Abstract
Male undergraduate students consistently graduate at a lower rate than female students attending 4-year institutions in the United States. For the cohort who entered a 4-year institution in 2016, the male graduation rate trailed that of females by 10.3%, which has been an ongoing trend to some degree for the past 40 years. While many studies of undergraduate persistence have focused on the reasons why students fail to earn a degree, this study aims to explore the lived experiences of male students who have persisted to graduation. The review of literature on male student persistence revealed several factors that contribute to student success, which are supported by the theoretical frameworks chosen for the proposed study. The purpose of this study was to use a phenomenological design to explore and understand undergraduate male students’ lived experiences that have supported their decision to persist to earn their bachelor’s degree through the following research questions: 1) What are the lived experiences of undergraduate senior males who are in their final year of study that have shaped their persistence toward graduation? 2) How do undergraduate senior male students make meaning of the personal, academic, and social experiences that supported their persistence through college? Data were collected through multiple means, including interviews, field notes, photo elicitation, and a student engagement database. Five themes emerged that captured the commonalities of participants’ experiences: self-determination as motivation to complete degree, sense of belonging forged through peer connections, self-efficacy gained from experiential learning opportunities, importance of mentor relationships, and family support and expectations. The findings could assist university administrators and student affairs professionals in rethinking strategies or restructuring programs focused on student retention and persistence.