Experiences of Multiracial Undergraduate Students: A Narrative Exploration

Abstract

This project, undertaken as a Master’s thesis, aims to address the following research question: What are the experiences of multiracial undergraduate students in a college setting? As the U.S. multiracial population grows, so too grows the number of multiracial students on college and university campuses nationwide (Museus, Lambe, & Ryan, 2015; PEW Research Center, 2015). However, many of the conversations surrounding race, racial identity, and racialized experiences in higher education continue to rely on a monoracial paradigm. This thesis utilizes a narrative research design to showcase the stories of eight multiracial undergraduate students enrolled in a West Coast, Hispanic-Serving Institution. Placing their stories within the theoretical frameworks of MultiCrit (Harris, 2016) and standpoint theory (Harding, 1995; Wylie, 2012) allows for a discussion of the variable, multifaceted experiences of the studentparticipants. Such a discussion is necessary if colleges and universities are to ably serve a multiracial student population. While recommendations for higher education practitioners are included herein, the primary goal of this project is to amplify and empower the voices of multiracial students in order to produce a more nuanced understanding of how they navigate schooling, particularly post-secondary schooling.