A Qualitative Study of Support and Transition Experiences for Underrepresented Minority Students in the Rising Doctoral Institute
- Conference
- Location
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Portland, Oregon
- Publication Date
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June 23, 2024
- Start Date
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June 23, 2024
- End Date
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July 12, 2024
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/46480
Paper Authors
Ivet Parra-Gaete
Arizona State University
orcid.org/0000-0001-5165-3755
She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Evaluation from Arizona State University and a Master's in Higher and Postsecondary Education as a Fulbright Scholar. She is a postdoctoral associate focusing on underrepresented doctoral students in engineering and their success. She has also researched doctoral education and students in STEM in Chile.
Ivet is passionate about studying the experiences of international students, students of color, and women in higher and doctoral education to facilitate their success. Her research interests and methods align more closely with sociocultural and qualitative approaches to inquiry.
Before her graduate studies in the U.S., she directed a U.S. Department of State initiative in two research universities in Chile, spanning over nine years. She formed partnerships to create sustainable programs promoting mutual understanding of public interest in social and English learning across diverse groups.
Abimelec Mercado Rivera
Arizona State University
orcid.org/0000-0002-8899-7671
Abimelec Mercado Rivera is a Puerto Rican doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the Engineering Education Systems and Design program at Arizona State University. Abimelec received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez (UPRM) in 2016. After working in the aerospace industry, he returned to the UPRM for his MS in Mechanical Engineering in 2017, where he pursued ways to tailor ideation methods to interdisciplinary teams as part of his thesis work, and had the opportunity to teach undergraduate ME courses. His previous efforts and experiences in engineering education helped shape his overall goal of fostering human-centered education systems, which led him to pursue his PhD at ASU.
Mayra S Artiles
Arizona State University
orcid.org/0000-0001-7604-0410
Mayra S. Artiles is an assistant professor in engineering at the Polytechnic School of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Her research expertise includes doctoral engineering programs, the experiences of minoritized students in doctoral engineering programs, and doctoral advising relationships.
Stephanie G. Adams The University of Texas at Dallas
Dr. Stephanie G. Adams is the 5th Dean of the Eric Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas, Dallas and Past President of the American Society of Engineering Education. Previously Dr. Adams served as the Dean of the Fr
Juan M Cruz
Rowan University
orcid.org/0000-0001-7426-682X
Juan M. Cruz is an assistant professor in the Experiential Engineering Education Department at Rowan University. He has a B.S. in Electronic Engineering and a Masters in Education from Universidad Javeriana in Colombia and a PhD in Engineering Education from Virginia Tech. His research uses a systems perspective to understand the dynamics of the academic system and how it influences faculty motivation to change, undergraduate students’ motivation to learn, and retention and persistence of doctoral students (with special attention to underrepresented minority (URM) students).
Holly M Matusovich Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Dr. Holly Matusovich is the Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional Studies in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech and a Professor in the Department of Engineering Education where she has also served in key leadership positions. Dr. Matusovich is recognized for her research and leadership related to graduate student mentoring and faculty development. She won the Hokie Supervisor Spotlight Award in 2014, received the College of Engineering Graduate Student Mentor Award in 2018, and was inducted into the Virginia Tech Academy of Faculty Leadership in 2020. Dr. Matusovich has been a PI/Co-PI on 19 funded research projects including the NSF CAREER Award, with her share of funding being nearly $3 million. She has co-authored 2 book chapters, 34 journal publications, and more than 80 conference papers. She is recognized for her research and teaching, including Dean’s Awards for Outstanding New Faculty, Outstanding Teacher Award, and a Faculty Fellow. Dr. Matusovich has served the Educational Research and Methods (ERM) division of ASEE in many capacities over the past 10+ years including serving as Chair from 2017-2019. Dr. Matusovich is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Advances in Engineering Education and she serves on the ASEE committee for Scholarly Publications.
Gwen Lee-Thomas
Quality Measures
orcid.org/0000-0001-9063-2770
Dr. Gwen Lee-Thomas is the CEO of Quality Measures, LLC, a Virginia-based consulting firm specializing in program and project evaluation, accreditation preparation, and capacity building. With 20 years of experience in project evaluation and implementatio
Abstract
Reports on graduate education in the US have shown that underrepresented minority (URM) students (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans) are more likely to depart from the engineering Ph.D. than their majority counterparts. We developed the Rising Doctoral Institute (RDI) to address this issue. The RDI is an NSF-funded research-based intervention to support URM students' transition into engineering Ph.D. programs. One goal of the RDI is to support multiple institutions in adapting the RDI design to meet their institutions' needs and student populations. Five institutions across the US are implementing the RDI, intending to create a more diverse and inclusive community of engineering scholars. To assess how these institutions achieve these goals, the RDI team conducts multiple assessments. This paper explores emergent themes resulting from interviews with RDI participants.
As part of one of our efforts to address our research question— What impact did the RDI have on its participants across their first year of the engineering doctoral degree? — we conducted semi-structured, longitudinal, individual interviews with RDI participants for the academic year 2022-2023. We interviewed seven individuals hailing from the five RDI partner research-intensive universities.
We employ the Garcia et al. (2020) reconceptualized socialization model to contextualize our analysis of URM students' experiences in engineering doctoral programs. These model concepts will help frame student experiences in these institutions and build better-targeted support systems for diverse populations. For this study, this framework allowed us to elicit through interviews and explore through thematic analysis how RDI-supported students reflected on various aspects of their individual development and their perceptions about the value of the RDI workshop.
The students' responses were grouped into six thematic patterns: (1) well-being, (2) Ph.D. functioning, structure, process, (3) critical perspectives about the value of the workshop, (4) community and belonging, (5) identity awareness, and (6) quality of the workshop. These patterns showed that students found the RDI workshop helpful in understanding the significance of balancing their well-being and Ph.D. demands. Equally important for students was the opportunity the RDI gave them to comprehend the doctoral program's structure regarding operations, organization, and the processes involved until completion. Students also reflected on the importance of community building and contributing to increasing their awareness of identity issues related to gender, race, and ethnicity. Finally, students provided their critical perspectives on the content and format of the workshop, suggesting ways it could have a greater impact on their lives.
Based on our initial findings, we recommend future research should focus on advancing our understanding of how RDI affects three key areas: balancing the demands of pursuing a Ph.D. while maintaining wellness, facilitating a deeper understanding of the program's structure and processes, and building a sense of community and exploring identity for minoritized students in higher education in the US.
Parra-Gaete, I., & Mercado Rivera, A., & Artiles, M. S., & Adams, S. G., & Cruz, J. M., & Matusovich, H. M., & Lee-Thomas, G. (2024, June), A Qualitative Study of Support and Transition Experiences for Underrepresented Minority Students in the Rising Doctoral Institute Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/46480
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