LGBTQ+ inclusion, identity negotiation, and belonging in U.S. engineering programs: a systematized review

Introduction Engineering education remains one of the least examined domains within sexuality and gender research, despite mounting evidence that heteronormative academic cultures push queer students toward concealment, psychological distress, and attrition. The absence of an integrated synthesis of these experiences has hindered both scholarly understanding and the development of inclusive educational practices. This systematized review addresses that critical gap by consolidating and analyzing fragmented empirical evidence on queer students’ identity negotiation, belonging, and inclusion within U.S. engineering programs. Methods Nine empirical studies on queer students in U.S. engineering education were identified through comprehensive database searches and examined using thematic synthesis. Drawing on Foucauldian and queer theoretical frameworks of power, heterotopia, and identity assemblage, data extraction emphasized participants’ lived experiences, contextualized within institutional and sociocultural forces shaping inclusion and exclusion. Results Across studies, queer students engaged in adaptive strategies of covering or selective disclosure to manage stigma—coping mechanisms that safeguarded social survival but eroded authenticity and wellbeing. Persistent isolation and a heightened intent to leave the discipline were common. Yet, heterotopic spaces such as peer networks, affirming mentors, and visibly allied faculty emerged as sites of resistance and belonging that redefined the cultural boundaries of engineering. Discussion By critically integrating these findings, the review clarifies recurring patterns in identity negotiation and institutional climate and proposes evidence-based directions for future inclusion research and practice. The findings underscore the pressing need to move inclusion efforts beyond recruitment metrics toward structural and cultural transformation. To fully realize diversity in engineering, queer identities must be recognized not as peripheral but as integral to the discipline’s intellectual and social fabric.