Women of Color in STEM: Navigating the Transfer Experience

As the entry point into higher education for over half of the bachelor’s degree earners, (Trapani & Hale, 2019), community colleges are positioned to have a positive impact of bringing a more diverse student group into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. However, the vertical transfer function from community colleges into a four-year university is often not clear resulting in a gap between those with transfer aspirations and bachelor degree attainment. There are unique barriers that women of color transfer students encounter that can threaten persistence in STEM. This study contributed to the few studies (Allen et al., 2022, Jackson, 2013, & Reyes, 2011) that have focused on the experiences of women of color in STEM and transfer. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological transfer student study was to understand how pre- and post-transfer women of color in STEM majors experience the transition into university from community college in North Carolina. This longitudinal study used interview data from 14 women who participated in a larger transfer study. Six of the women provided three interviews. Guided by the reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity (Abes et al., 2007), the role of social identities and the impact on educational decisions was explored. Five major themes were identified: (1) the internalization of community college stigma, (2) blindsided: post-transfer rigor, (3) the loss of personal connection post-transfer, (4) feeling behind and other perceived roadblocks for STEM transfer students, and (5) can’t do it alone: leaning on support networks for success. The findings from this study led to recommendations to the current articulation agreement structure in North Carolina, and recommendations for post-transfer institutions to better support women of color in STEM.