Affirmative Action Bans Impact Minority Enrollment in Postgraduate STEM Fields - Higher Education: While economic interests rely on increased enrollment in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, the thrust toward minorities pursuing technical degrees—particularly postgraduate degrees—has become an even larger priority. However, the voter-bans on affirmative action may prevent the rise of a diverse STEM field, according to a recent study.
After the U.S. Supreme Court case Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, researchers published an influx of data, pointing to the declining enrollment number of minorities at graduate schools where affirmative action is banned. Amid such data, the number of minority students present in postgraduate education was even lower at schools with bans. The study, only focusing on subjects including natural sciences, engineering and social sciences, found a 2 percent decrease in minority enrollment within each subject.
