Perseverance Despite the Perception of Threat: Marginalized Students’ High Grit in Grad School and Implications for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Higher Education

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policies and their implementation continue to be contested

issues in higher education. These ideological discourses lack evidence that investigates

relationships between students’ identities and their ability to succeed in postsecondary. To

contribute to this void, we conducted a survey of graduate students over four years in a large

urban university setting. Our results indicate that though some students report experiencing

marginalization and social identity threat, they do not exhibit differences in grit scores compared

to students who do not. Though this implies that students can persevere despite institutional

obstacles, to us, it does not absolve responsibilities of the university to continue to find ways that

support these populations and better promote to their success and wellbeing.