Retention, Graduation, and Professional Development of Trans Students in Higher Education:

A Systematic Review, 2015–2025

Abstract

Transgender individuals face structural and symbolic barriers in higher education that limit their retention, graduation, and professionalization. This article addresses the question: what obstacles has the research community identified over the last decade (2015–2025) regarding the retention, graduation, and professionalization of transgender students in higher education? Through a systematic review with a qualitative documentary approach and the PRISMA 2020 protocol, the databases Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, Redalyc, Dialnet, and Google Scholar were consulted. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a sample of 41 empirical studies in Spanish, English, and Portuguese was obtained. Results were organized into three categories: (1) education: 85% of studies identify harassment as the primary barrier, while explicit policies increase retention from 45% to 78%; (2) work: unemployment among transgender professionals reaches 40% compared to 15% among cisgender peers; (3) health: access to affirmative healthcare increases the probability of graduation by 30%. The specialized literature distinguishes three types of obstacles: institutional ones, based on individual and cultural prejudices; labor-related ones, which generate tension between subjective well-being and employability; and health-related ones, derived from limited access to affirmative healthcare. It is concluded that sense of belonging is the most consistent predictor of academic persistence and that institutional policies act as protective factors that mitigate the impact of harassment. A significant gap in academic production on this topic in Latin America is identified.