Student-Mothers of Color in Higher Education – and How Institutions Can Support Them

Pullias Center for Higher Education (2025)
Student-parents comprise a substantial portion of the current undergraduate student population — nearly one in five or 3.14 million students are pursuing a postsecondary degree or credential while parenting. In this Pullias Center Alumni Awards policy brief, we draw on data collected from two studies of student-mothers to highlight the challenges student-mothers of Color face accessing and persisting within higher education and discuss the ways in which institutions can better support them.







