Numerous studies have shown that the lack of racial diversity within academic spaces impacts the sense of belonging and inclusion by members who are racial minorities. This glaring fact impacts not only how undergraduate students calculate their ability to obtain a doctoral degree in political science but also their perceptions of the feasibility of a future career as a political science professor. Our experiences at Jackson State University (JSU) highlight a model that presents a stark difference to the traditional trajectory. The political science department at JSU provided us with the privilege to engage with many political science faculty members of color who served as mentors and trained us to conduct independent research. Working with these faculty members as undergraduates shifted our perspectives on the discipline, our ability to navigate a doctoral program, and our decisions to pursue a career in academia. We contend that the political science department at JSU can serve as a model to assist in building the pipeline to increase racial diversity in the discipline. This article discusses three important elements of JSU’s undergraduate political science program that have been key in its efforts to build and sustain the political science pipeline: early exposure to research, mentorship, and resources.
Early Exposure
Early exposure to research and political scientists of color is crucial for engaging students of color in political science research because of undergraduates’ information scarcity about it and the possibility of pursuing doctoral degrees. For many political science undergraduates, attending law school and becoming a lawyer is the primary reason for pursuing a degree in political science. Given how glamorized the occupation is, our motivation upon entering our university was no different. Before starting college, many undergraduates are unaware of what social science research is or what a profession as a political scientist entails. Common skills and interests that many political science undergraduates share—regardless of career choice—are the ability to ask questions, seek answers, and offer opinions about societal issues. Thus, one successful strategy to increase undergraduates’ interest in pursuing a political science career is first to help them understand how these skills and interests can be applied to political science research and a career as a professor of political science. Under the guidance and advisement of JSU political science professors, we gained an early understanding of how our motivation for pursuing a law degree could also be achieved and even enhanced by learning to conduct social science research and pursuing a career in political science.
To build and sustain students’ interests in political science during their undergraduate years, it is essential that they be exposed to political science research as early and as often as possible. For example, each of us conducted research with and was mentored by JSU professor of political science, Byron D’Andra Orey. We enrolled in Professor Orey’s American politics introduction course as freshmen, unaware that the course would introduce us to new academic possibilities. Professor Orey and other JSU faculty expose students in their courses to research from the discipline’s cannon. However, they also incorporate research in class discussions that is provocative and relevant to current political events, with much of the research authored by black political scientists. In class discussions and assignments, Professor Orey allows students to engage in dialogues about research, but he also trains them during these discussions by emphasizing the need to have scientific evidence to support their opinions. The students who find the exercises to be enjoyable also are motivated to voluntarily join Orey’s research lab. As undergraduates, we were a part of his research lab and worked on multiple projects with him. For example, one project experimentally investigated how media exposure to racially traumatic stressful events (i.e., police shootings of unarmed black men) impacts black voters’ political participation, racial attitudes, and public and private regard. We found conducting research to be particularly interesting because Orey made us aware that we could contribute new knowledge to society and engage existing political claims. We also found value in the possibility that we could use research as a tool to elucidate and mitigate issues facing communities of color.
Mentorship
Mentorship is also critical for sustaining students’ engagement and interest in research and for obtaining a political science doctoral degree. Many students of color may have competing family, financial, and personal obligations, which could impact their ability to continue to build their research experiences and apply to graduate school. Faculty at JSU ensure that they are available to meet regularly with students to stay updated on their academic progress and offer advice on how to navigate any personal challenges that they may encounter. They also provide undergraduate students with information about research conferences and connect them with political science faculty to establish their mentorship relationships, build professional networks, and acclimate to the profession. For example, JSU undergraduates routinely attend the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), where they present their research and cultivate community with other political science professors and students. Attending NCOBPS contributed to our sense of belonging in the discipline and further motivated our decisions to pursue a doctoral degree in political science instead of other social science and humanities disciplines.
For example, JSU undergraduates routinely attend the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), where they present their research and cultivate community with other political science professors and students.
Resources
While attempting to recruit undergraduate students of color, political science graduate programs must also compete with other more familiar and easily accessible career fields (e.g., nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies). These career choices usually offer better short-term financial benefits compared to the often-meager graduate student stipends offered by most doctoral programs. Thus, students should be made aware of the long-term financial, career, and personal benefits available by pursuing a career in political science. In regard to short-term resources, students should learn about paid research assistantships at their home institutions and summer research programs at other universities. At JSU, students are paid stipends to work as research assistants. These opportunities are made possible through grants received from organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF). In addition to JSU assistantships, students have been successful in obtaining fully funded research opportunities at other institutions during their summer breaks. In fact, in the past five years, more than 12 JSU political science undergraduates have secured research fellowships with programs and institutions including Howard University, Princeton University, Purdue University, Harvard University, University of California, Irvine, University of California, Berkley, Michigan State University, Ralph Bunche Institute, Leadership Alliance, and McNair Scholars Program. Upon completion of these programs, students are given the opportunity to apply their research by presenting at various conferences, such as JSU’s Center for Undergraduate Research conference and the Pi Sigma Alpha annual undergraduate conference. These opportunities are important for continuing to cultivate students’ research interests and training, which prepares them for graduate school. Securing these competitive fellowships also demonstrates to students that they have the potential to pursue a doctoral degree and an academic career conducting independent research on topics that interest them. These summer programs also provide students with information regarding the graduate school application process, the elements and requirements of doctoral programs, and insight on tenure-track academic careers. More importantly, many of these programs provide students with graduate school application-fee waivers to offset the financial burden that impacts how many and to which doctoral programs students are likely to apply. Given the important resources and information that students typically acquire during participation in summer fellowships, JSU students become better prepared to apply to doctoral programs, receive admission, and successfully complete the program.
Conclusion
Our experiences, along with those of many other JSU political science alumni who have obtained political science doctoral degrees or are currently enrolled in a political science doctoral program, highlight the transformative work that is done by Professor Orey and other JSU faculty to build the political science pipeline. The placement of JSU undergraduates in political science programs speaks to the effectiveness of JSU’s initiative to build the pipeline to serve as a practical model that other undergraduate programs could follow.
For instance, during Professor Orey’s 10 years as a faculty member at JSU, nine of his former undergraduate students and four graduate students are currently enrolled in political science doctoral programs. Three have already obtained their doctoral degree in political science, and one currently serves as an assistant professor. Given the fact that African Americans comprise only 4% of APSA’s membership, the diversity-pipeline initiatives occurring at JSU illustrate the need to allocate resources to building the pipeline at historically black universities and other minority-serving institutions. Other programs can examine JSU’s political science undergraduate program for strategies that will encourage undergraduate students of color to pursue doctoral degrees and diversify the discipline. Increasing diversity within political science not only increases the sense of belonging of current faculty and graduate students of color; it also fundamentally shapes the research questions that we ask as a discipline and helps us to offer better knowledge and solutions to mitigating sociopolitical issues that we currently face in society.
