This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) inquiry examined critical racialized incidents students of Color experienced in the graduate classroom at a predominantly White academic institution. Five African American, 4 Latinx, 4 Asian American, and 1 Biracial student participated in the study. Nine participants identified as women, and 5 as men. A total of 20 critical racialized incidents were reported and 6 dominant themes identified: (a) intersectionality and manifestation of power differentials; (b) personal devaluation, invalidation and/or shaming; (c) projection of racial stereotypes onto students of Color; (d) uncontested racist comments; (e) differences in communication styles and preferences; and (f) institutional devaluing of racial diversity. In contrast to previous research (Boysen, 2012;, an unexpected finding was that instructors, not students, were the most frequent perpetrators of racism in the classroom. Types of racism and magnitude of incidents were also considered. Implications for social justice education were discussed, with specific recommendations for instructors and academic institutions identified. Public Significance StatementUnderstanding how the common occurrence of racism affects students of Color in higher education classrooms is critical to creating learning environments that support and honor all students, allowing effective learning to occur. Implications and recommendations discussed should help educators and academic institutions support more inclusive learning environments.

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