Date of Award

1-1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Graham, Steven

Area of Concentration

Liberal Arts

Abstract

Despite a considerable amount of research, racial diversity in higher education in the United States remains a complicated social issue. Intersecting variables like being a first-generation student or a female student, in addition to the variable of being a student of color, complicate the issue further, calling for more research into the variable of race and ethnicity and how it may impact a student’s potential chances at success at the higher education level. In this thesis, a personal story of a first-generation student of color is provided to humanize the issue of diversity in higher education. Secondary data were then collected and analyzed from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to examine the racial composition of awardees (graduating students) in higher education for the academic year 2022–2023. Additionally, it examined the racial diversity of full-time instructional staff in higher education institutions to assess the representation of the student body compared to the faculty. Statistically, the differences between the racial groups in both the graduating awardees and the faculty were extremely significant, regardless of gender. These data are presented in this thesis in a descriptive statistic format, and the numbers call for immediate intervention to foster a more diverse higher education population both at the student and the faculty level.

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