BREAKING "FINISH-IN-FOUR STIGMA": HOW WOMEN WHO TRANSFER FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE MAKE MEANING OF THEIR DEGREE TRAJECTORIES AND COMPUTER SCIENCE IDENTITY

This paper explores how women who transfer from community college make meaning of their computer science (CS) identity and degree trajectories. Drawing on theories of STEM transfer pathways and disciplinary science identity, and relying on interview data from women majoring in CS who transferred from community college, I classified the majority of participants into one of two groups that characterize how they navigated their degree pathways: (1) efficient linear strategizers prioritized degree efficiency, with a goal of graduating approximately two years after transferring; and (2) pathway adapters described changing values and goals that led them to significantly adjust their degree timelines. These distinct pathways relate to how students identify with CS and point to opportunities to humanize women's transfer experiences and rethink degree efficiency as a unilateral priority.