Unpacking the Borderlands of Underrepresented Minority Graduate Students in Chemistry

• In Event: STEM Academic Achievement Gaps

Abstract

The following qualitative study is the first phase of a greater endeavor to understand how a large, Public Midwestern chemistry graduate program professionally develops underrepresented minority graduate students. In this study, I will elucidate how the six professional development milestones of the chemistry graduate program act as an institution by drawing from Anzaldúa’s (1987) Borderlands theory and Porter and colleagues’ (2019) institutional critique methodology. The results showcase how rhetorical misalignment between policies and people create zones of ambiguity that contribute to exclusionary practices across race, class, and gender. The misalignment between the policies and people grants the institution power-over what graduate students have the power-to negotiate in terms of professional development. Overall, the study has implications for improving graduate pedagogy.

Author

• Jocelyn Elizabeth Nardo, Stanford University