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Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have faced challenges in developing and maintaining engineering programs due to the lack of equitable resources including funds and technology. Partnerships between HBCUs and Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) have emerged as a way to increase the number of Black students in engineering through Dual Degree Engineering Programs (DDEP), often classified as 3-2 programs. Students in these programs attend an HBCU to complete all pre-engineering courses (typically three years) and spend their final undergraduate years (typically two) at a PWI. At the end of the program, students would have earned two bachelor’s degrees, one from the HBCU in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field and the other from the PWI in an engineering discipline. While there are many advantages to institutional collaborations, HBCU students must learn to adapt to an entirely new system and culture at the PWI. This scoping literature review examines research on Black students as they matriculate into a PWI from an HBCU while pursuing an engineering degree. The primary objective of this literature review is to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of Black students in DDEPs bridging HBCUs and PWIs. The review specifically sought to address students’ motivations for enrolling in DDEPs, the benefits and challenges involved with making the transition from an HBCU to a PWI, the factors contributing to their decision to pursue such a program, and their expectations regarding these experiences at the two distinct types of institutions. A total of 19 articles were identified and reviewed. Three main categories surfaced from the literature review, with two subcategories within the first theme: 1) references to HBCU DDEPs without the inclusion of student experiences; 1a) goal of increasing the number of Black students in STEM; 1b) engineering degree pathways; 2) HBCU student support and resources; and 3) the experiences of HBCU students in DDEPs. Synthesizing the literature revealed a crucial need for additional research on HBCUs in general. The study’s results emphasize the necessity for exploring the lived experiences of students in HBCU DDEPs. Further exploration could focus on the support and resources provided by institutions to students during their transfer to PWIs. This exploration of DDEPs promises to offer valuable insights into how DDEPs between HBCUs and PWIs can effectively and successfully prepare Black engineering students for their future careers. The findings from this literature review identify areas for future research. 

Since 1973, the Carnegie Classification® has been the guiding framework for determining which U.S.-based higher education institutions are considered the top in the country. The complex and multi-layered calculation gives institutions the designation of labeled research one (R1) or research two (R2) institutions, requiring institutions to grant doctoral degrees. These designations are pivotal in determining which institutions obtain high-quality resources through ongoing decisions by many organizations, including federal agencies, private sector organizations, and philanthropists. Additionally, the designations are instrumental in crucial policy decisions that have the future, mobility, and overall sustainability of operations within institutions, including its various stakeholders (i.e., faculty, staff, and students) at its core. As of 2023, while none of the nation’s 101 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have received the highest designation of R1 status, 11 hold the status of R2. Notably, over the past decade, several of those 11 institutions have made obtaining R1 status a top priority for their organization, with many embedding the goal in their critical strategic plans or key initiatives within their leadership teams’ organizational priorities. Despite such efforts, an integral ingredient to achieving R1 status – leadership – is under-researched in the field. Thus, our study aims to acknowledge the vital role of transformational and distributed leadership within HBCUs and their broader stakeholder community in achieving their goal of reaching R1 status. The goal of this research study is to (1) conduct an analysis of data available within the Carnegie Classification®, (2) provide a thorough review of the literature surrounding this phenomenon, (3) explain the role of engineering-related expenditures and engineering education within this phenomenon, (4) ascertain the capabilities of the institutional leadership and motivations towards R1 status, and (5) use that information, all inclusively, to determine who will be the first of the eleven R2 and three R3 HBCUs to receive the R1 designation. Thus, the research questions guiding this study are: (1) Which historically black college and/or university (HBCU) is most likely to obtain Carnegie Classification® R1: doctoral universities – very high research activity status first? (2) How do engineering-related expenditures and education impact or influence HBCUs' Research 1 status potential? Results explain which of the 14 R2 and R2 HBCUs will be the first and most likely to obtain the designation for the upcoming results and why. Implications for this research study and its results, recommendations for future research, and a concluding statement are provided. 

