Black Undergraduate Networking on an Urban, Historically White Campus: The Making of Social Capital

Abstract

Formerly preferred, but increasingly required, a college degree has become a prerequisite in a competitive job market. For Black undergraduates who continue to face systemic disparities in college completion, gaps in hiring are exacerbated by unequal access to leadership positions and professional training, such as internships, during college. Since informal connections and social networks heavily influence occupational access, this research article presents a relational, ethnographic approach to better understand the opportunities and constraints of networking for Black undergraduates in an urban campus context. This study advances prior social capital research by not only offering where networks exist but also presenting how they form and develop over time and across space. The findings show how Black students attending an urban, selective, and historically White institution (HWI) do not merely discover connections but deliberately construct them, illuminating the process through which social capital is made.