Math-oriented fields of study and the race gap in graduation likelihoods at elite colleges |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Sociology, 362 Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853-7601, USA;2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel;1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karpagam College of Engineering, Coimbatore 641032, India;2. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 620 015, India;2. Department of Sociology, George Washington University, Washington, DC;3. Division of Cardiology, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention, James. H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee;4. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee;5. Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Torrance, California;1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida;4. Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida;2. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia;3. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia;6. Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia;1. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia;3. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia;2. Department of Neurosurgery, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan;1. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis;2. Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham;3. Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Worcester;4. Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, NIH/NHLBI, Bethesda, MD;5. Department of Biostatistics, Florida International University, Miami;6. Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland;1. Department of Agriculture and Food, Bunbury, WA, Australia;2. The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA , Australia;3. Australian Centre for Biosecurity and Environmental Economics, Canberra, ACT, Australia;4. Theoretical Population Ecology and Evolution Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, SE-22362 Lund, Sweden;5. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Canberra, ACT, Australia;6. CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Dutton Park, QLD, Australia |
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| Abstract: | This study examines the relationship between chosen field of study and the race gap in college completion among students at elite colleges. Fields of study are characterized by varying institutional arrangements, which impact the academic performance of students in higher education. If the effect of fields on graduation likelihoods is unequal across racial groups, then this may account for part of the overall race gap in college completion. Results from a large sample of students attending elite colleges confirm that fields of study influence the graduation likelihoods of all students, above and beyond factors such as students’ academic and social backgrounds. This effect, however, is asymmetrical: relative to white students, the negative effect of the institutional arrangements of math-oriented fields on graduation likelihood is greater for black students. Therefore, the race gap is larger within math-oriented fields than in other fields, which contributes to the overall race gap in graduation likelihoods at these selective colleges. These results indicate that a nontrivial share of the race gap in college completion is generated after matriculation, by the environments that students encounter in college. Consequently, policy interventions that target field of study environments can substantially mitigate racial disparities in college graduation rates. |
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| Keywords: | Race gap College major Math-oriented fields Fields of study Elite colleges Graduation likelihoods |
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