This paper examines students’ claims about who can become an engineer and what it takes in engineering culture to be successful. Through longitudinal interviews with 20 undergraduate engineering students, we found that participants’ descriptions of who can ‘do’ engineering were paradoxical. Participants simultaneously maintained that ‘anyone’ could do engineering and that individuals must also possess certain characteristics to become engineers. This study connects these students’ responses to broader conversations regarding social advancement and meritocratic values within U.S. engineering culture. Participants’ responses reflect a definition of engineering that may on the surface appear open but is in practice exclusionary to individuals who do not conform to certain expectations. While many discussions of culture in engineering focus on the values and practices of ‘core’ members such as faculty or practicing engineers, it is imperative to consider the understandings that students bring to their university and enact while being enculturated into the engineering profession. This study contributes to the literature by examining the ways cultural values are upheld and reified among undergraduate engineering students.

本文研究了学生对谁可以成为工程师的主张以及在工程文化中取得成功所需的条件。通过对20名本科工程学学生的纵向采访，我们发现参与者对谁可以“做”工程的描述是自相矛盾的。与会者同时坚持认为，“任何人”都可以从事工程，个人也必须具有一定的才能成为工程师。这项研究将这些学生的反应与关于美国工程文化中的社会进步和精英价值的更广泛的对话联系起来。参与者的回答反映了工程学的定义，该定义可能表面上看起来是开放的，但实际上对不符合某些期望的个人是排斥的。尽管工程学中有关文化的许多讨论都集中在“核心”成员（例如，教师或在职工程师）的价值观和实践上，但必须考虑到学生在进入工程专业后进入大学并进行实践的理解。这项研究通过研究在工科本科生中维护和改善文化价值的方式，为文学做出了贡献。