Latinx Community College Students: Navigating Pathways to the Doctorate

16 UPDATE - FALL 2020

By Marielisbet Perez &
Dr. José Del Real Viramontes

Latinx Community College Students:

Navigating Pathways to the Doctorate

B etween 1999 and 2000, Hispanicsi became the more than doubled from 72,300 in 2003-2004 to 167,100 in 2013-
second largest racial/ethnic population group in the 2014 representing a 131% increase (U.S. Department of Education,
United States with the majority of this population 2017). In 2013, Latinx were reported to be the second highest
from Mexican origin (Aud et al., 2010). Within the group enrolled in the community college sector at 20 percent with
Latino population, Ramirez and Del La Cruz (2003) identified California and Texas serving the highest numbers of these students
“two-thirds (66.9%) were of Mexican origin, 14.3% were Central (Santiago et al., 2015).
and South American, 8.6% were Puerto Rican, 3.7% were Cuban, When broken down by ethnicity, Hispanics represent the lowest
and the remaining 6.5% were of other Hispanic origins” (p. 2). As numbers among those attaining doctorate degrees in the United States
this population has grown, the college enrollment rate of Latinx (National Science Foundation, 2018). For example, one-quarter of
from high school to college increased from 54% to 70% since 2004 Chicana/o students in doctoral programs start their educational
outpacing white and African American students (Santiago et al., trajectory at the community college.(Santiago et al., 2015; Solórzano
2015). et al., 2005). In 2013, 3% of Latinx attained master’s degrees and
Understanding the disconnects that contribute to the opportunity 0.5% completed doctoral degrees (Santiago et al., 2015). Therefore,
gaps for Latinx students needs to be explored further from different Latinx faculty in higher education are significantly underrepresented
points of view. There are a variety of factors that shape and at “just 4% of faculty (instruction and research), compared to Whites
challenge Latinx students’ aspirations and educational attainment (74%), African American (7%), and Asian (6%)” (Santiago et al.,
with institutional type being important. For many Latinx college 2015, p.16). Hence, Latinx students are less likely to see themselves
students, their postsecondary access and success is contextual with represented in the faculty and subsequently the number of professors
many attending Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) (Garcia & that reflect them in their classes is lacking.
Dwyer, 2018; Crisp, Núñez, & Carales, 2016) as well as two-year Community College Outcomes for Latinx Students
community colleges. However, while research on HSIs centers full- Considering the population growth of Latinx in the United States
time students at four-year HSI campuses, the critical mass of Latinx and their increasing enrollment in higher education, there is a need
students attend two-year HSIs (Núñez, Crisp, & Elizondo, 2015). to acknowledge community colleges as the primary educational
As there are well over 400 Hispanic-serving community colleges sector that provides Latinx students an opportunity to attain higher
(HSCCs) their role in Latinx student transfer, mobility, and education. Given the significant numbers of Chicana/o PhDs that
educational attainment relative to associate’s degrees and beyond start their educational trajectory at the community college,
are largely overlooked (Zamani-Gallaher, Yeo, Velez, Fox, & Samet,
2019). The number of associate degrees awarded to Latinx students

UPDATE - FALL 2020 17

further exploration of the role of the community college in advancing identified as critical for students who are successful at their sending
doctoral degree attainment is warranted. and receiving institutions, and by their families (Castro & Cortez,
There are four main factors that influence Latinx students in 2016; Cortez & Castro, 2017; Dowd et al., 2013; Jain, Bernal, &
choosing the community college as a pathway into higher education Herrera, 2020). As such, wrap around support services, sense of
including insufficient guidance from high school personnel, financial belonging and connectedness to familial ties, to campus resources
concerns, family, and seeing the community college as a good place such as mentoring, involvement in campus activities and community
to begin their college education (Vega, 2017). Additionally, Latinx engagement are found to contribute to Latinx student success (Sáenz,
students experience four main barriers of part-time enrollment, Segovia, Viramontes, Lopez, & Rodriguez, 2020).
financial challenges, academic obstacles, and limited access to
information and resources that would prepare them to transfer that Although research on the post-transfer outcomes for Latinx
can interrupt, delay, or prevent them from transferring to a four- community college transfer students is limited, literature
year college or university (Acevedo-Gil, 2018). Those Latinx who documenting their experiences in STEM majors describe facing
successfully navigate the community college to four-year university challenges with academic and social integration into these fields
transfer pathway describe accomplishing this through the support (Valenzuela, 2006; Hagler, 2015). Latinx community college transfer
of institutional agents at both two-and four-year institutions students enrolled at a highly selective private four-year institution
(Bensimon & Dowd, 2009; Doran & Hengesteg, 2020; Tovar, 2015; often experience “transfer shock” (Cobian, 2008; Rivera, 2007).
Cortez & Castro, 2017). Support has also been identified through Further, Rivas (2012) highlighted transfer navigational tools used by
participating in student support programs, family, and people who Chicana transfer students while they were at the four-year institution
are part of their social network (Castro & Cortez, 2016; Jabbar et al., and as they applied to graduate school.
2019; Vega, 2017).
Latinx Community College Transfer Students and Transfer- Promising Practices: Ph.D. Access and Completion Among
Receptive Cultures Latinx
Research has noted the necessity of expanding our understanding
of Latinx academic and social integration in an effort to understand When it comes to the success of racial/ethnic groups in higher
and build students’ navigational capital (Andrade 2018; Castro education and within doctoral studies in the United States, as
& Cortez, 2016; Doran & Hengesteg, 2020). These studies find previously stated Latinx born citizens are the most underrepresented
that Latinx community college transfer students are marginalized population attaining doctoral degrees (Aud et al., 2010; Santiago
as a result of their racial/ethnic identity, age, class, and perceived et al., 2015; Solórzano et al., 2005). Even though there has been
abilities (Castro & Cortez, 2016) and developed spatial awareness a small increase in the number of Latinx students completing
of comfort spaces where they selectively engaged in moments of graduate degrees, these numbers remain low when considering this
socio-academic, nonsocial, and nonacademic integration (Andrade, population’s growth in the United States over the last four decades.
2018). The support of institutional agents and their families was Several institutions and organizations have created programs to
specifically advance equitable representation at the doctoral level.

