The Overlooked Role of 'Academic' Sense of Belonging: A Multi-Methods Study of Academic and Social Sense of Belonging Among Students in Globalized Engineering Graduate Education

Students' sense of belonging is a critical factor influencing their academic and psychological outcomes. Despite the theoretical distinction between social and academic sense of belonging in higher education, prior literature in engineering and computing education has predominantly emphasized the social dimension of sense of belonging. To address this gap, this multi-methods research explores the multidimensional nature of sense of belonging - academic and social sense of belonging - in the context of globalized engineering graduate education, while navigating students' perceptions of uniquely globalized educational setting. The quantitative survey study aims to investigate how academic and social sense of belonging within different two types of engineering graduate student communities - a research lab and an academic unit - interact in influencing students' satisfaction and intention to stay. The study considers the potential interplay of students' citizenship status (e.g., domestic vs. international) in shaping their academic and social sense of belonging. The qualitative open-ended survey study aims to explore how students perceive the advantages of and challenges in the globalized educational environment, understanding how the context-specific characteristics interact with students' sense of belonging and broader educational experiences. The findings suggest that academic and social sense of belonging play distinct roles in shaping different types for engineering graduate students, while also highlighting the significance of academic sense of belonging - an often-overlooked aspect of sense of belonging in literature - in influencing students' intention to stay. This research contributes to advancing the sense of belonging literature by expanding the conceptual understanding of sense of belonging.