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A multivariate Approach to Investigate the Factors Contributing to Minority Students Applying for Graduate School

Abstract

The goal of this research is to study what, if any, factors that may help minority students make his or her decision to apply to graduate school in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas. In the past four years, a longitudinal study has been conducted at North Carolina A & T State University to assess the effectiveness of the North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation project. Key information such as demographic information (e.g., gender, ethnicity), and academic information (e.g., high school GPA, SAT score) about the participants in the project was recorded. Over the years, student performance was tracked during their stay at the university and information about whether those participants went to graduate school was recorded. Given the complex nature of the problem, a multivariate statistical approach - multiway frequency analysis was used to investigate the association among the variables. Results indicated that there is a statistical significant relationship between the student’s intent to apply to graduate school and his/her research experience as well as his/her high school GPA. Findings from this research will provide lights on minority students’ decision to pursue advanced degrees and may help recruit minority students to apply to graduate school.

Introduction

The shortage of minority master and doctorate students is very challenging [1]-[4]. The North Carolina Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (NC-LSAMP), funded by the National Science Foundation, is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, undergraduate program designed to increase substantially the quantity and quality of students, especially African American, Hispanic, and Native American students, who successfully complete science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) baccalaureate degree programs, and increasing the number of students interested in, and academically qualified for and matriculating into programs of graduate study. The NCLSAMP project involves eight institutions (four minority schools and four majority schools) within the University of North Carolina system. Partner institutions include North Carolina A&T State University as lead campus, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Winston- Salem State University.

The primary objective of the NC-LSAMP project is to substantially increase the number of minority students graduating with B.S. degrees, and subsequently pursuing M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The Alliance is achieving this goal by systematically enhancing recruitment, retention, access, and opportunities to education, internships, and research in these fields. One of the efforts that the alliance is actively pursuing is involving students in research. There is an annual research conference sponsored by the Alliance that showcases faculty-mentored research projects completed by the students.

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Jiang, X., & Watson, J., & Williams, M. (2009, June), Using A Multivariate Approach To Investigate The Factors Contributing To Minority Students’ Applying To Graduate School Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--4550