This article is supported by a master's thesis, which aimed to investigate the causes of student retention in the Bachelor of Science and Technology course at a Federal University, located in Janauba, in the north of Minas Gerais state. As a data collection instrument, a questionnaire was applied to students who enrolled in this graduate course between the first semester of 2016 and the second semester of 2017. In its specific objectives, the study sought to characterize the socioeconomic and ethnic-racial profile of the students retained, only from the research participants, and to identify the internal and external factors that contributed to their retention. The results revealed that the building's inadequate infrastructure; didactic-pedagogical strategies, and poor training in high school were factors that contributed to student retention in this bachelor's. It was concluded that the situations of inequality and the power relations existing in society end up being reproduced within the educational environment. In addition, despite advances in access to higher education in progressive governments, it was inferred that socioeconomic barriers were interfering with the academic performance of some students.
