Diversity & Outreach
Our Commitment to Graduate Diversity
Among UCSB's goals is achieving a student population of men and women reflective
of the population at large, inclusive of those traditionally underrepresented in
various academic fields and of all socioeconomic levels, physical abilities, ages,
religions, national origins, sexual orientations, and other attributes. UCSB encourages
applications from students who have overcome economic or social disadvantage in
pursuing their academic objectives and those who bring perspectives, research topics
or career interests that advance the University's goals of excellence and diversity.
Our Mission
The purpose of the Office of Graduate Diversity, Recruitment, and Retention is to assure the intellectual vitality of our University by attracting a talented and diverse community of scholars to our graduate programs, and to support the personal, academic, and professional success of continuing graduate students at UCSB.
We work to promote academic excellence in graduate degree programs, to foster a diverse and inclusive graduate community, and to cultivate a campus environment that is intellectually challenging and socially supportive.
Our goal is to achieve a student population of men and women that is reflective of our diverse state and nation, inclusive of all socioeconomic levels, ethnicities, physical abilities, ages, religions, national origins, and sexual orientations. We especially encourage applications from students who have overcome economic or social disadvantage in pursuing their academic objectives, and who bring perspectives, research topics, and career interests that advance UCSB’s goals of excellence and diversity.
Graduate Diversity Initiatives
The Graduate Division seeks to recruit, enroll, support and graduate diverse graduate students who reflect the cultural and ethnic complexity and strengths of our state and nation. The Division's Director of Recruitment and Retention oversees recruitment and other efforts to encourage and welcome high quality undergraduate students into our University community. Recruitment staff attend graduate fairs at colleges and universities throughout the country, as well as specialized or discipline-specific undergraduate research or graduate preparation forums. At these events they provide information about UCSB graduate programs and assist undergraduates in assessing the many graduate options available. Mailings to students indicating an interest in graduate education and advertisements in urban and campus newspapers supplement these activities. Application fee waivers are available to all domestic applicants with demonstrated financial need and participants of select programs (e.g., McNair Scholars, Project 1000). But these examples by no means exhaust the comprehensive efforts made throughout the Division to ensure that the University's diversity goal is met.
Early identification of and personal communication with diverse applicants by
departments is an essential component in attracting applicants to UCSB. Studies
have shown that students who come from groups traditionally underrepresented in
graduate education are more likely to accept offers of admission at institutions
where the faculty have been active in the recruitment process. Wherever possible
the Graduate Advisor and individual faculty are encouraged to contact prospective
students personally. Once new students
enroll, ongoing departmental communication is key for all students as they complete
the transition and assimilation into the academic community.
Partnerships
Our alliances are comprised of educational partnerships and programs developed between UCSB, UC and CSU campuses, local community colleges, and other institutions of higher education fostering relationships to the graduate and professoriate. At UCSB, our office collaborates extensively with divisional deans, faculty, and administrative personnel across all disciplines to recruit and support the professional success of non-traditional and under-represented minority students. We also participate in and support the activity of a wide variety of campus diversity and academic preparation initiatives and summer research programs, including the National Science Foundation sponsored DIGSSS (Diversity Initiative for Graduate Study in the Social Sciences) and AGEP (Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate); MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement), GRIP (Graduate Research Internship Program), ARC (Academic Research Consortium), and UC LEADS (Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees). In addition, we coordinate with Early Outreach Programs at UCSB and local schools, to attract the next generation of graduate scholars.
Graduate Division Supported Research Programs
UC LEADS 
UC LEADS (Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees) is a two-year undergraduate research program that provides research training, mentoring, and skill development for economically and/or educationally disadvantaged students from UCSB and partner institutions throughout California. The goal of the UC LEADS program is to prepare students to competitively apply and complete Ph.D. programs, preferably in the University of California system.
Academic Research Consortium (ARC)
The Academic Research Consortium is an eight-week undergraduate summer research program in which students are matched with a UCSB faculty mentor to conduct research and to participate in training and skill building workshops in order to prepare the student for graduate study. ARC is for college juniors who have experienced situations or conditions that have adversely impacted their educational advancement and who plan to pursue graduate-level academic programs.
NSF Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate & Diversity Initiative for Graduate Study in the Social Sciences (AGEP/DIGGSSS)
The University of California's NSF Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (UC AGEP) is a partnership among ten campuses of the University of California. The goal of this partnership is to increase the number of underrepresented minority students earning doctorates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and eventually entering the professoriate. The University of California's NSF Diversity Initiative for Graduate Study in the Social Sciences (UC-DIGSSS), likewise, promotes upcoming scholars in the social sciences.
The UCSB NSF AGEP and DIGSSS program model incorporates the practices of existing programs and novel strategies to support prospective graduate students and potential postdoctoral scholars. Its components are:
- The Graduate Research Internship Program — This is a 4-8 week summer program for students in Masters' programs who are interested in pursuing a doctorate and moving into faculty positions, as well as advanced doctoral students who are considering postdoctoral positions in the UC system (www.graddiv.ucsb/diversityoutreach/grip).
- Partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's).
- Participation in graduate school recruitment fairs and national conferences.
Graduate Diversity Fellowships
Diversity fellowships for new and continuing graduate students are designed to assist those who will enrich the University's teaching, research and community service mission by reflecting a wide range of interests, abilities, life experiences, and worldview. Diversity fellowships support the University's mission in serving the multifaceted needs of our state, fully utilize the range of intellectual resources available in our citizenry, and assist those who have overcome diversity in furthering their academic interests. Allocation of awards is based on the students' academic merit, potential for success, experience of disadvantages, and contribution to diversity goals. (A sample list of factors that might be considered in assessing a student file are listed in the Graduate Handbook.) Students are encouraged to provide relevant information about themselves to the department.
Academic departments are then responsible for reviewing and nominating applications for fellowship consideration. A faculty subcommittee appointed under the guidance of Graduate Council reviews the nominations and makes recommendations to the Deans for diversity awards.