Understanding Engineering Doctoral Preparation and Socialization through McNair Scholars Program Alumni

In this work in progress paper (WIP), we examine McNair alumni pursuing doctoral degrees in engineering disciplines to examine how the program prepared them to cope with the challenges of graduate education. Recent trends in engineering education show an increased effort to mitigate the rate of attrition in graduate programs. Previous work has identified several factors that correlate with student departure, including academic environment, interest, advisor-advisee relationship, self-efficacy, and Socialization. Furthermore, underrepresented groups in graduate education often contend with elevated or additional challenges to their preparation and Socialization because of their historically marginalized social identities. Various programs and initiatives, such as the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program (or McNair, for short), have sought to increase graduate enrollment among these populations. While programmatic data indicates the program increases graduate enrollment among underrepresented students, the literature lacks a complete understanding of how participation in the program as an undergraduate impacts an individual's daily lived experience as a doctoral student. Understanding how this program facilitates a higher rate of graduate persistence among its alumni will demonstrate how attrition can be mitigated proactively at the undergraduate level. This study proposes a qualitative investigation to see how McNair influences underrepresented students' perception of and relationship with their doctoral programs. A Qualtrics survey regarding graduate preparation and Socialization will be distributed to the directors of all active McNair programs in the U.S. In addition, the directors will forward our survey to their alumni currently enrolled in doctoral education. The data from the study will consist of semi-structured interviews collected from individuals who complete the survey and exhibit salient responses to the McNair program's influence on their graduate experiences. We will then analyze the interview transcripts through thematic analysis to identify common themes and narratives that connect each participant's experiences in the McNair program with their socialization experiences as doctoral students. The findings of this study will reveal how student preparation can facilitate their persistence when the transition to graduate education. Ultimately, these findings will show which support mechanisms and services are lacking from the typical graduate socialization process. This insight will allow all engineering departments to better facilitate the preparation of students before beginning graduate education. Furthermore, it will outline preventative measures to mitigate many of the everyday adverse situations graduate students encounter.