How do students experience inclusion and exclusion in academia?

We know quite a lot about gender balance in higher education, but we know less about how gender, ethnicity and social background interact and shape students’ well-being, sense of belonging, and motivation to pursue – or not pursue – an academic career.

The project Exclusion and Inclusion in Academic Communities: Analyzing Students' Experiences (EIA) will do research on this in a two-year project. 

Students’ experiences will be examined across four different academic environments at NTNU: two male-dominated fields - energy and process engineering, and computer science, and two female-dominated fields - nursing, and language and literature.

The aim is to explore whether men and women face similar challenges when they are in the minority, and how social background and ethnicity may reinforce such experiences.

The project combines a survey with focus groups to develop an overall picture of what creates both a sense of community and experiences of exclusion. Based on these findings, concrete measures will be developed in collaboration with leaders and staff in the four departments.

These measures are intended to contribute to more inclusive study programmes and improved support for students from diverse backgrounds.

The project will provide new knowledge about how students experience academic cultures, and how universities can work more effectively and strategically to strengthen diversity and belonging. The results will be shared both internally and nationally so that other educational institutions can also benefit from the insights gained.