The Impact of Affirmative Action Bans on the Graduate School Enrollments of Minorities

A study by Liliana M. Garces, an assistant professor of higher education administration at George Washington University, finds that in states that have banned the consideration of race in admission to graduate programs at state-operated universities, graduate enrollments of students of color have declined by an average of 12 percent.

In particular fields, the reduction in minority students has been even greater. For example, Dr. Garces found that the number of graduate students in engineering disciplines in states that have banned affirmative action is down by 26 percent. In the natural sciences, the number of minority students is down 19 percent. In the social sciences, the number of minority graduate students is down by nearly 16 percent.

The study was published by the Civil Rights Project at the University of California at Los Angeles. It examined graduate enrollments in the states of California, Florida, Washington, and Texas.

The full report can be accessed here.