Academic resilience is defined as the ability to effectively deal with setback, stress and pressure in an academic setting. This concept builds on a broader notion of psychological resilience or positive adaptation to adverse situations. In highly competitive academic institutions like Georgia Tech, many if not all students experience stress, pressure and setbacks of various kinds. Some students persist and overcome these potential barriers to degree completion while others do not. The goal of this research is develop a better understanding of academic resilience in higher education settings, with a special emphasis on underrepresented populations, including but not limited to women, ethnic and racial minorities, first generation students, veterans and students with disabilities.  We will develop research strategies to collect data at Georgia Tech initially and other STEM-focused environments more generally.