With Latinos projected to become the largest demographic group in the US, their representation in higher education is critical. Latinos represent a growing majority of undergraduate students, comprising a significant portion of the nation’s growth (Sáenz, 2020). However, their presence in graduate and professional schools remains limited, with only 8% enrollment (Cuellar & Gonzalez, 2021). Given this community’s economic constraints, pursuing and completing graduate education, particularly in lucrative and high-demand fields of national priority, such as engineering, presents a unique opportunity to achieve greater equity for this population.
Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), particularly those specializing in STEM and engineering, hold significant potential to support Latinos pursuing graduate education. HSIs are institutions that receive a federal designation based on their demographic and financial need, with their defining characteristic being their commitment to serving their respective populations. However, the operationalization of “servingness” can vary greatly depending on the institutional type and mission of the HSI, making it a complex concept to define (Garcia et al., 2019). Moreover, pursuing prestige, frequently a priority for graduate education and research institutions, may conflict with HSIs’ commitment to serving their populations (DeTurk & Briscoe, 2019). This conflict can lead to strategic and curricular decisions prioritizing prestige over servingness, potentially impeding HSIs’ ability to support Latino success in graduate education fully.
The combination of engineering graduate education and HSIs presents a fertile ground for innovative approaches that can enable HSIs to deliver on their promise of serving the Latino community. Yet, despite the recognized necessity of establishing Latino pathways to graduate education and the commitment of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) to fulfill this role, there is a dearth of research on the experiences of Latino students in HSI graduate programs. This study aims to address this gap in knowledge by investigating this intersection and exploring ways in which HSIs can enhance their effectiveness in promoting Latino success in engineering graduate programs.
This proposed study will explore how Engineering HSIs varying approaches to servingness impact Latino engineering students’ experiences in graduate school. I propose employing a multi-case study methodology to study the experiences of Latino engineering graduate students in five different types of engineering HSIs. The case study will comprise a longitudinal component following Latino engineering graduate students pursuing a graduate degree in HSIs documenting their experiences using video-ethnographic methods. I will collect both quantitative and qualitative sources relating to the institutions’ “servingness” as operationalized by Garcia, Núñez, and Sansone’s (2019) framework for defining servingness in HSIs. Combining these two data sources will enlighten and contextualize the experiences of Latino graduate students in engineering HSIs and how each institutions’ interpretation of servingness impacts their journey.
I am currently hiring a graduate research assistant for this project. Click here to contact Dr. Artiles.
This project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
