2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Incoming graduate students to the chemical engineering department at [redacted predominantly white institution] come from a variety of different educational and personal backgrounds. Although several studies have assessed how race, ethnicity, and gender can have a negative impact on students’ sense of belonging within STEM departments [1,2], educational background is understudied with regards to its impact on incoming graduate students' sense of confidence. Factors including different undergraduate majors, Carnegie classification of previous institution (i.e. R1, R2), time off between undergraduate and graduate degrees, or exposure to US institutions of higher education vs international institutions may come into play during the first quarter of graduate school, where the lack of familiarity, feelings of being “othered,” and feelings of being unprepared may lead to poor-performance in coursework and a negative impact on a student’s sense of belonging in the field and department. [1,3]
 
While a variety of interventions aimed at supporting transitions to undergraduate programs have been proven successful [4,5], fewer programs have been introduced for the graduate population. [6] Interventions for the graduate student population primarily target research skills, and succeed in increasing students’ confidence in conducting research, but neglect coursework preparedness. [7] Further, peer-led (i.e. taught and developed by fellow graduate students and/or postdoctoral students from within the department) interventions generally show a positive correlation with student performance and confidence in their coursework. [8,9] Supporting graduate students’ academic success during the PhD transition presents a relatively untapped opportunity to improve student confidence and sense of belonging.

In this work in progress study, we look at two cohorts of incoming chemical engineering graduate students and investigate how students’ educational background impacts their confidence and sense of belonging in graduate school. Additionally, we studied how peer-led mini courses before the start of the students’ first term can increase students’ sense of confidence and belonging. We collected data before and after the mini courses, and upon the students’ completion of their first term of coursework. Our results suggest that students’ educational background does not meaningfully impact their confidence when entering graduate school. After the peer-led mini course intervention, students’ sense of belonging in the department increases, although their confidence to complete their coursework decreases after the first term of coursework, regardless of educational background. Ultimately, we hope to use this work to design and improve interventions that ensure all students both have the tools to be successful in graduate school and have a sense of belonging in the department.

 (1) Stachl, C. N.; Baranger, A. M. Sense of Belonging within the Graduate Community of a Research-Focused STEM Department: Quantitative Assessment Using a Visual Narrative and Item Response Theory. PLOS ONE 2020, 15 (5), e0233431. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233431. 
(2) Clune, R.; Das, A.; Jasrasaria, D.; Rossomme, E.; Cohen, O.; Baranger, A. M. Development of a Week-Long Mathematics Intervention for Incoming Chemistry Graduate Students. J. Chem. Educ. 2023, 100 (9), 3291–3301. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00915. 
(3) Pascale, A. B. “Co-Existing Lives”: Understanding and Facilitating Graduate Student Sense of Belonging. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice 2018, 55 (4), 399–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2018.1474758. 
(4) Raines, J. M. FirstSTEP: A Preliminary Review of the Effects of a Summer Bridge Program on Pre-College STEM Majors. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research 2012, 13 (1). 
(5) Dockter, D.; Uvarov, C.; Guzman-Alvarez, A.; Molinaro, M. Improving Preparation and Persistence in Undergraduate STEM: Why an Online Summer Preparatory Chemistry Course Makes Sense. In Online Approaches to Chemical Education; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society, 2017; Vol. 1261, pp 7–33. https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2017-1261.ch002. 
(6) Hamers, R. J.; Bates, D. M.; Aguayo Barragan, K. J.; Gressel, D. G.; Schweitzer, B. S.; Villalona, J.; Barta, C. A.; Burstyn, J.; Greenberg, A. E.; Schwartz, M. P. Improving Climate and Outcomes for Underrepresented Chemistry Graduate Students at a Major Research University: A Case Study. J. Chem. Educ. 2022, 99 (1), 452–460. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00528. 
(7) O’Clair, K. Preparing Graduate Students for Graduate‐level Study and Research. Reference Services Review 2013, 41 (2), 336–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321311326255. 
(8) Batz, Z.; Olsen, B. J.; Dumont, J.; Dastoor, F.; Smith, M. K. Helping Struggling Students in Introductory Biology: A Peer-Tutoring Approach That Improves Performance, Perception, and Retention. LSE 2015, 14 (2), ar16. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.14-08-0120. 
(9) Howard, E. A. Board # 76 : Evaluating the Success of Peer-Led Student Interventions in a Freshman Year Experience Program; 2017.