It's Not Rocket Science: Lessons Learned from HBCUs and PWIs on the Recruitment and Retention of African American STEM Students

With institutional histories, culturally/socially inclusive practices, and academic access and support for African American science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students, HBCUs continue to play a pivotal role in supplying the market with African American STEM graduates, producing a higher percentage of the African Americans in STEM fields. The purpose of this study was to amplify the contextual challenges and deficit frameworks that may inhibit the recruitment and retention of African American STEM students. The findings of this study demonstrate the advantageous and counterproductive strategies in the recruitment and retention of African American STEM students at both HBCUs and predominantly White institutions (PWIs).