Research studies at the UM have illustrated several issues women face when
pursuing a graduate degree in nontraditional fields such as engineering
and the sciences. Students have cited the following road blocks to their
success: dissatisfaction with mentoring, feeling ridiculed or humiliated,
and an inability to obtain the critical and necessary information.
The Graduate Experience Project will increase the University's research
knowledge base by collecting longitudinal data on a cohort of graduate students;
conducting a faculty survey of perceptions about women in science and engineering;
and organizing graduate student focus groups. This research will allow us
to identify issues specific to UM's programs and suggest points of leverage
in the retention of women graduate students within the Colleges of Engineering
and Literature, Science & the Arts. Additionally, the research will
help to shape our programmatic efforts and complement and add to our existing
knowledge of graduate women in science and engineering disciplines.
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