Relieving Barriers: Support System in Doctoral Degree Completion for Black Women

Black women are continuing to earn terminal degrees at a slower rate than White women. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (2023) states that in 2020-21, 61% of the doctorates earned by females were white females, 12% were earned by Black females, 10% earned by Hispanic females, 13% earned by Asian/Pacific Islanders and .4% American Indian/Alaska Native.

There are many reasons for these statistics. Yi and Ramos (2022) state that Black women combat racism, genderism, and tokenism as they seek their degree, especially in predominately white colleges. Black women experience a multitude of other challenges while completing their doctoral programs. The challenges include, but are not limited to, raising families, working full-time, and financing their education, as other doctoral students may also experience. Support systems for Black women through their doctoral experience could be what is needed to assist them with degree completion.

Understanding the lived experiences of Black women could shed light on why Black women are not completing their doctoral degrees (Snyder, 2014; Gordon, 1999). In the study by King (2025), the lived experiences of Black women completing their doctorate through a community college leadership program was explored. The study examined Black women’s similar experiences that led to or hindered the completion of their doctoral degree. One finding was the lack of a formal mentoring program. All the study participants indicated that their institution did not have a formal structure to provide mentorship to students. Another area that was revealed was the cohort model. Study participants felt that the cohort model impacted the completion of their doctoral degree.

Mentoring for Black women is a valuable tool that can assist doctoral students in the completion of the doctoral journey. Black women find mentors in a variety of places including professional associations and family members (Patterson-Stephens et al., 2014). Mentorship during doctoral programs could help navigate individuals through the many challenges that they face. As mentioned earlier, Black women face a multitude of challenges that could be mitigated by the guidance of a mentor. It would be beneficial for that mentor to have the same lived experiences of the Black woman. Having the same lived experiences would provide cultural enrichment to the mentoring relationship. This would increase the likelihood that there would be a meaningful bond created and that the mentor could help address the challenges that they face because they may have overcome similar challenges (King, 2025).

Doctoral programs that incorporate a cohort model provide students with the ability to be peer mentors to one another. One of the biggest assets of the cohort model is the mutual respect that is gained (Brooks, 1998). This respect can be a big support in helping Black women complete their doctoral program. The bond that is created during a cohort program many times extends beyond the classroom and the end of the doctoral program. According to Pemberton and Akkary (2010), students experienced better academic performance, support, and collaboration in the cohort model.

Recommendations for Practice

There are several recommendations for best practice that are offered to address supporting Black women through their doctoral programs. They are as follows:

Establishing a formal mentorship program for doctoral students. Providing the Black women with a mentor that has the same lived experiences. Providing a cohort model doctoral program to sustain and enhance peer mentoring.

Formal support systems for Black women completing their doctoral degrees were found to be beneficial. Black women who had the opportunity to have a mentoring experience with women who had the same lived experiences had a better doctoral experience and completed their programs at a faster pace.

Dr. Millette King serves as a lecturer in the Counseling Center and program administrator of the Community Health Worker Program at Cuyahoga Community College (OH). She is a recent graduate of the Kansas State University Community College Leadership Program. Dr. Sandy L. Robinson is an accomplished higher education leader with more than 30 years of experience, including senior roles at Florida State College at Jacksonville and Cuyahoga Community College. She currently serves as a professor of practice at Kansas State University.

The Roueche Center Forum is co-edited by Drs. John E. Roueche and Margaretta B. Mathis of the John E. Roueche Center for Community College Leadership, Department of Educational Leadership, College of Education, Kansas State University..