Differences in STEM doctoral publication by ethnicity, gender and academic field at a large public research university

Abstract

Two independent surveys of PhD students in STEM fields at the University of California, Berkeley, indicate that underrepresented minorities (URMs) publish at significantly lower rates than non-URM males, placing the former at a significant disadvantage as they compete for postdoctoral and faculty positions. Differences as a function of gender reveal a similar, though less consistent, pattern. A conspicuous exception is Berkeley’s College of Chemistry, where publication rates are tightly clustered as a function of ethnicity and gender, and where PhD students experience a highly structured program that includes early and systematic involvement in research, as well as clear expectations for publishing. Social science research supports the hypothesis that this more structured environment hastens the successful induction of diverse groups into the high-performance STEM academic track.

Sense of belonging within the graduate community of a research-focused STEM department: Quantitative assessment using a visual narrative and item response theory

“…Moreover, the few existing studies concerning graduate student sense of belonging are limited in scope. They either focus solely on understanding singular aspects of academic membership-such as publication rate [47], program structure [30], or mentoring and professional networks [42]-or rely on small interviewee populations to gather more information about factors that affect sense of belonging [45,46]. In addition, only a small number of studies have suggested practical ways to combat the factors that contribute to low sense of belonging in graduate communities.…”

Questioning Assumptions

“…About a dozen years ago, Nettles and Millett (2006) reported that African-American graduate students publish significantly less than their peers. Similarly, a recent study found that URM students submitted fewer papers than whites and Asians ( Mendoza-Denton et al. , 2017 ).…”

The Academic Career Readiness Assessment: Clarifying training expectations for future life sciences faculty

“…Recent studies have found that to increase the proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) faculty, graduate and postdoctoral training programs should focus efforts on the transition from trainee to faculty ( 47 , 48 ) . To improve this transition, the life science education and research fields must begin to consider interventions that can address the career-development of future faculty: " we must broaden the focus of professionalization and rectify the imbalance between training for research and training for a career" (49,50) . In recent years, some interventions have been used to supplement the research faculty mentoring role, and multiple governmental funding mechanisms aimed at supporting the needs of trainees with diverse backgrounds and diverse career goals ( 51 -55 ) .…”