Adriana Quirós-Arauz, a doctoral student in Chapman University’s Attallah College of Educational Studies, has received the Provost’s Dissertation Fellowship. The fellowship will support her research on how Latina undergraduate students develop a sense of identity, belonging and agency in STEM.
Quirós-Arauz is completing the Curricular and Cultural Studies emphasis of Attallah College’s Ph.D. in Education program and expects to graduate in spring 2027. As she prepares to defend her dissertation proposal and begin the research phase of her study, the fellowship will give her more time to work closely with participating students.
“Receiving the Provost Dissertation Fellowship is both an incredible honor and a deeply meaningful affirmation of my work,” Quirós-Arauz said. “I am grateful that the university recognizes the value of research centered on the experiences and knowledge of Latina students in STEM.”
Bringing Science and Education Together
Quirós-Arauz began her career as a scientist, earning an undergraduate degree in agronomy from the University of Costa Rica before pursuing graduate studies in plant sciences. Her work later shifted toward environmental and science education in Costa Rica. She also worked as an elementary science teacher and STEM lab coordinator.
Those experiences changed how she viewed science and inspired her to study how students learn, participate and come to see themselves as people who belong in STEM. Her interest became especially personal as she watched her daughter pursue computer science and enter a doctoral program in bioinformatics, a field in which women remain underrepresented.
“Becoming a scientist is not only about developing knowledge and technical skills,” Quirós-Arauz said. “It is also about finding communities, relationships and environments that allow a person to imagine and sustain a place for themselves in science.”
Walking Alongside Latinas in STEM
Her dissertation proposal, “Reimagining Science Identity Development Through Acompañamiento and Community: A Participatory Action Research Study With Latinas in STEM,” examines how Latina undergraduate students build and sustain their identities within academic STEM environments.
The study will use critical participatory action research, allowing students to participate as co-researchers, reflect on their experiences and identify issues that matter to them. Central to the study is acompañamiento, or the idea of walking alongside one another. Quirós-Arauz hopes to understand how relationships, collective participation and culturally grounded support contribute to students’ identity, belonging, agency and leadership in STEM.
The fellowship will provide additional time for building relationships with participants, facilitating collaborative activities, analyzing data and writing her dissertation.
Supported Through Mentorship
Quirós-Arauz credits her dissertation chair, Lilia Monzó, and co-chair, Doug Havard, with helping her strengthen the theoretical, methodological and ethical foundations of her research. She also recognizes committee members Cecilia López and Jeremy Hsu, along with other Attallah College faculty members and doctoral colleagues who have supported her development.
“Perhaps most importantly, my mentors have modeled one of the principles central to my dissertation: Scholarship develops through relationships and connectedness,” she said.
After completing her doctorate, Quirós-Arauz hopes to continue working at the intersection of STEM education, higher education and research. She plans to teach, mentor students and study how educational institutions can create STEM environments in which students from historically marginalized communities are recognized, supported and empowered to help shape their fields.
For more information about Attallah College’s Ph.D. in Education program, visit our website.
