STEMming Within a Double Minority: How the Impostor Syndrome Affects Black Women Ph.D. Students

Abstract

In this mixed methods research study, I used P. H. Collins’s (2000) Black feminist epistemology to examine how the impostor syndrome influenced the experiences of Black women students pursuing doctoral studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). To analyze the difference between the levels of the impostor syndrome reported by Black Ph.D. women students and the levels of the impostor syndrome reported by non-Black women Ph.D. students, participants (n = 216) completed the Clance Impostor Phenomenon scale in the quantitative phase. I conducted interviews with 10 Black women as well as a follow-up focus group interview (n = 5) in the qualitative phase. There was no statistically significant difference in the scores of the Black women Ph.D. students compared to other Ph.D. students. Constant comparative analysis of the qualitative data generated five themes used to integrate findings from the quantitative phase to explicate the intersectionality among race, gender, and the impostor syndrome in STEM fields.