"Aya: The Enduring Spirit of Black Women in Higher Education" is a research study that sought out to better understand the experiences of Black women inside of higher education. Building off of two previous unpublished research studies that focused on the resources that enable Black women to stay in their programs, this study took a more in-depth look at the protective factors and risk factors that make some Black women stay in their programs as well as the factors that make some Black women leave. I gathered this data through an initial survey and an autoethnographic self study that invited all Black identified women who attended the University of Minnesota for their PhD program to talk about their experiences, which included the extent that they experienced double consciousness, academic mammying, gendered racism, and spirit murder in their programs. From this study, I saw several themes emerge that articulated Black women's experiences in higher education and concluded the study with a model, the Integrated Ecosystem of Support, that could help address our challenges in academia. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]