By Laurel White

Programs that offer mentorship, advising, and skill development opportunities to underrepresented graduate students as they pursue advanced degrees in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) help those students clarify ambitious career goals, according to a new UW–Madison study.

The study, published in Education Sciences, examined the experiences of 25 racially and ethnically underrepresented graduate students who participated in a graduate STEM intervention program (SIP). The study sought to understand how institutional and cross-institutional programming helps students clarify post-graduate career plans, particularly in academia. It found the programs were broadly beneficial.

“STEM intervention programs aid in students’ abilities to be academically successful in graduate school, expose students to career opportunities, and provide them with skills to help them be competitive and successful in those professional roles,” the authors wrote. 

Brian Burt, a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, co-authored the study with School of Education doctoral students Mark Moralez, Yuriko Sato, Borna Riazi, and Joy Emmanuel. The study was conducted as part of the research portfolio of Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Burt is the director of the Wei LAB. Burt, Moralez, and Sato also co-authored an article last year on keys to graduate student wellness, belonging, and persistence.

Burt says he hopes the study will inform future development and support for SIPs. 

“Our work shows these programs provide direct, tangible benefits to graduate students at a pivotal time in their professional journey,” Burt says. “It’s also important to note that a byproduct of successful navigation through graduate education is a workforce that thrives from their expertise and passion for their career.”

Burt also recently published commentaries in Teachers College Record on his evolution as an academic writer and his approach to responding to questions that challenge scholarly inquiry — and humanity.

Burt is an award-winning scholar who has been recognized with alumni awards from Indiana University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Michigan, as well as the International Colloquium on Black Males in Education and the American Society for Engineering Education. His research uses qualitative methodological approaches to study the experience of graduate students and the institutional policies and practices that influence students’ pathways. His current research falls into two strands: understanding team-based research experiences and exploring the experiences of underrepresented graduate students of color in engineering. 

In 2024, Burt launched the Black Males in Engineering project, which won a prestigious Telly Award, as well as an Anthem Award. 

Read the full study, “Facilitating Faculty Career Clarity: The Role of a Graduate STEM Intervention Program,” here.