TY - GEN
T1 - System Factors Affecting Underrepresented Minorities in Doctoral Programs in Engineering
T2 - 2021 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE 2021
AU - Bouhrira, Neirouz
AU - Cruz, Juan M.
N1 - Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT This ongoing project is supported by the National Science Foundation Grant No.EEC-2029784. All information provided are considered of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation
Funding Information:
Studies showed that the completion rate of doctoral engineering programs for underrepresented minorities (URM) (African American, Latinos, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans) is low compared to their majority counterparts [2]. This trend is due to lack of understanding of what a PhD in engineering means which makes the process difficult for underrepresented minorities and can cause attrition from the program [3]. Thus, it is crucial to work on changing this situation to help underrepresented minority students’ access, succeed and persist in their programs by managing the broader environment of the doctorate early in the process. A project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) aims at developing the Rising Doctoral Institute (RDI) to develop early interventions that prepare students to be successful in doctoral degree programs and help level the playing field for URM students entering an engineering doctorate.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 IEEE.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Several studies have shown that underrepresented minorities (URM) (African Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Latinos) are more likely to drop out of engineering doctorate programs before graduation compared to international and majority students. In addition, transitioning into the doctoral programs without having a good understanding of what it entails can make the PhD experience difficult. To address this issue, a team of researchers from four US universities developed a project called 'the Rising Doctoral Institute (RDI)'. One of the research goals of this project is to better understand how factors in the academic system interact dynamically to influence (i.e., support or hinder) incoming URM students' access, success, persistence, and retention in engineering doctoral programs. To accomplish this goal, we will use a comprehensive analysis approach known as System Dynamic Model (SDM). This work-In-Progress article represents the starting point to develop this model and its overall goal is to conduct a systematic literature review to identify the factors in the academic system that impact URM students' experience in doctoral engineering programs. We followed a process suggested by Okoli and Schabram [1] which consists of four major steps. The first step is presenting the purpose of the literature review, protocol, and training. The second step consists of selecting the literature and practical screen. The next step is the quality appraisal and data extraction. Finally, the analysis of findings and writing the review. By identifying the factors and the relation between them, we could help ensure a more diverse and equitable STEM education. Although some external factors can affect students' access, success, persistence and retention in engineering PhD programs, this study is limited to exploring the factors and interactions within the academic system that can potentially impact the successful experience of underrepresented minorities in PhD programs in engineering such as Advisor-Advisee Relationship, Student's Experience, Academic Support and Faculty-Students Interaction.
AB - Several studies have shown that underrepresented minorities (URM) (African Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Latinos) are more likely to drop out of engineering doctorate programs before graduation compared to international and majority students. In addition, transitioning into the doctoral programs without having a good understanding of what it entails can make the PhD experience difficult. To address this issue, a team of researchers from four US universities developed a project called 'the Rising Doctoral Institute (RDI)'. One of the research goals of this project is to better understand how factors in the academic system interact dynamically to influence (i.e., support or hinder) incoming URM students' access, success, persistence, and retention in engineering doctoral programs. To accomplish this goal, we will use a comprehensive analysis approach known as System Dynamic Model (SDM). This work-In-Progress article represents the starting point to develop this model and its overall goal is to conduct a systematic literature review to identify the factors in the academic system that impact URM students' experience in doctoral engineering programs. We followed a process suggested by Okoli and Schabram [1] which consists of four major steps. The first step is presenting the purpose of the literature review, protocol, and training. The second step consists of selecting the literature and practical screen. The next step is the quality appraisal and data extraction. Finally, the analysis of findings and writing the review. By identifying the factors and the relation between them, we could help ensure a more diverse and equitable STEM education. Although some external factors can affect students' access, success, persistence and retention in engineering PhD programs, this study is limited to exploring the factors and interactions within the academic system that can potentially impact the successful experience of underrepresented minorities in PhD programs in engineering such as Advisor-Advisee Relationship, Student's Experience, Academic Support and Faculty-Students Interaction.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123845105&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1109/FIE49875.2021.9637208
DO - 10.1109/FIE49875.2021.9637208
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85123845105
T3 - Proceedings - Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE
BT - Proceedings - 2021 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, FIE 2021
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Y2 - 13 October 2021 through 16 October 2021
ER -