LGBTQ+ Students in Higher Education
While over 250 LGBTQ centers exist on college campuses across the country, there is limited data about LGBTQ+ students in higher education. Existing research shows that LGBTQ+ students face challenges in their K-12 experience that factor into their college enrollment and experiences. For example, data has shown that nearly 10% of LGBTQ students who experienced frequent verbal harassment didn’t plan to attend college after high school. Available data shows us that LGBTQ+ students who do enroll in postsecondary education continue to face unique challenges.
ENROLLMENT
- In a 2020 survey from the Association of American Universities (AAU) that sampled more than 180,000 undergraduate and graduate students, nearly 17% identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, queer, or questioning.
- In the same AAU survey, 1.7% of undergraduate and graduate students identified their gender as transgender, nonbinary, or questioning.
