AGEP-BPR: An Exploratory Examination of STEM Graduate Programs between the United States and England: Comparative Designs and Patterns for Select Minorities

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Pennsylvania State University will implement an AGEP Broadening Participation Research in STEM Education project entitled "An Exploratory Examination of STEM Graduate Programs between the United States and England: Comparative Designs and Patterns for Select Minorities". Researchers will conduct a three-year mixed methods exploratory comparative study of the participation of minority students in STEM disciplines in the United States (U.S.) and England in order to comprehend salient factors contributing to successful entrance, matriculation, and completion of STEM graduate degrees. The research objectives are to (1) document the enrollment, matriculation and graduation rates of graduate STEM programs in select U.S. and English universities; (2) identify and compare factors impacting the participation in graduate STEM education of African American and Hispanic students in the U.S. to those affecting African English, Caribbean English, and Pakistani English students in England; (3) analyze how written and voiced university policies in the two nations may affect the entrance and degree completions of diverse populations in STEM fields; (40) examine the interaction of policies with various dimensions of student diversity, such as class, gender, and race; (5) articulate the potential opportunities for urban/metropolitan universities in both countries to more effectively recruit, retain, educate, and graduate future minority STEM professionals; and (6) present a critical examination of cross-national lessons regarding ?minority students? that can be gleaned by comparative analyses. The study is undergirded by three conceptual frameworks that will provide the basis for country-specific and cross-national lessons beneficial to U.S. and English universities. Ultimately, the project will elucidate models that U.S. urban doctoral universities might undertake to promote policy and programmatic options for underrepresented groups in STEM fields.