Abstract
Research on minority students' experiences of racism while completing their doctoral education in psychology is scant. This study explored the subjective experiences and perceptions of racism among racial and ethnic minority individuals currently enrolled in psychology doctoral programs in the United States (U.S.), as well as those of program graduates. A total of 14 participants who self-identified as racial and ethnic minority group members were selected for the study. Participants were solicited for the study through snowball sampling and through the posting and distribution of informational flyers, as well as e-mails. All participants completed each of the following: (1) a qualifying screener for participation; (2) a demographic survey; and (3) an in-depth, standardized open-ended interview, facilitated by the researcher. Female participants (n=12, 85.7%) outnumbered the male participants (n=2, 14.3%). The largest number of participants identified as Black/African American (n=7, 50%). Four participants (28.6%) were Latina. The other three participants identified as Asian/Asian American (7.1%), Biracial (7.1%), and Other (7.1%). Through qualitative content analysis, themes emerged under the following seven categories: (1) general experiences of racism within everyday life, (2) experiences of racism within the education system, (3) general experiences within psychology doctoral programs, (4) aspects of psychology doctoral programs in which experiences of racism might possibly occur, (5) incidents of racism specific to psychology doctoral programs, (6) future and anticipated experiences within psychology doctoral programs, and (7) themes that transcend the categories of questioning. Findings indicated that racism does exist in psychology doctoral programs in the U.S., in several different forms. The results also suggest that incidents of racism in psychology doctoral programs may be related to participants' experiences of everyday racism and their prior experiences with racism in the education system, prior to entering their doctoral programs. A discussion was offered, outlining possible ways to combat racism in psychology doctoral programs, to increase student and faculty awareness of the problem, and to create more of a supportive environment for students when completing their psychology doctoral degree programs.