Building a Graduate-Going Culture at HSIs

What is a graduate-going culture? Drawing from the college-going culture research, I define a graduate-going culture as one where faculty, staff, and administrators are dedicated to promoting students’ aspirations for graduate school, including planning and preparation. I argue that HSIs should prioritize building a graduate-going culture that provides students with the awareness, knowledge, and skills needed for pursuing and successfully entering graduate programs, including master’s, doctoral, and professional  programs. This is essential to HSIs where a large percentage of students are first-generation to college and therefore first-generation to graduate school. The development of a graduate-going culture can be liberatory for students of color and first generation students who may not see themselves as graduate students. Moreover, HSIs are relying on the development of stronger pathways for people of color to enter faculty and administrator positions that require graduate degrees. For this conversation I am joined by Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu, a grad school and productivity certified coach, and Dra. Miroslava Chávez-García, a professor of history and faculty director of the McNair Scholars Program, who wrote the book, Is Grad School For Me?: Demystifying the Application Process for First-Gen BIPOC Students. We discuss the book, which is an accessible, easy-to-read guidebook for first-generation, low-income, students of color interested in pursuing graduate school, and explore the ways that HSIs can use the book and other resources to build a graduate-going culture.

Yvette Martínez-Vu (she/her)

Certified coach, consultant, author, and speaker

Founder of Grad School Femtoring, LLC

Website: www.gradschoolfemtoring.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gradschoolfemtoring/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvettemartinezvu/ 

Miroslava Chavez-Garcia (​​she/her)

Professor of History, Faculty Director of the McNair Scholars Program

UC Santa Barbara

Website: https://history.ucsb.edu/faculty/mchavezgarcia/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miroslava-chavez-garcia-779919222/

Attachments / Show Notes: 

• https://gradschoolfemtoring.com/podcast/
• https://gradschoolfemtoring.com/6-strategies-for-surviving-a-toxic-graduate-school-advisor/ 
• https://www.edexcelencia.org/research/publications/hispanic-serving-institutions-with-graduate-programs-ghsis
• https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/03/key-facts-about-us-latinos-with-graduate-degrees/ 
• https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/articles/closing-the-gap-pew-study-calls-for-more-latino-graduate-students
• Garcia, G. A. & Guzman-Alvarez, A. (2021). Descriptive analysis of graduate enrollment trends at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs): 2005-2015. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 20(2), 196-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192719835681

APA Citation: 

Garcia, G.A. (Host). (2025, February 9). Building a Graduate-Going Culture at HSIs (No.602) [Audio podcast episode]. In ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?. https://www.ginaanngarcia.com/podcast/episode/9be76898/building-a-graduate-going-culture-at-hsis