Professors' Influence in First-Generation Latinx College Students' Process of Applying to Doctoral Programs

• In Event: Latinx Students and Families Choosing College and Graduate School

Abstract

Latinx professors are important to Latinx college students’ socio-emotional and academic experiences, yet they make up only 4.43% of all professors. Increasing the number of Latinxs enrolling into doctoral programs is fundamental to increasing Latinx professor representation. Latinx students are overrepresented as first-generation college student, yet few studies have examined their experiences in their process of applying into doctoral programs. Given that professors often possess knowledge of the graduate admission process, this study examined the way 25 first-generation Latinx college students’ described professors’ influence in their process of applying into research-extensive doctoral programs. Three themes were developed from the analysis: 1) institutional support; 2) the importance of professor representation and; 3) disrupting or perpetuating the doctoral student prototype.

Author

• Maricela Banuelos, University of California - Irvine