Below is a brief overview of my recent grant-funded projects. Click on the title of the project for additional information, including details about the study design, research team, and project findings.
Upward Transfer Degree Pathways in Computer Science at Public Comprehensive Universities (NSF ECR 2446240) This five-year project will explore the structures, policies, and practices that facilitate community college transfer student success in computer science at public comprehensive universities. Beginning in Fall 2024, our research team is collecting data from students, faculty, staff, and administrators across six participating universities to explore barriers to identify strategies to build more accessible transfer pathways.
PAST PROJECTS Community College Pathways to PhDs (NSF ECR 2439166) This study examined pathways from community colleges to computing Ph.D. programs with the larger goal of broadening participation the computing professoriate. Utilizing a sample of community college transfer students in computing majors across five research universities, we empirically tested the efficacy of an intervention to transfer orientation and academic advising developed to foster graduate school intentions. We also more broadly examined degree aspirations and other key outcomes among community college transfer students in computing.
Women’s STEM Transfer Pathways (NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship) This study explores the experiences and aspirations of women who transfer from community colleges to four-year universities in pursuit of a computer science bachelor’s degree. Using a mixed-methods design and feminist standpoint theory, I consider how women’s pathways intersect with larger structural barriers, relying on existing survey and interview data from upward transfer women, alongside new data from faculty, staff, and administrators across five participating research sites.
Gender Equity and Upward Transfer in Computing (Spencer Foundation 202000170) This project utilized existing survey data from the UCLA BRAID Research Project to explore the characteristics and experiences of upward transfer students in computing (i.e., those who transfer from 2- to 4-year colleges). As part of this study, I replicated recent studies of “best practices” to foster gender equity in computing to determine the extent to which recent research on gender and women in computing captures upward transfer student experiences. The larger overarching goal of this study was to explore the ways in which upward transfer can serve as a mechanism for advancing gender equity in computing and other STEM fields.