are increasingly recognized in the research literature as a potential source of diverse engineers. With the understanding that military students are not a single monolithic group, we frame this review by defining our target population of “military students” as postsecondary undergraduates enrolled at civilian institutions of higher education who a) have completed their service and are now military veterans or b) are concurrently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, such as in the Reserves or National Guard, while attending college. Generally, this group of military students has served or are serving as enlisted servicemembers and are likely to be first-generation or from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented in engineering education [1] and the engineering workforce. In addition, both prior and current enlisted military students are widely considered to be those who have developed/will develop key attributes, such as a strong work ethic, maturity, and leadership skills, during their time in service that prepare them for academic success in engineering education and for impact in engineering careers [2].  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2045634
PAR ID:
10355043
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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