The Double-Edged Sword: Coping and Resiliency Strategies of African American Women Enrolled in Doctoral Programs at Predominately White Institutions

The pursuit of a doctoral degree can be extremely challenging, as evidenced in the average doctoral student attrition rate, which is anywhere from 40% to 50%. Of those who remain, African Americans earned only 6.1% of the doctorates awarded in the 2006-2007 academic school year, despite making up 13% of the population. While these statistics are discouraging, a more encouraging picture is oft en painted about black women, who earn approximately 65.6% of the doctoral degrees awarded to African Americans. Because African American women are earning more doctoral degrees than African American men, it is assumed that they are succeeding, and their experience at predominately white institutions (PWIS) is oft en ignored. In spite of research that has identified the negative effects of isolation, exclusion, and marginality, African American graduate students at PWIS continue to report experiences shaped by these obstacles. With African American women being the most dissatisfied and isolated students on PWI campuses, these negative effects are even more concerning for them.