BOARD # 428: Preparing Ph.D. Graduates for Industry: Insights from a Research-to-Practice Model in Transportation Engineering

Brittany Lynn Butler-Morton; Darby Rose Riley; Eduardo Rodriguez Mejia; Cheryl A Bodnar; Kaitlin Mallouk; Yusuf Mehta

Download Paper | Permalink

Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: NSF Grantees Poster Session II
Tagged Topic: NSF Grantees Poster Session
Page Count: 6
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/55806

Paper Authors

biography

Brittany Lynn Butler-Morton Rowan University

visit author page

Brittany Butler-Morton is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education in the Experiential Engineering Education department at Rowan University. Her research focuses on the differences in chemical engineering students' and industry professionals' expertise in the context of process safety, and how to leverage industry professionals' knowledge to further develop student’s process safety knowledge.

visit author page

biography

Darby Rose Riley Rowan University orcid.org/0000-0001-9973-8635

visit author page

Darby Riley is a doctoral candidate pursuing her third consecutive degree at Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ). Her research focuses on identity development in engineering education—specifically, how engineering students construct their sense of self through their academic journey and how personal identities shape this process. As a disabled researcher, she brings both academic and lived experience to her work, with a particular interest in how students with disabilities navigate the engineering field.

visit author page

biography

Eduardo Rodriguez Mejia Rowan University orcid.org/0009-0007-5522-0069

visit author page

Eduardo is a Rover Scout, and professional Electronic Engineer with a Masters degree in Electronic Engineer from Javeriana University at Bogotá-Colombia. He is an adjunct teacher is his alma mater and a Ph.D. student in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University working on graduate student and international graduate student motivation.

visit author page

biography

Cheryl A Bodnar The Ohio State University orcid.org/0000-0002-8665-9839

visit author page

Dr. Bodnar is a Professor in the Engineering Education Department at The Ohio State University. Her research interests relate to the incorporation of active learning techniques such as game-based learning in undergraduate classes as well as innovation and entrepreneurship.

visit author page

biography

Kaitlin Mallouk Rowan University orcid.org/0000-0003-4367-1165

visit author page

Kaitlin Mallouk is an Associate Professor of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University. Prior to beginning that role, she spent five years an Instructor in the Mechanical Engineering and Experiential Engineering Education Departments at Rowan.

visit author page

biography

Yusuf Mehta Rowan University

visit author page

Dr. Mehta is a Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rowan University and Director of the Center for Research and Education in Advanced Transportation engineering Systems (CREATES).

visit author page

Download Paper | Permalink

Abstract

Civil engineering graduate programs continue to focus on preparing students for careers in research and academia, even though academic opportunities remain limited. Consequently, a growing number of graduates are pursuing careers in industry, highlighting the need for enhanced support during this transition. Research-to-practice models provide a bridge between academic learning and real-world application, equipping students for careers beyond academia without compromising the technical rigor of their program. In our NSF-funded Innovation in Graduate Education (IGE) grant, we have created a research-to-practice graduate education model within the Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate program through the incorporation of a non-academic mentor into the thesis / dissertation committee structure. While the traditional academic advisor ensures students are well-prepared to meet academic and research requirements, the non-academic mentor brings valuable practical insights, helping students address engineering challenges that are relevant to their projects and allowing them to understand the broader implications of their work outside of academia. This dynamic mentorship ensures students gain both theoretical expertise and practical experience, positioning them for success in diverse professional environments.The research-to-practice model is grounded in the cognitive apprenticeship framework, which emphasizes how novices learn expert problem-solving techniques. Non-academic mentors’ participation supports graduate students in this learning process. In this paper we seek to address the research question: How are graduate students perceiving support from their academic and non-academic mentors? To assess graduate students' perceptions of their non-academic mentors, a modified version of the Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire (MCTQ) was administered. Originally developed to provide clinical educators with feedback from medical students during clerkship rotations, the MCTQ’s 24 items were carefully revised and rephrased to fit the context of engineering graduate students working with non-academic mentors. This adapted version of the MCTQ was tested with transportation engineering students in a think-aloud protocol to identify areas needing further clarification. The finalized survey was administered for the first time at the end of the Spring 2024 semester. Additionally, students were asked to complete the Engineering Identity Inventory, which examines their identities as scientists, engineers, and researchers. This instrument also gathers data on advisor relationships. The Engineering Doctoral Student Identity Instrument was administered during both the Fall 2023 and Fall 2024 semesters.

This paper presents initial findings from the MCTQ and Engineering Identity Inventory to determine the perceptions graduate students have about their non-academic mentor and academic advisor. Results from these surveys will provide initial insight about the impact of the two mentor-advisee relationship model and identify potential areas of program improvement.

Citation
Format

Butler-Morton, B. L., & Riley, D. R., & Rodriguez Mejia, E., & Bodnar, C. A., & Mallouk, K., & Mehta, Y. (2025, June), BOARD # 428: Preparing Ph.D. Graduates for Industry: Insights from a Research-to-Practice Model in Transportation Engineering Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/55806

TY - CPAPER
AB - Civil engineering graduate programs continue to focus on preparing students for careers in research and academia, even though academic opportunities remain limited. Consequently, a growing number of graduates are pursuing careers in industry, highlighting the need for enhanced support during this transition. Research-to-practice models provide a bridge between academic learning and real-world application, equipping students for careers beyond academia without compromising the technical rigor of their program. In our NSF-funded Innovation in Graduate Education (IGE) grant, we have created a research-to-practice graduate education model within the Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate program through the incorporation of a non-academic mentor into the thesis / dissertation committee structure. While the traditional academic advisor ensures students are well-prepared to meet academic and research requirements, the non-academic mentor brings valuable practical insights, helping students address engineering challenges that are relevant to their projects and allowing them to understand the broader implications of their work outside of academia. This dynamic mentorship ensures students gain both theoretical expertise and practical experience, positioning them for success in diverse professional environments.The research-to-practice model is grounded in the cognitive apprenticeship framework, which emphasizes how novices learn expert problem-solving techniques. Non-academic mentors’ participation supports graduate students in this learning process.
In this paper we seek to address the research question: How are graduate students perceiving support from their academic and non-academic mentors? To assess graduate students&#39; perceptions of their non-academic mentors, a modified version of the Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire (MCTQ) was administered. Originally developed to provide clinical educators with feedback from medical students during clerkship rotations, the MCTQ’s 24 items were carefully revised and rephrased to fit the context of engineering graduate students working with non-academic mentors. This adapted version of the MCTQ was tested with transportation engineering students in a think-aloud protocol to identify areas needing further clarification. The finalized survey was administered for the first time at the end of the Spring 2024 semester. Additionally, students were asked to complete the Engineering Identity Inventory, which examines their identities as scientists, engineers, and researchers. This instrument also gathers data on advisor relationships. The Engineering Doctoral Student Identity Instrument was administered during both the Fall 2023 and Fall 2024 semesters.

This paper presents initial findings from the MCTQ and Engineering Identity Inventory to determine the perceptions graduate students have about their non-academic mentor and academic advisor. Results from these surveys will provide initial insight about the impact of the two mentor-advisee relationship model and identify potential areas of program improvement.

AU - Brittany Lynn Butler-Morton
AU - Darby Rose Riley
AU - Eduardo Rodriguez Mejia
AU - Cheryl A Bodnar
AU - Kaitlin Mallouk
AU - Yusuf Mehta
CY - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DA - 2025/06/22
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - BOARD # 428: Preparing Ph.D. Graduates for Industry: Insights from a Research-to-Practice Model in Transportation Engineering
UR - https://peer.asee.org/55806
ER -