Community College to Ph.D. (CC2PhD) Association at the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

When broken The Community College to Ph.D. (CC2PhD)
Association at UCLA is a registered campus organization
down by ethnicity, whose mission addresses the underrepresentation
Hispanics represent of community college alumni in Ph.D. programs.
the lowest numbers Students in the CC2PhD participate in twice-a-month
among those attaining video conference meetings with a CC2PhD Graduate
doctorate degrees in Student Mentor, monthly meetings with a CC2PhD
Community College Faculty Advisor, monthly
the United States discussion sessions with a CC2PhD Peer Advisor, and
monthly Saturday Academies at UCLA. As part of the

program, participants engage in and complete five
major activities including: 1) complete a qualitative
interview research project, 2) apply for summer

undergraduate research programs, 3) develop an
upper-division research proposal that will be used to
apply for undergraduate research programs and research
grants at their future four-year college, 4) present their
interview research project and their upper-division
research proposal, and 5) develop a Ph.D. preparation
plan for their upcoming junior and senior year. The
long-term goal of the CC2PhD program is for CC2PhD
Scholar alumni to become more competitive Ph.D.
applicants (Community College to PhD Association at
UCLA, n.d.).

18 UPDATE - FALL 2020

Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) Program Future Directions

Another promising program at the university level that supports This article provides insights into what community colleges offer “
Latinx students pursuit of a Ph.D. is the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Latinx students as both a transfer pathway to attaining their
Fellowship (MMUF) program, part of the Andrew W. Mellon undergraduate degrees and motivating Latinx students to pursue
Foundation initiatives to increase the diversity of faculty in higher graduate education. The research and practice presented reflects the
education institutions. The fellowship provides participants with contributions the community college, especially minority serving
many forms of support including regular, structured programming; community colleges in expanding access, equitable experiences, and
faculty mentoring; term-time stipends for research activities; support improved outcomes as MSCCs , particularly HSCCs can be an asset
for summer research; and repayment of undergraduate loans up to the educational and professional trajectory for Latinx students
to $10,000 provided that fellows pursue doctoral study in eligible (Baber, Zamani-Gallaher, Stevenson, & Porter, 2019; Fox, Thrill,
fields (The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2019).This initiative & Zamani-Gallaher, 2017; Zamani-Gallaher et al., 2019). Little
also includes post-collegiate programming that complements and research has explored community college student pathways to the
sustains the undergraduate initiative and supports fellows as they doctorate (Zamani-Gallaher, Turner, Brown-Tess, & Thrill, 2017).
enter and complete graduate school. Through grants to the Social Our research endeavors to further understand how Latinx students
Science Research Council (SSRC) and the Woodrow Wilson in particular benefit from community colleges and may strategically
National Fellowship Foundation, two nonprofit organizations with use the community college as a way to navigate and negotiate their
proven track records in training graduate students and academics, educational goals and career trajectories from the associates degree
the Mellon Foundation provides PhD-bound MMUF fellows with to the PhD. Additionally, community colleges have had a significant
a targeted array of graduate initiatives. These include conferences, impact on postbaccalaureate degree attainment across student
writing seminars, and grants designed to support fellows at critical populations given in the past decade 46% of students who completed
junctures in graduate school. MMUF’s support continues into a bachelor’s degree enrolled at a community college (Shapiro, et al.,
fellows’ postdoctoral careers with the SSRC’s Ph.D. Retreat and 2018). As more students and namely Latinx students rely on the
Woodrow Wilson’s Junior Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship community college as a pathway into higher education, it is overdue
program (The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2019). to have additional attention paid to how the two-year college sector
McNair Scholars Program can be pivotal for not just postsecondary education entry but
completion of the highest postsecondary credentials – the PhD.

The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program
(McNair Scholars Program) is a TRIO federally funded program
by the U.S. Department of Education (2007) that prepares first-
generation, low-income, and/or underrepresented students in Ph.D.
programs across the country in all fields of study. One of their
intended initiatives is to diversify faculty in colleges and universities
nationwide. The McNair Scholars Program at the University of
Central Florida reported that 100% of their Latinx scholars complete
their bachelor’s degrees and have higher opportunities to attend
graduate school (Excelencia in Education, 2019).

Professional Associations

The American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, Inc.
(AAHHE) is committed to supporting Latinx in completing their
Ph.D. degrees and seeking faculty, administration, and policymaker
positions in higher education. The association created a Latino/a
Graduate Fellows Program that provides doctoral students an
opportunity to attend the national conference where they meet and
network with Latinx professors and administrators to receive guidance
that helps them navigate the complexities of higher education
(American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, 2019).
Within the community college sector, The National Community
College Hispanic Council is a professional organization that prepares
and supports Latinx leaders. Professionals involved in this council
receive resources and opportunities to network with others in the
field of education (National Community College Hispanic Council,
2019).

Marielisbet Perez can be reached at [email protected]
Dr. José Del Real Viramontes can be reached at [email protected]

UPDATE - FALL 2020 19

“Those Latinx who
successfully navigate
the community
college to four-year
university transfer
pathway describe
accomplishing this
through the support
of institutional
agents at both
two- and four-year
institutions.

20 UPDATE - FALL 2020

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