Diversity and Student Success

The Graduate School is here to support all students in their pursuit for academic excellence. We recognize that the journey is not equitable for all, and below are some of our efforts to support a diverse community.

We embrace our role as a leader in the University’s efforts to recruit, fund, enroll, retain, and graduate a diverse graduate student body. We are committed to building and fostering inclusive programs and practices that promote and support diversity. We believe that intellectual advancement and equity is best achieved by engaging students with a vast array of backgrounds, viewpoints, cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, abilities, gender, sexual-orientations, and life experiences. This diversity is essential in enriching the teaching, research and service provided for and by graduate students. We strongly support the University's goal of preparing students to be productive citizens who can act as advocates for equity and inclusion.

We are honored to host a number of intiatives in support of diversity and inclusion at UNC Charlotte including formation of a Diversity Committee, as well as programming in the Center for Graduate Life and Learning.

Diversity Initiatives

Diversity Scholars Forum - The Graduate School is sponsoring the inaugural Diversity Scholars Forum, which will take place this spring and feature graduate student and postdoc research related to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. The Diversity Scholars Forum will showcase research that centers DEIJ issues related to the community － both on campus and in the greater Charlotte community. Eligible participants must be enrolled in a master's or doctoral program at Charlotte and must have relevant research to present.

Does your research highlight the experiences and difficulties faced by historically excluded, overlooked, or often silenced groups?
Are you focused on uncovering ways to solve social challenges?
Does your work center on community wellness and/or sustainability?
Do you have a research idea that focuses on making our communities more equitable?

Consider sharing your work through the Diversity Scholars Forum! Students who are selected to participate will receive a modest $200 stipend to support their work. The application for 2023 submissions has closed.

Training and education of the Graduate School staff: We have engaged in conversations around topics in DEI including privilege, microaggressions, unconscious bias, etc. The long-term goal is for all of us in the Graduate School to be aware of these issues and be able to spot them and react with inclusivity and non-biased responses.

Support students from different backgrounds and build community: The Center for Graduate Life and Learning organizes a series of affinity gatherings for students who are underrepresented at Charlotte, as well as other workshops and learning experiences focused on areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. The CGLL also maintains a list of resources to help students navigate any issues they may have, find community, connect with peer mentors, and meet allies during their academic journey.

Formation of a Graduate School Diversity Committee: Recognizing that there are many aspects of diversity at our University, the Dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Tom Reynolds, created a committee to look at issues and develop resources to support diversity, equity and inclusion in graduate education.

Topics of Diversity and Inclusion – GRAD 6000/8000. The objective of this course is to explore diversity and inclusion from various multi-disciplinary perspectives. Diversity is often equated with a disciplinary view rooted in social justice. Yet, over the last few years research in diversity has demonstrated numerous disciplinary-specific points of view. Groups with more diversity perform better than other groups. Companies with a diverse employee base tend to produce better financially. These various discipline-specific findings provide a strong case for why diversity matters. Given the value of diversity, how do we build organizations and systems that are inclusive?