Becoming a member of the research community in academe: Determinants of postbaccalaureate success for traditionally underrepresented students

In recent years American higher education has witnessed the development of an increasing number of research programs targeted at students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in graduate and professional education. While patterns of underrepresentation are evident in most academic disciplines, many of these research programs focus on fields of study where the greatest inequities are apparent; namely, science, math, engineering, and technology (SMET) fields. At the broadest level, these programs report a compelling measure of success evidenced by the number of student participants who matriculate in postbaccalaureate degree programs after experiencing these kinds of interventions. Student participants in research opportunity programs have been found to gain greater levels of educational attainment than students with similar backgrounds who have not been afforded these research-oriented experiences. However, scant empirical research exists to inform researchers and policymakers about the complexities of this success for the programs and the students who participate in them.;This research examined selected factors that have been shown to shape the "minority" talent pool for the nation's faculty in higher education. This was accomplished through an examination of data on student participants in the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP). These factors include family background, students' educational and occupational aspirations, and non-cognitive indicators that measure students' success attributions, social and political awareness, and postsecondary educational experiences. Multivariate analyses were used to examine effects among these factors and their relationship to educational aspiration and attainment.;The broad question that this study addressed is the following: Among students of color, what individual attributes, along with key educational experiences, contribute to their success in securing graduate degrees? More specifically, the research asked the following questions about Students of Color (SoC) who participate in research opportunity programs: (1) What are the characteristics of students who express a desire for advanced degrees and how do these characteristics contribute to their pre and post-graduate school academic aspirations? (2) What are the differences in educational aspirations for students who have undergraduate origins in minority serving institutions (MSIs) when compared to students from traditionally white institutions (TWIs) and to what degree do aspirations and attainment depend on undergraduate origins?...