Religion and the Professional Development of Graduate Students in the Sciences

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This project studies whether religion presents a social and psychological barrier for scientists-in-training. Specifically, it examines the association between science graduate students' religious identities, beliefs, and behaviors and both their identification as a scientist and their confidence in their future as a scientist. The hypotheses are tested that any association between religion and these professional outcomes is explained by religious students' perceptions of negative stereotypes and stigma, social networks that are less closed around other scientists, and aspirations concerning family and work. Findings will increase understanding of the barriers preventing individuals from entering or remaining in science, which may be social and psychological. This will benefit efforts to increase the production and diversity of scientists. Two methods are employed to address the questions of the study. One is statistical analysis of responses to a survey, which will be administered to a random sample of graduate students from five academic disciplines and twelve departments for each discipline, stratified by discipline and departmental prestige. The five disciplines are physics, biology, chemistry, psychology, and sociology. Key questions concern respondents' religion and values and assess respondents' identity and confidence as a scientist, perceptions of stigma, and social ties. The other method consists of fifty semi-structured interviews to be conducted in five locations where interviewing in several disciplines is possible. Interview responses will add depth to findings from analysis of the survey and will facilitate the identification of effective policies and practices to remove barriers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.