Understanding the salience of multiracial students’ racial identity.

As the number of multiracial individuals in the United States increases, it is important for educators to understand how the experiences students have in college can influence the way these students understand and make sense of their racial identity. This qualitative research study explored the following question: In what contexts on a college campus does racial identity become salient for multiracial students. Interviews with multiracial students revealed that racial identity becomes salient in monoracial settings, that multiracial students' interactions with monoracial peers influence how they understand their racial identity, and that multiracial students feel supported when interacting with other multiracial students. Implications for further research include further research into the multiracial student population at different institution types. Implications for practice include integrating information about multiracial students into diversity training and establishing multiracial student organizations.