Maura Borrego and Erin Crede , Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech

1. Common Discourse New Career Equal Diversity Project Money Funded by National Science division of Engineering Education Centersunder EEC-0934643 Entering the Community Fitting into the Community IEECI: The Role of International Students in Graduate Engineering Education Common Space Knowledge Depth Maura Borrego and Erin Crede, Department of Engineering Education, Virginia Tech Student Engagement Staying in the Community Support System Family Responsibility to the Group Abstract Project Plan Literature Identity Association Peers Project Ownership Salomon & Perkins (1998) Friends • Furnham(2004) • Kuh and Whitt (1988) The aim of this study is to develop a clearer understanding of the role that international students play in establishing the culture of a graduate engineering community, such as a department or research group, with particular emphasis on how this community affects domestic student recruitment and retention. Investigating the socialization of engineering graduate students in engineering communities that are internationally diverse compared to many undergraduate environments represents a major step in identifying a potentially significant factor affecting graduate student attrition. Understanding the factors that influence attrition will ultimately increase domestic undergraduate enrollment and retention in engineering graduate programs. Using a mixed methods research design, this study will explore the experiences graduate engineering research groups at a single institution (ethnography) and use these findings to create a set of surveys for four additional universities. Examining the experiences of international and domestic graduate students for commonalities as well as points of difference will help shape future doctoral programs. Results from this research are likely to have a significant impact on understanding what universities can do to foster an environment that is conducive to increasing domestic participation in engineering Ph.D. programs Dorozhkin& Mazitova (2008) Lave (1991) Home Country Department Research Group University Pontius & Harper (2006) Stryker & Burke (2000) Austin (2002,2004) Cast( 2003) Colbeck (2008) • Sweitzer (2009) Mixed Methods Preliminary Findings Acknowledgements • Research Questions • 1. How does the presence of a high percentage of international students influence the culture of graduate-level engineering education communities, particularly related to identity, socialization and ultimately retention of domestic graduate students? • 2. To what extent are similar perceptions present among engineering undergraduates, and how do these contribute to enrollment of domestic students into graduate programs? Funded by National Science division of Engineering Education Centers under EEC-0934643 Publications • Crede, E and Borrego, M “The Effect of International Diversity on Graduate Engineering Education: A Literature Review”, Abstract Accepted for 2010 ASEE Conference • Crede, E and Borrego, M “International Diversity and Student Engagement in Graduate Engineering Research Groups” Paper Submitted to International Conference for Learning Sciences 2010