The Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network, in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), is studying a model aligned with the successful graduation of undergraduate STEM students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who go on to earn doctoral degrees. The primary objective of this research is to advance understanding about the characteristics of HBCUs that enable STEM undergraduate students to thrive and prepare them to subsequently pursue and obtain doctoral degrees. It is also important to understand which student subsets, such as those who are historically underrepresented minorities (URM), succeed in HBCUs at the highest rates. As the nation addresses a STEM achievement gap between URM and non-URM undergraduate and graduate students, the number of students who are URMs and receiving undergraduate and advanced degrees in STEM is, by all accounts, disproportionately low. This is also true of students who are educated at our nation’s HBCUs, with a select group of students that are successfully completing STEM undergraduate and doctoral degrees. In order to engage all U.S. citizens in our nation’s effort to advance STEM education and the scientific enterprise, we must also understand what variables are enhancing the pathways for student success. This research project is helping to advance knowledge about these key mechanisms for STEM degree production. The research will be conducted using data from the U.S.’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS); student survey; and student, faculty and administrator interviews.
