While much is known about how Black students negotiate and navigate undergraduate studies, there is a dearth of research on what happens when these students enter graduate school. This article presents the results of a study of 21 Black male graduate students in engineering from one highly ranked research-intensive institution. This article provides evidence of structurally racialized policies within the engineering college (e.g., admissions) and racialized and gendered interactions with peers and advisors that threaten Black males’ persistence in engineering. We argue for taking an anti-deficit approach to understanding Black males’ persistence in engineering. We conclude with implications for policy, practice, and research that could further improve the scholarship and experiences of Black males in engineering graduate programs.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 2016440
- PAR ID:
- 10546356
- Publisher / Repository:
- Sage Journals
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- American Educational Research Journal
- Volume:
- 55
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0002-8312
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 965 to 1006
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Background While previous work in higher education documents the impact of high tuition costs of attending graduate school as a key motivator in attrition decisions, in engineering, most graduate students are fully funded on research fellowships, indicating there are different issues causing individuals to consider departure. There has been little work characterizing nonfinancial costs for students in engineering graduate programs and the impact these costs may have on persistence or attrition.
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Design/Method Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 42 engineering graduate students from R1 engineering doctoral programs across the United States who have considered, are currently considering, or have chosen to depart from their engineering PhD programs with a master's degree.
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