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To address complex problems in an increasingly globalized world, engineers must understand the ethical implications of their work on society. International service learning is one approach for engineers to gain this understanding. The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits of international service learning on engineering ethics, more specifically macro-ethics, which is defined as an understanding of their impact on society through engineering. The quantitative study measured senior engineering students' macroethics understanding from a national sample of students enrolled in capstone design courses (n=2095). Students who participated in international service learning (ISL) through capstone and volunteer/work experience possess a greater understanding of macro-ethics compared to students without these types of experiences. Gender is also a contributing factor. Female engineering students possess an understanding of macro-ethics regardless of their ISL experience. Male engineering students with ISL experience have a greater understanding of macro-ethics compared to male engineering students without ISL experience. Male engineering students make up nearly 80% of engineering programs. The integration of ISL into engineering education can help these students develop an understanding of macroethics. Another approach is to recruit more women into engineering who seem to possess an understanding of macro-ethics without participating in ISL experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Senior design and capstone courses are an integral part of any engineering curriculum around the world. These courses perhaps provide the only opportunity for students to apply the theoretical knowledge and technical skills they have acquired throughout the engineering degree. Moreover, they are often the (sole) environment in which students get some of the professional and transversal skills too. In addition, such courses present a great degree of nonuniformity since the students engage in projects of different nature (e.g., research oriented versus application oriented). Furthermore, not only do these courses prepare students for real-life engineering practice, they also serve as a major component in measuring program outcomes. The survey conducted over two decades ago by Todd et al. [item in the Appendix], which collected responses from 360 departments across 173 schools, highlighted many of the issues related with capstone courses that are still relevant today. Such issues include course format, different degrees of faculty involvement, and project completion requirements. Indeed, all points highlighted thus far emphasize the importance of adequately designing and assessing capstone design courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]