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The study examines institutional and professional belongingness as it relates to the perceived interpersonal, instructional, and institutional opportunity structures available for African-American (AfA) engineering students at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI), and a Historically Black University (HBCU) within the Phenomenological Ecological Systems theory (PVEST). A stratified random sample of 65 AfA students (79% male) participated in 11 focus group interviews. Phenomenological analyses of students’ responses to open-ended questions revealed that HBCU students experienced a stronger sense of institutional belonging than PWI students. Students from both institutions discussed opportunities and obstacles to embrace a “Black Engineer” identity. HBCU students unlike their PWI counterparts, reported faculty mentoring designed to enhance professional belongingness. The significance of these findings for engineering institutions are discussed. 

The central objective of this interdisciplinary, inter-institutional PFE: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF) project is to conduct a comparative study of the factors affecting the success and pathways to engineering careers of African American students at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) and a Historically Black University (HBCU). The study focuses on investigating the criticality of the following three factors: 1. The attitudes and beliefs of faculty and staff toward underrepresented students and how these attitudes influence their classroom and advising interactions and expectations, and the impact this has on the students’ sense of belonging and academic success; 2. The existing institutional support mechanisms at both institutions and students’ perceptions of their efficacy and the role they perceive these mechanisms play in their academic success; and 3. The influence of student organizations- specifically underrepresented minority engineering affinity groups and the embedded networks therein on the social and academic integration of African American students at the two types of institutions.