Testing the Contact Hypothesis: Long-Run Effects of Racial Composition in Early-Career Training

West Point cadets undergo a six-week intensive training course the summer prior to starting their coursework. We use the quasi-random assignment to platoons in this training to test the effects of having greater diversity in early-career training. As officers, we find cadets with increased diversity are less likely to give unsatisfactory ratings to Black non-commissioned officers. This outcome is measured five to nine years after initial training, demonstrating enduring and meaningful effects of early-career diversity. We show one mechanism may be that cadets with greater diversity in their initial training are more likely to self-select into more diverse peer groups while at West Point as measured by their club participation. We hypothesize this extends the initial diverse experience well into their professional years.