Enhancing Diversity by Changing Institutional Culture and Scaffolding Student Success

Diversifying the graduate ranks remains a major challenge for most universities. Historically underrepresented groups (HUGs), such as Native American, LatinX and African American populations continue to be poorly represented in many fields, particularly STEM professions and those requiring doctoral degrees.
Since 2014, the University of Nevada, Reno Graduate School has developed and implemented GradFIT, a 5-day graduate student recruitment and preparatory boot camp for first-generation college students and HUGs completing their sophomore to senior year of undergraduate education.

Following the success of GradFIT, the Graduate School began GradFIT Phase II, referred to as the NSF GAIN (Graduate Acceleration through Innovation and Networking) Scholars Program. GradFIT Phase II: Enhancing Diversity by Changing Institutional Culture and Scaffolding Student Success is a two-year program designed to increase the retention and success of historically underrepresented groups in graduate programs. GradFIT Phase II has incoming domestic Ph.D. students engage in two 3-week summer boot camps as well as additional professional development, mentoring, and social network support activities during their first year and a half of graduate school.

Read the project abstract

Learn more at UNR Graduate School