The experiences of African American graduate students: a cultural transition

UnrestrictedHistorically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) have long been an intellectual resource for the African American community. HBCUs have provided and continue to provide an educational pathway for many Black students, particularly women who seek graduate and advanced degrees.; However, despite the overwhelmingly positive presence of HBCU in the African American community, the academic training of students who graduate from HBCUs may be perceived as insufficient by predominantly White graduate institutions (PWIs). As a result, African American students who are not well integrated into their respective departmental communities and cultures at PW/is are likely to leave graduate school. Thus the continuing loss of talented people, potential research, role models for society, and the next generation of African American students in the fields of math, engineering, and the sciences (STEM) create a segregated and limited university environment.; Studies in the field that attempt to provide insight in to experiences of underrepresented students are ultimately beneficial. However, often such studies do not address the process of adapting to the culture of a predominantly white institution (PWI), particularly within white and male dominated fields such as mathematics and the sciences. Research has also indicated that the first two years at a predominantly white graduate institution is the crucial transitional period for students of color, and it is this transitional moment in time that is the focus of this study. I consider how students make the transition from HBCU to majority institutions, and what impact this transition has on their persistence and commitment to their discipline. The limited amount of research that does address the experiences of minority doctoral students in math and science is usually coupled with the experiences of women. However, race and gender are not linear or additive. It cannot be assumed that the same factors that effect the under representation of women of color have are the same factors that effect the under representation of Euro-American Women and men of color. This study takes those distinctions into account.; The methodology of this study relies on extensive interview data (among other sources), to fully examine the transition process of six African-American women engaged in graduate work in mathematics or science at predominantly white institutions. I examine each participant's story as a case study, outlining moderating influences and perspectives on their acculturation to the STEM disciplines and to majority institutions