AbstractThe sustainability of ADVANCE, beyond its early successes at UC Davis, largely depends on whether it can propel the types of transformational changes needed to fulfill ADVANCE’s own aspirations. One of these aspirations is to change the face of STEM at UC Davis. Transformational change must consider the pipeline of Latinx and other underrepresented students into all doctoral programs, including but not limited to STEM. This chapter addresses the need to expand on the ADVANCE initiative to grow the pool of doctoral underrepresented minority (URM) students at UC Davis and nationally, as well as to promote their integration into successful careers after graduation, as professors, scientists, or professionals who go on to become leaders in government or industry. At UC Davis, these efforts have already begun in earnest and include visionary changes to revamp recruitment practices for graduate students, transform graduate admissions practices, and improve mentoring of students during and after completion of their programs. This chapter explores these efforts at UC Davis and summarizes the lessons learned from their implementation.
Understanding the importance of graduate admissions criteria according to prospective graduate students