Understanding the role of knowledge related to financial resources on decisions to attend graduate school

Kennedy, Marian S.; Lanier, Shelby K.; Ehlert, Katherine M.; High, Karen; Pegues, Kathryn K.; Sharp, Julia L.

doi:10.1109/fie.2016.7757509

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Before Seminar After Seminar Figure 4: Finances, academic performance anxiety, and a lack of information were all found as concerns for students, with the lack of information going down significantly after the seminar. These findings are similar to other work 11,16,17,18,19 . Figure 5: These answers were not exclusive, so numbers do not add to 100%.…”

Section: Seminar Implementationsupporting

confidence: 93%

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Graduate School Preparation within an Undergraduate Program (Work in Progress)

Carpenter

Derbinsky

Yang-Keathley

et al.

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Graduate school is becoming a necessity for long-term success in the STEM fields. Unfortunately, many students are ill-prepared for the graduate school application process or for the graduate school experience, particularly if their undergraduate institution has only undergraduate programs, as is precisely the case at Wentworth Institute of Technology. While students at Wentworth get a first-rate undergraduate education, as well as a minimum of two semesters working in a coop , student feedback often includes being under-prepared for graduate school. To fix this deficiency among the electrical and computer Engineering and computer science and networking majors, a consortium of faculty designed, executed, and evaluated a series of extra-curricular graduate school seminars to (a) gauge student interest in graduate school, (b) prepare students for the graduate school application process, and (c) inform students of their options for graduate degrees and programs. This work-in-progress shares data and lessons-learned from the first round of seminars: we describe their organization and proceedings, as well as the results of surveys given before and after the seminars. The seminars were organized to first introduce our undergraduates, consisting largely of first-generation college students focused on job preparation, to their options for graduate school: types of degrees (MS, PhD, MBA, etc.), sources of financing (grants, assistantships, employer-assistance, etc.), application process (CV, personal statement, recommendations), and what to expect as a graduate student (research, coursework). From the seminar surveys, preliminary data reveal that students show reluctance about finances and a general lack of information. After the seminar, students felt more comfortable, claiming they are now more interested in pursuing a graduate degree (mainly MS). In order to help colleges better prepare their students for graduate school, we present our seminar organization and survey results. The work also presents tips for inspiring students and insights into the student motivation and interest in graduate school.

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Section: Seminar Implementationsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Student motivations and hesitations have also been explored 11,16,17,18,19 . The results described here echo many of the same conclusions, including financial pressures and academic exhaustion, as well as seminars improving overall feelings towards graduate school.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Graduate School Preparation within an Undergraduate Program (Work in Progress)

Carpenter

Derbinsky

Yang-Keathley

et al.

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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“…Perception of personal "fit" influences students' decisions to accept graduate program offers (Kennedy et al, 2016), and interactions with faculty contribute to this perception of fit at a new institution. However, prior research has shown biased faculty engagement in the student recruitment process.…”

Section: Graduate Student Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

STEM PROGRAM LEADERS' STRATEGIES TO DIVERSIFY THE DOCTORAL STUDENT POPULATION: INCONGRUENCE WITH STUDENT PRIORITIES

Haines,

Bortz,

Fleming

et al. 2024

J Women Minor Scien Eng

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The purpose of this study was to uncover strategies commonly utilized by STEM doctoral program leaders to recruit students from historically marginalized backgrounds and to contrast these findings with the factors that program leaders and students say should and do drive decisions. To do so, we interviewed program leaders (n = 90), surveyed staff members (n = 63), and interviewed (n = 23) and surveyed (n = 431) doctoral students. We critically examined the doctoral enrollment strategies as well as program leadersэ stated values and priorities related to diversity through the theoretical underpinning of theories of action. In the competitive environment of doctoral STEM recruitment, program leaders were influenced by other institutions and relied predominantly on financial recruitment strategies (i.e., the theory-in-use). Program leaders felt finances were readily available to recruit minoritized students, especially racially minoritized students; however, since peer institutions seemed to rely on similar, but narrow, admissions criteria, program leaders felt they were competing with their peers for the same small pool of students. Although we also found evidence that program leaders employed other student-facing and system-facing recruitment strategies, they often failed to consider the myriad of factors considered by students from historically marginalized backgrounds in making their doctoral program choices (i.e., the espoused theories). This incongruence between theory-in-use and espoused theories may lead to the reproduction of inequities in STEM doctoral attainment.

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“…A key takeaway for students is the importance of finding a supportive advisor who will help them thrive during graduate school. Many students consider program reputation (Bersola et al, 2014), their funding offer, and "fit" in a department when considering where to attend graduate school (Kennedy et al, 2016). While these are valid considerations, we urge students to carefully consider the advisor they select, given this person's tremendous influence on many aspects of a student's career including whether or not they pursue a faculty position.…”

Section: Implications For Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Professorial intentions of engineering PhDs from historically excluded groups: The influence of graduate school experiences

Fleming,

Cobb,

Borrego

2024

J of Engineering Edu

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BackgroundIn addition to the benefits of a diverse faculty, many institutions are under pressure from students and administrators to increase the number of faculty from historically excluded backgrounds. Despite increases in the numbers of engineering PhD earners from these groups, the percentages of Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino tenure‐track faculty have not increased, and the percentage of women remains low.PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify how experiences in graduate school encourage or deter PhD earners from historically excluded groups in pursuing an engineering academic career.MethodWe conducted 20 semi‐structured interviews with engineering PhD students and recent graduates, with half of participants interested and half disinterested in pursuing an academic career after graduation.ResultsThree key factors emerged as strongly influential on participants' desire to pursue an academic career: their relationship with their advisor, their perception of their advisor's work–life balance, and their perception of the culture of academia. Participants extrapolated their experiences in graduate school to their imagined lives as faculty. The results illuminate the reasons why engineering PhD earners from historically underrepresented groups remain in or leave the academic career pathway after graduate school.ConclusionsThe findings of this study have important implications for how graduate students' and postdoc's relationships with their advisors as well as perceptions of their advisors' work–life balances and the culture of academia affect future faculty. We make recommendations on what students, faculty, and administrators can do to create a more inclusive environment to encourage students from historically excluded groups to consider academic careers.

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Understanding the role of knowledge related to financial resources on decisions to attend graduate school

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Graduate School Preparation within an Undergraduate Program (Work in Progress)

Graduate School Preparation within an Undergraduate Program (Work in Progress)

STEM PROGRAM LEADERS' STRATEGIES TO DIVERSIFY THE DOCTORAL STUDENT POPULATION: INCONGRUENCE WITH STUDENT PRIORITIES

Professorial intentions of engineering PhDs from historically excluded groups: The influence of graduate school experiences

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Understanding the role of knowledge related to financial resources on decisions to attend graduate school

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Graduate School Preparation within an Undergraduate Program (Work in Progress)

Graduate School Preparation within an Undergraduate Program (Work in Progress)

STEM PROGRAM LEADERS&apos; STRATEGIES TO DIVERSIFY THE DOCTORAL STUDENT POPULATION: INCONGRUENCE WITH STUDENT PRIORITIES

Professorial intentions of engineering PhDs from historically excluded groups: The influence of graduate school experiences

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Product

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STEM PROGRAM LEADERS' STRATEGIES TO DIVERSIFY THE DOCTORAL STUDENT POPULATION: INCONGRUENCE WITH STUDENT PRIORITIES