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. 2022 Aug;100(8):1538-1544.
doi: 10.1002/jnr.24911. Epub 2021 Jul 14.

Diversity in neuroscience education: A perspective from a Historically Black institution

Melissa A Harrington  1
Affiliations

Diversity in neuroscience education: A perspective from a Historically Black institution

Melissa A Harrington. J Neurosci Res. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

The events of 2020, including the pandemic which highlighted the extent of health disparities in the United States, combined with the Black Lives Matter protests, have focused public attention on the systemic inequities that continue to afflict our nation. Publicly available data from the National Center for Education Statistics show that our discipline of neuroscience shows the same types of disparities, particularly for African-American students. I have drawn on data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Survey of U.S. colleges and universities to show that while the number of graduates from neuroscience undergraduate and graduate degree programs has grown dramatically in this century, only a small percentage of those graduates are African American, and the numbers are growing very slowly. I also present data on the neuroscience PhD program at my institution, Delaware State University, the only Historically Black University in the United States to offer a PhD in neuroscience. Because a high percentage of our students and graduates are African American, our small, young program has the potential for great impact in diversifying our discipline of neuroscience. While elite colleges and research-intensive universities have been engaged for decades in efforts to increase diversity in their academic programs, change is slow, and large inequities remain. With Delaware State University's neuroscience PhD program as an example, I hope to convince readers that it is time for our nation to recognize the institutions that are best positioned to serve students from communities of color, and direct resources to support their growth and success.

Keywords: HBCU; STEM; doctoral study; graduation; minority.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:. Distribution of 246 neuroscience BS programs by institution type.
Based on data from NCES. Private institutions are defined as those controlled by a nongovernmental agency, and supported primarily by other than public funds. They can be profit or non-profit. Public institutions are defined as those operated by publicly elected or appointed officials that are supported by public funds. Associates institutions are defined as institutions in which the majority of degrees awarded are at the Associate’s degree level, and bachelor’s degrees represent less than 10 percent of all undergraduate degrees. Programs were identified by the 4 digit CIP code for “Neurobiology and Neuroscience”.
Figure 2:
Figure 2:. Growth in numbers of graduates from neuroscience BS degrees over the last 20 years.
Number of graduates in neuroscience related bachelor’s programs each year for the years listed on the x-axis. African-American graduates represent only a small fraction of neuroscience BS degrees awarded. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Neuroscience BS degrees were identified by classifying IPEDS data according to 6-digit CIP codes for “Neuroscience”, “Neurobiology & Anatomy”, “Neurobiology & Behavior”, and “Neurobiology & Neurosciences other”.
Figure 3:
Figure 3:. Distribution of 140 neuroscience Ph.D. programs by institution type.
Institutions offering Neuroscience PhD degrees were identified in the IPEDS database, National Center for Education Statistics, by 6 digit CIP codes for “Neuroscience, Neurobiology & Anatomy”, and “Neurobiology & Behavior” and Neurobiology & Neurosciences other”. Public and private institutions are defined as described in Figure 1.
Figure 4:
Figure 4:. African-Americans make up a tiny proportion of graduates in neuroscience PhD programs.
Number of neuroscience-related doctoral recipients per year for each year listed on x-axis. Data from IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics. Neuroscience PhDs degrees were associated with the 4 digit CIP code for “Neurobiology and Neuroscience”, and degree level Doctoral Degree-research/scholarship.
Figure 5:
Figure 5:. Cumulative totals of graduates from DSU’s neuroscience PhD and MS programs since the inceptions of the programs.
Total graduates (11 for PhD program and 25 for MS program) shown by race and ethnicity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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