Abstract
While researchers have begun to examine the experiences of working class students in undergraduate education more closely, we know less about the experiences of working class students in graduate school. Through a nationwide survey of graduate students enrolled in Ph.D. programs in Sociology, we examined the extent to which working class students face greater challenges or barriers in completing their degrees compared to their middle class peers. We found working class students to be comparatively disadvantaged in academic integration and financial support. We discuss the implications of these findings for improving the graduate school experiences of working class students.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (2005). The identity career of the graduate student: Professional socialization to academic sociology. The American Sociologist, 36(2), 11–27.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Collins, R. (1971). Functional and conflict theories of educational stratification. American Sociological Review, 36(6), 1002–1019.
Dews, C. L. B., & Law, C. L. (Eds.). (1995). This fine place so far from home. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Ferrales, G., & Fine, G. A. (2005). Sociology as a vocation: Reputations and group cultures in graduate school. The American Sociologist, 36(2), 57–75.
Grimes, M. D., & Morris, J. M. (1997). Caught in the middle: Contradictions in the lives of sociologists from working class backgrounds. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Hahs-Vaughn, D. (2004). The impact of parents’ education level on college students: An analysis using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study 1990–92/94. Journal of College Student Development, 45(5), 483–500.
hooks, B. (2000). Where we stand: Class matters. New York, NY: Routledge.
Hout, M. (2008). How class works: Objective and subjective aspects of class since the 1970s. In A. Lareau & D. Conley (Eds.), Social class: How does it work (pp. 25–64). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Kadi, J. (1996). Thinking class: Sketches from a cultural worker. Boston, MA: South End Press.
Lareau, A. (2003). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Lohfink, M. M., & Paulsen, M. B. (2005). Comparing the determinants of persistence for first-generation and continuing-generation students. Journal of College Student Development, 46(4), 409–428.
Muzzati, S. L., & Samarco, C. V. (2005). Reflections from the wrong side of the tracks. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Pascarella, E. T., Pierson, C. T., Wolniak, G. C., & Terenzini, P. T. (2004). First-generation college students: Additional evidence on college experiences and outcomes. The Journal of Higher Education, 75(3), 249–284.
Ryan, J., & Sackrey, C. (1984). Strangers in paradise: Academics from the working class. Boston, MA: South End Press.
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Tokarczyk, M. M., & Fay, E. A. (1993). Working class women in the academy. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Willis, P. (1977). Learning to labor: How working class kids get working class jobs. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to thank Joelle Sklaar for excellent research assistance, Andrew Cencini for helpful comments on previous drafts, the anonymous reviewers of this manuscript, and all of the graduate students who shared their stories, making this work possible.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Warnock, D.M., Appel, S. Learning the Unwritten Rules: Working Class Students in Graduate School. Innov High Educ 37, 307–321 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-011-9204-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-011-9204-x