Diversity Statements

Diversity statements are increasingly becoming a required element for graduate program applications. Diversity statements serve many purposes and are frequently used to evaluate a person's depth of appreciation for diversity-related matters in their personal and (future) professional lives and their commitment toward making positive contributions toward inclusive environments. 

Many programs will offer clear prompts that should help applicants understand how to structure and what to emphasize in their diversity statement. However, some programs will offer relatively little guidance on what to include. To help facilitate the process of developing a diversity statement, resources from the internet have been compiled below:

• • • From Project SHORT: https://imgbb.com/kxBHm5X

    • From ASU (specific to graduate admissions): https://graduate.asu.edu/blog/best-practices/6-tips-writing-diversity-statement-graduate-admissions

    • From Emory: https://www.gs.emory.edu/admissions/diversity.html

    • From the University of Chicago:https://grad.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Guide-to-Diversity-Statements.pdf

    • From Yale: https://gsas.yale.edu/sites/default/files/page-files/personal_and_diversity_statements_0.pdf

    • From UMN: https://career.d.umn.edu/students/graduate-or-professional-school/writing-diversity-statement

• • • From Inside Higher Ed (for faculty positions but the tips might be relevant): https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2016/06/10/how-write-effective-diversity-statement-essay