Cal Poly Pomona Ranks Among Top Producers of Latino Doctorate Recipients

Posted on
Cal Poly Pomona is among the nation’s top 55 institutions for producing Latino graduates who go on to earn their doctorates.
Cal Poly Pomona is among the nation’s top 55 institutions for producing Latino graduates who go on to earn their doctorates.

Cal Poly Pomona is among the top universities in the nation for graduating Latino students who continue their education and earn a doctorate in the sciences, according to data recently compiled by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Five other CSU campuses — Long Beach, Los Angeles, Northridge, San Diego and San Francisco — also are among the nation’s top 55 institutions for producing Latino bachelor’s and master’s recipients who then go on to earn doctorates in disciplines such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, computer sciences and biological sciences.

The findings were published in the NSF’s “Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2017” study. The biennial report provides statistics about the participation of women, minorities and people with disabilities in science and engineering. The findings for this year’s report cover 2010-2014 and come from surveys conducted by the NSF, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Labor.

The CSU has been working to meet the state’s workforce needs by strengthening efforts to increase completion rates and close the achievement gap for underserved students through the Graduation Initiative 2025. Through the initiative, campuses are developing innovative ways to support student success, with a focus on the STEM fields.

Several CSU campuses also have programs aimed at increasing Latino student success in STEM that are funded by the U.S. Department of Education, including the Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans Program and the STEM and Articulations Program.

To receive these grants, a campus must be designated by the Department of Education as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Currently, 21 of 23 CSUs have this distinction, which applies to colleges and universities with a Latino student enrollment of at least 25 percent. Cal Poly Pomona’s student body is 39 percent Hispanic.

In 2015-2016, the CSU granted nearly 35,000 degrees to Latinos, and serves about 185,000 Latino students. Nearly 39 percent of the CSU student population is Latino.

(The story was written by Elizabeth Chapin at the CSU Chancellor’s Office.)