Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7126-4906

Date of Award

Fall 8-15-2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education/Higher Education PhD

First Advisor

Jay Dee

Second Advisor

Lorna Rivera

Third Advisor

Cynthia Villarreal

Abstract

This phenomenological study explores how Latina Doctoral Students experience cohort spaces within graduate programs, focusing on the gendered and racialized challenges embedded in these environments. Utilizing pláticas as a culturally grounded method and guided by a Latina Feminist Phenomenological framework, this research examines how cohort models—which are often designed to foster support and collaboration—can instead exacerbate marginalization for students at the intersections of race and gender. Drawing on the conceptual frameworks of White Space and Counterspace, the study interrogates how cohort environments can operate as sites of exclusion and surveillance, where dominant norms are reproduced and where Latina Doctoral Students must navigate constant negotiations of identity. Reflecting on their experiences in cohort-based doctoral programs, participants revealed racialized and gendered interactions that generated complex and contradictory emotional responses. They described "traveling between worlds," employing strategies such as shapeshifting and camouflaging. The study findings also show how Latina doctoral students gathered intel about academic spaces, assessed their positionality, and crafted plans for survival. Central to their navigation was the creation and use of multidimensional counterspaces—spaces of resistance, affirmation, and community. This study concludes that cohort spaces frequently function as white spaces marked by limited representation and constrained agency. The implications of the study suggest that academic cohorts require intentional cultivation to foster equity and inclusion. Furthermore, counterspaces may be essential to the academic persistence and well-being of Latina doctoral students.

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