An effective way to increase the participation of historically excluded students in engineering education is through informal programming that covers science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study is part of a broader investigation conducted by Fletcher aimed at evaluating the programs offered by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) as part of the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) program at different sites. The study collected pre- and post-assessment data from 1235 girls across twelve sites to determine if there were significant differences in interest- and experience-related outcomes at single-gender and coeducation sites. The study found that the two single-gender sites out of the twelve sites had statistically significant differences in participant responses in favor of single-gender sites, with one site showing a significant association with overall enjoyment of the program. The study used social cognitive theory (SCT) and intersectionality to guide the research and found that the site type had a significant association with the results. These findings suggest the need for further exploration of the impact of site type within informal education programs, especially those targeting historically excluded populations in STEM. 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) operate and are centered within the nexus of concerted nationwide efforts to advance the participation and success of Black students within the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines (STEM). Through an institution-levelasset-based approach, this study aimed to further elucidate how undergraduate STEM preparation and success at HBCUs is linked to the transition into (and experiences within) graduate education. One hundred and fifty-one HBCU alumni from 37 unique HBCUs completed our HBCU Alumni Success survey. Factor analysis revealed 13 emerging components along three main touchpoints along alumni's graduate pathway: their HBCU undergraduate experiences, graduate application, and decision-making, as well as graduate school experiences. Cluster analysis further identified five unique clusters of alumni, revealing variation regarding the individual, institutional, and cultural factors that contributed to HBCU alumni's experiences within their graduate pathway. Specific attributes that characterized each unique cluster included (Cluster 1) experiencing challenges throughout theirgraduate pathway, (Cluster 2) variation in the sources of motivation that influenced graduate school choice, (Cluster 3) deliberation around attending graduate school, (Cluster 4) high commitment, success, and support in pursuit of a graduate degree, and (Cluster 5) high personal agency as well as faculty and research support within engineering. Implications for practice include capitalizing on the areas of success such as the impact of faculty mentorship and research opportunities. 

Efforts dedicated towards broadening participation for Black and other underrepresented groups in engineering at post-secondary institutions has intensified in recent decades. However, Black women have not yet reached parity in undergraduate engineering degree attainment. To elucidate this trend, data from the U.S. Department of Education was analyzed to investigate postsecondary completion for Black women in engineering. Results indicate that the percentage of degrees awarded to Black women has slightly decreased during the last five years when compared to women of all races. However, the percentage of Black women obtaining engineering degrees has increased when compared to the general Black engineering population, with a larger percentage of Black women obtaining engineering degrees compared to their male counterparts than any other ethnicity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide recommendations for research avenues that may strengthen knowledge around the enrollment and retention of Black women in engineering at post-secondary institutions. 

The 2020 global pandemic caused by COVID-19 forced higher education institutions to immediately stop face-to-face teaching and transition to virtual instruction. This transition has been difficult for engineering education, which has strong hardware, software, and practical/laboratory components, and has further exacerbated the personal and professional experiences of minoritized students in engineering. This study sought to answer the following overarching research question: How has the abrupt transition to online instruction due to COVID-19 affected students traditionally underrepresented in engineering? The abrupt transition for minoritized students and their decision to prioritize their mental health was further explored to answer the following: (1) How many minoritized students chose to prioritize their mental health? (2) How do minoritized students describe their experiences and choices to prioritize (or not) their mental health? Using SenseMaker, participants shared stories using the following prompt: Imagine you are chatting with a friend or family member about the evolving COVID-19 crisis. Tell them about something you have experienced recently as an engineering student. After completing their narrative, a series of triadic, dyadic, and sentiment-based multiple-choice questions were presented. Student responses varied, including positive experiences, which resulted in a strong prioritization, while others had negative experiences resulting in varied prioritizations. Some students chose to prioritize their mental health to remain mentally and emotionally healthy; some with negative experiences abandoned self-care strategies in order to tend to the needs of academics and family. Participants’ decisions to prioritize their mental health were not monolithic.