Graduating together: the experience in graduate school of first-generation minority women who participated in an academic support program

The study sought to understand the experience of a group of Palestinian Muslim women, citizens of Israel, who are first-generation students in graduate school. The aim was to learn what helped and what impeded their attainment of a graduate degree. The participants were 10 students who are from an interdependent, traditional patriarchal society. They were enrolled as a group in a partially separate track of a graduate program and received intensive academic support. A phenomenological method was used, and data was collected through individual interviews. Findings indicated that participants felt that their success was enabled by their support for each other, and the support provided by college instructors, student services, and their immediate families. They reported gaining professional knowledge and personal empowerment and independence. Based on the results, the components of the intensive support program are highlighted, including studying together as a peer group with some courses given in the mother tongue. The contribution of the current study lies in highlighting the complexity of FGS minority women’s experience in graduate school and in addressing both the challenges they faced and their strengths.