Interracial Friendships Across the College Years: Evidence From a Longitudinal Case Study

Today, the student bodies of our leading colleges and universities are more diverse than ever. However, college students are increasingly self-segregating by race or ethnicity (Saenz, Ngai, & Hurtado, 2007). A burgeoning literature documents the benefits of campus diversity and shows that having friends of a different race predicts greater acceptance and awareness of other groups as well as higher levels of academic self-confidence and learning outcomes (e.g., Antonio, 2004; Hu & Kuh, 2003). For many young adults, the college years serve as the first opportunity to interact with a large number of peers from different backgrounds. Yet, in order to fully realize the benefits of structural diversity on campus, it is important to understand how interracial friendships are formed and maintained across the college years.