Honors Theses

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Completion

Spring 4-30-2026

Academic Year

2025-2026

Department

Engineering & Physics

Academic Major

Mechanical Engineering

Faculty Advisor

James Huff, Ph.D.

Abstract

Senior capstone design courses represent a culminating experience in undergraduate engineering education, requiring students to integrate technical knowledge, collaborate in teams, and engage in open-ended problem solving. Although prior research documents barriers faced by women in engineering, less is known about how women experience design activity engagement within capstone contexts and how they connect this engagement to their gender identity. This study examines how women engineering students experience and interpret their engagement in senior capstone design through an asset-based lens. Guided by design activity engagement and standpoint feminism, I employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the lived experiences of three senior women enrolled in U.S.-based engineering capstone courses. Through in depth interviews and iterative analysis, three overarching themes emerged: (1) internalized inadequacy and external exclusion shaped by gender stereotypes, (2) constructing an engineering identity through rigor, persistence, and relational support, and (3) reframing gender identity as meaningful within engineering practice. Participants described navigating stereotype based expectations, moments of exclusion, and pressures to prove competence. At times, they interpreted emotional expression or assertiveness through gendered lenses, revealing how identity shaped their understanding of design experiences. Yet, they also demonstrated strong commitment to technical rigor, deep relational engagement with teammates, and resilience in the face of setbacks. Over time, each participant identified distinctive strengths such as holistic thinking, organizational skill, attentiveness to team dynamics, and big picture perspective that they associated with their gendered experiences and that positively influenced their teams’ design processes. Findings suggest that design activity engagement is relational, emotional, and socially situated rather than gender-neutral. The meaning women assign to their gender identity influences the intensity and quality of their engagement. When participants reframed their gender as an asset rather than a deficit, their engagement deepened and became more meaningful. This study contributes to engineering education research by centering women’s lived experiences in capstone design and highlighting the strengths cultivated through navigating minoritized positions, offering implications for more inclusive and asset-oriented engineering teaching.

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Available for download on Saturday, May 01, 2027

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