Racialization

Abstract

The need to understand how Muslim students experience college is a growing concern, given the number of incidents that indicate a hostile environment after the events of September 11, and the subsequent war against terror. Muslim graduate students are more visible on campuses across the United States. This study examines the experiences of Muslim graduate students as they navigate their campus and make sense of how they perceive their campus climate. This study uses an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and uses Campus Racial Climate as a theoretical framework. IPA focuses on how a given person in a given context experiences and makes sense of a given phenomenon. Campus Racial Climate is used because it allows an extensive analysis of the findings. This study revealed that Muslim graduate students report positive experiences when they do not carry religious markers, however, if students are carrying religious markers, such as hijab for women or long beards for men, they report racial behavior on campus. In addition, the study revealed that Muslim graduate students interactions, support and perceptions shaped the way they perceive their campus climate.