Studying Successful Doctoral Students in Mathematics from Underrepresented Groups

爱荷华州州立大学（ISU）与教育发展中心（EDC）和北卡罗来纳州夏洛特大学的研究人员合作，将实施NSF EHR核心研究（ECR）项目，以研究成功的博士生和来自数学代表性不足群体的最近博士生的经验，观点和故事。该项目将开发面试工具，并对四个群体进行深入的半结构化面试：新录取的学生，早期研究生（资格预审），高级研究生（论文水平）和最近的博士（毕业后0-5年）。 访谈工具可能是有用的领域超出了这个项目，这四个队列的使用将增加到目前的文献。 本研究的问题是：数学博士生的成功经验是什么？博士生认为哪些正式和非正式的结构是有效的支持？这项研究将建立知识，为改变数学系文化和实践的决策提供信息，以更好地从代表性不足的群体中招聘，留住和毕业数学家。 该项目将导致100名研究生和应届毕业生的调查结果和12个复合反故事，说明学生的经验和支持系统，导致来自代表性不足的群体的学生的成功。 相反的故事和其他结果预计将打破目前关于谁能在研究生院取得成功以及如何取得成功的看法。 这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Iowa State University (ISU) in partnership with researchers at the Education Development Center (EDC) and the University of North Carolina Charlotte will implement an NSF EHR Core Research (ECR) project to study the experiences, perspectives, and stories of successful doctoral students and recent PhDs from underrepresented groups in mathematics. The project will develop interview instruments and conduct in-depth, semi-structured interviews with four cohorts: newly accepted students, early graduate students (pre-qualifying exams), advanced graduate students (dissertation level), and recent PhDs (0-5 years since graduation). The interview instruments could be useful to the field beyond this project and the use of these four cohorts will add to the current literature. The research questions in the study are: What are lived experiences of successful underrepresented students who are pursuing mathematics PhDs? and What formal and informal structures are perceived by doctoral students as effective supports? The research will build knowledge to inform decisions about changing mathematics department cultures and practices to better recruit, retain and graduate mathematicians from underrepresented groups. The project will result in survey results from 100 graduate students and recent graduates and twelve composite counterstories illustrating the student experiences and support systems that result in success for students from underrepresented groups. The counterstories and other results are expected to disrupt current perceptions about who can be successful in graduate school, and how. The project includes plans for strategic dissemination of the research results to stakeholders and practitioners.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.