Our new study, just published in AERA Open, provides evidence that increasing the financial support offered to potential Ph.D. students offers a promising approach for attracting a more diverse pool of doctoral students. Along with co-authors Christopher Bennett, H. Kenny Nienhusser, and Milagros Castillo-Montoya, we studied Ph.D. student application and enrollment patterns at a large public research university in the Northeast. We were interested in how the diversity of the Ph.D. students changed corresponding to a change in the financial support offered to doctoral students.

When a doctoral program in education introduced a comprehensive funding package that covered tuition, it led to an increase in the number of applicants. The increase in the share of Black applicants and enrollees was particularly notable. That’s according to a new study published in AERA Open, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal of the American Educational Research Association. We did the study with co-authors Chris Bennett, Kenny Nienhusser and Milagros Castillo-Montoya.

After almost four decades of dedicated service, Brown retired Aug. 31, with a ground-breaking career and legacy that will continue to influence the University for years to come. Neag School and University faculty, past colleagues, current and former students, friends, and Brown’s family members came together earlier this month to celebrate him and his career.