Making U.S. Graduate Education More Diverse

Abstract

Increasing the participation of minority students in science and engineering, at all levels, remains a daunting challenge in the United States despite concerted efforts over the past 30 years (“Diversity remains elusive for flagship NSF program,” J. Mervis, News of the Week, 9 June, p. [1454][1]). The issue is more critical than ever before, but we seem to keep trying the same things and expecting different results. Most programs seek to better prepare undergraduates, but the problem is that few are admitted to doctoral programs. The basic problem is therefore admission, not a lack of minority students who have the ability to succeed. If indeed one of the major goals of the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program (IGERT) is to increase the number of women and minorities in science, then individual IGERT programs that fail to do that should not be renewed. There is no question that the science that is being done through these IGERT programs is laudable, but if the aim of the program is not being met, investigators should be funded through other programs. I agree that productive faculty often do not have spare time to seek and recruit these students. They rely on the traditional model in which students actively seek participation in graduate research, either on their own or with the assistance of faculty mentors. Such students are self-confident in the pursuit of graduate education in research universities. Although some minority students do fall into this category, the numbers are relatively small. A central, national office to assist in recruiting minority students will no doubt help, but faculty simply have to make the commitment and find the time to actively seek minority students who might not have that self-confidence but who nonetheless are highly qualified. Wherever one finds a successful program, one will always find a faculty member or department head that does this, and we should do more to enable and reward their efforts. After all, it is individual faculty members who ultimately decide who gets admitted to graduate programs. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.312.5779.1454