Under represented?: Women and Minorities in Graduate School
by Emily Mraz
Academic Adviser, Society and Culture Student Community
Are you thinking about applying for a graduate degree? Perhaps you're currently enrolled in a graduate-level class or two. Look around in your graduate classes: Is there a strong presence of women? How about African American, or Hispanic students? According to studies outlined in the article, "Understanding the Decision to Enroll in Graduate School: Sex and Racial/Ethnic Group Differences", by Laura W. Perna, the percentage of women and minorities in graduate school does not correlate with the corresponding ratios in undergraduate schools. This could possibly be explained by some various factors, including the major discipline of the Bachelor's degree, access to financial and academic resources and the way in which a student weighs the costs and benefits of pursuing an advanced degree.
Measures of social and cultural factors also may play a role, according to Perna, including whether English was the primary language spoken at home, the value placed on advanced education versus the benefits offered by immediate employment, the level of education attained by the parents of the student and whether the student is responsible for any dependents of their own.
This research may be of particular interest to Society and Culture's Women's Studies, Chicano Studies, and American Studies students. When explanatory factors are taken into consideration, some surprising outcomes arise. For example, once certain contributing variables are allowed for, African American women have a higher rate of professional degree completion than their white counterparts. Read more about the studies.
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