Studying Successful Doctoral Students in Mathematics from Underrepresented Groups

爱荷华州立大学(ISU)将与教育发展中心(EDC)和北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校的研究人员合作，实施一项NSF EHR核心研究(ECR)项目，研究数学领域未被充分代表的群体中成功的博士生和新近获得博士学位的学生的经验、观点和故事。该项目将开发面试工具，并对四个队列进行深入的、半结构化的面试：新录取的学生、早期研究生(资格考试前)、高级研究生(论文水平)和新近获得博士学位(毕业后0-5年)。访谈工具可能对这个项目以外的领域有用，这四个队列的使用将增加目前的文献。这项研究中的研究问题是：正在攻读数学博士学位的成功的未被代表的学生的生活经历是什么？博士生认为哪些正式的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做法的决策提供信息，以更好地从代表性不足的群体中招聘、留住和毕业数学家。该项目将产生来自100名研究生和新近毕业的学生的调查结果，以及12个综合反故事，说明学生的经历和支助系统导致来自代表性不足群体的学生取得成功。这些反面故事和其他结果预计将颠覆人们目前对谁可以在研究生院取得成功以及如何取得成功的看法。该项目包括将研究成果战略性传播给利益相关者和实践者的计划。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.