A Structural Approach to Doctoral Students’ Perceptions of Racial Climate on Program Satisfaction

This article uses a multigroup structural equation modeling approach to examine the relationships between perceptions of Ph.D. program racial climate, resilience, well-being, and program satisfaction in a national sample of 1,053 current Ph.D. students. Situated within a critical adaptation of Lent’s social-cognitive career theory framework, the findings caution against focusing exclusively on resilience and well-being, as poor program racial climate disparately impacts Students of Color. In addition, this article discusses implications for doctoral programs as professional preparation for working in environments with poor racial climates.