Transfer Student Experiences and Identity Navigation in STEM: Overlapping Figured Worlds of Success

Community colleges are a pathway in higher education for many students, including students who are pursuing baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Because of the increased demand for professionals in the STEM workforce, a successful transition from community colleges to the university setting is essential for increasing the number of transfer students who complete STEM degree programs. Fostering a stabilized academic transition for transfer students requires an understanding of how different academic and sociocultural backgrounds can influence students’ identity trajectories during their undergraduate education. In this study, Holland et al.’s framework of figured worlds was used to examine how transfer students pursuing STEM degrees negotiated their identities in their transition to the university. Because identity is a complex construct that can influence student experiences in STEM, this study examined areas of compatible and incompatible expectations of what constitutes success across the university, community college, and high school learning environments, and among students, families, and faculty. Inconsistent expectations across these figured worlds provide insight into the challenges associated with the community college to university transition that can affect transfer students’ experiences and identity production at the university.