Chapter 5: Black Doctoral Students Intersections: Issues of Race, Class, and Gender

Black students are more likely to take longer to complete a doctoral degree than their White or Asian counterparts (Schmidt, 2008). In addition, they report different experiences during graduate school than White doctoral students. One way to explore these issues is through intersectionality and its application to the doctoral student socialization process. Studies show that intersectionality of social identities influence personal identities in numerous ways (Azmitia, Syed, & Radmacher, 2008; Magnusson, 2011; Salazar & Abrams, 2005; Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and contribute to the socialization processes that occur in the course of doctoral study (Ellis, 2001; Green, 2008; Felder, 2010; Williams Shealey, 2009).