Fueling Ambition: Graduate Degree Aspirations among Women of Color in STEM

Women of Color (WOC) remain underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduate education due to a wide range of entrenched structural, cultural, and institutional barriers. Drawing on Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework, this study examines how aspirational, social-navigational, and resistant capital shape WOC's STEM graduate aspirations. We apply multinomial logistic regression to a longitudinal data from 1353 senior WOC graduating with STEM bachelor's degrees to identify factors predicting their likelihood of pursuing a STEM or non-STEM graduate degree, relative to having no graduate aspirations. Results indicate that WOC who received frequent faculty mentorship and had high college involvement scores reported significantly greater likelihoods of pursuing a STEM graduate degree, while WOC who had a strong commitment to community leadership and advocacy for social change demonstrated a lower likelihood of pursuing a STEM graduate degree. The study highlights the need for inclusive mentorship and institutional policies that better support, recognize, and cultivate the diverse cultural wealth of WOC students as they navigate their paths through college and beyond.