Embedding Equity in Civil Engineering Curricula: A Case Study from an Introductory Transportation Course

This paper presents a case-based instructional improvement effort that examined how students engaged with equity-related content integrated into a required undergraduate transportation engineering course. The purpose of the activity was to gain insight into how students responded to the equity content within the course and how they described its relevance to civil engineering practice and their learning experience. The instruction involved a group-based mini project where students selected a transportation equity topic and presented their findings to peers through a presentation. Student reflections on this experience were analyzed qualitatively to identify key themes. Findings suggest that the project prompted many students to reconsider the role of civil engineers, especially in relation to how infrastructure decisions affect marginalized communities. Several students reported a shift in their perception of the field, moving beyond a technical view to one that incorporates social and ethical dimensions. Others expressed skepticism about the relevance of equity in engineering practice or questioned its fit within early coursework. Students also often saw transportation as a particularly natural context for discussing equity, which may indicate opportunities to more clearly connect equity considerations across other civil engineering subfields within the curriculum. This case study offers practical insight into how equity was integrated into a technical engineering course and highlights areas for improvement in future offerings. While findings are limited to a single course context, they may inform broader efforts to incorporate equity more meaningfully across the civil engineering curriculum.