PhD Oral Exam - Dalia Elsayed, Education

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

This study seeks to understand how Canadian higher education institutions contribute to the marginalization of Black women at the graduate level. Drawing on in-depth interviews with eight Black women enrolled in graduate programs at two public research universities in Montreal, I examine the narratives they share as they reflect on their individual and collective identity formation within university campuses. Rooted in a Black feminist theoretical and conceptual framework, and utilizing a counter-narrative methodological approach, this project explores how universities marginalize Black women graduate students and how such marginalization shapes their experiences. Marked by isolation, lack of collegiality, and limited access to adequate mentorship, these experiences reveal the impact of systemic exclusion on their academic journeys and the strategies they employ to cope and resist. I argue that higher education spaces that claim to uphold the values of diversity and inclusion are, in fact, shaped by structural exclusions that undermine those very principles.