Abstract
Physics graduate students who are exposed to political demonstrations that threaten people of color describe that supportive action from their program makes a difference to their persistence.
Highlights
In the United States, from 2013 to 2017, less than 6% of doctoral degrees in physics were awarded to Latinx1 students, less than 3% to Black students, and less than 1% to Indigenous students—much lower than the representation of these groups in the U.S population [2]
0.0% 14.3% 10.0% 18.2% N=A 1.9% 10% 0.0% 2.7% 0.0% 44.4% 0.0% 3.5%. They were members of a racial or ethnic group defined as underrepresented by the American Physical Society: Black, Latinx, or Indigenous. When they were in their first year of their physics graduate program, they were the only APS Bridge Fellow that enrolled in that program
To help convey the environment for BIPOC students in each of these physics graduate programs, Table I shows the percentage of physics masters’ and doctoral degrees awarded to U.S citizens and permanent residents that are granted to Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students at each program
Summary
In the United States, from 2013 to 2017, less than 6% of doctoral degrees in physics were awarded to Latinx students, less than 3% to Black students, and less than 1% to Indigenous students—much lower than the representation of these groups in the U.S population [2]. Findings of this study include that (i) the APS Bridge students interviewed are mostly not the only member of their racial or ethnic group in their programs; (ii) students have diverse perceptions of who they consider to be part of their racial or ethnic group, such that their unique perspectives need to be taken into account by programs that wish to support them; and (iii) students report negative racial experiences in their programs, such as bias, expectations of service, family and financial difficulties, and political threats Overall, these findings present both challenges and opportunities for supporting BIPOC physics graduate students in ways that are meaningful to them
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