“Diversity and Its Discontents”: A Report on Graduate Student Experiences in PhD-Granting Institutions ASA Annual Meeting 2012 Denise A. Segura

Key Questions Are African American, Latina/o, and White students equally satisfied with their graduate programs? Do graduate students value racial-ethnic diversity differently and if so, how is this related to program satisfaction? Do racial-ethnic minority students report more discrimination than White students? Are there perceived differences in the ways that Minority and White students are mentored & professionalized?

Procedures Online Survey Administered Summer 2009 by UCSB Social Science Survey Research Center 22 doctoral programs in sociology 1473 students surveyed 685 respondents, response rate=44% MFP students = 33/73

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents White (n = 338) Latina/o (n = 82) African American (n = 86) Asian (n = 78) % Female % Male Mean age Average years in program % U.S. citizen % ≥ College grad – Mom % ≥ College grad – Dad % < High School – Mom % < High School – Dad

“Top 3 reasons students go to Grad School ” African AmericanLatinoWhite Contribute to the advancement of minorities in the US Grow intellectually Grow IntellectuallyContribute to my community Improve occupational mobility Contribute to the advancement of minorities in the US Make a contribution to the field

Program Satisfaction (1= very dissatisfied to 4 = very satisfied) * *p <.05

Importance of racial-ethnic diversity in enrollment decision (1= not at all important to 4=very important) * * *p <.001 *p <.01

Means (SD) associated with the Values of Diversity Variables (1=Not at all represented to 4 = very well represented) White (W) (n = 335) African American (AA) (n = 86) Latina/o (L) (n=81) P<.05 “Too few faculty of color” (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree) 3.0 (.9)3.5 (.9)3.5 (.8) W<AA, L Race representation in courses (range 2 to 8)↑ 6.0 (1.4)5.2 (1.4)5.6 (1.5) W<AA Race representation in faculty research 3.4 (.7)3.1 (.8)3.1 (.7) W<AA, L Race representation in student research 3.5 (.7)3.3 (.8)3.2 (.7) W<AA, L

How often have you experienced discrimination because of your race/ethnicity? * Finding: White students reported experiencing racial discrimination significantly less frequently than Latino & African Americans *p <.001

How often have you experienced discrimination because of your research interest? * Finding: Latino students reported experiencing discrimination more often compared to White students. *p <.01

“I feel that (1) White or (2) Racial-Ethnic-minority students are given advantages in this department that discriminate against other students.” (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree) * * *p <.001 *

Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Program Satisfaction from Peer Social Climate Variables White Students (n=311) Students of Color (n = 235) β Sigβ Respect among students Acceptance by peers Discrimination from peers 0 ns.03 ns Perceived White student advantage.01 ns Perceived Racial-Ethnic Minority advantage ns

How often do you receive guidance and mentoring from faculty regarding: opportunities to collaborate on research; (2) co-author; (3) obtain grants (4) apply for fellowships; (5) publish? * *p <.05

Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Program Satisfaction from Faculty Mentoring Variables White Students (n = 282) African American (n = 66) Latina/o (n = 74) βSig β β I.Frequency of Mentoring II. Advice regarding academic survival ns.20 ns III. Respect from Faculty ns.09 ns

Career Preparation and Expectations (% students) WhiteLatina/oAfrican American MFP¹ Have published article(s) Presented at a professional meeting Completely certain of finishing their PhD¹ 7967*8590 Expect to be employed at Research I university Perceive it will be “easy” to get the job they want *---- ¹Due to small size of MFP respondents, statistical tests for significance were not undertaken involving this group.

Key Findings Faculty & departmental diversity more important in the enrollment decisions of African Americans & Latinas/os compared to White students. African Americans feel it will be “less easy to get the job they want Graduate student satisfaction is significantly predicted by increased mentoring. Latinas/os tend to report lower levels of faculty mentorship and professional guidance than other groups. Perceived “other” race-ethnic group advantage is negatively associated with program satisfaction.

A Safe Space to Dialogue Needed “Graduate students are in a very precarious situation as they are not really able to express their concerns regarding the department. If changes need to be made whether structural, cultural or social - how do the students vocalize their concerns when power differentials are definitely at play. It appears that females and students of color are constantly walking on eggshells with regard to their present and future careers.” (#565)

Acknowledgements Funding provided by the American Sociological Association and UC Santa Barbara’s Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research. Survey administered by UC Santa Barbara’s Social Science Survey Research Center (SSRC) Special thanks to Dr. Laura Romo, UCSB Gevirtz Graduate School of Education for her leadership in data analysis and Dr. Roberta Spalter-Roth for her advice on survey construction and analysis. Co-PIs are Denise Segura, Scott Brooks, and Jean Shin. Full SREM Report at: eport_2011.pdf