2024 Virtual Recruitment Event

The UW Psychology Diversity Steering Committee recently hosted the 3rd annual virtual recruitment event this September: “Diversifying Psychology: A Sneak Peek for Graduate School.” This event was designed to reach anyone considering a PhD in psychology, especially folks from historically marginalized groups and those often underrepresented in academia. We aim to de-mystify the application process generally and, more specifically, to educate attendees on UW’s Psychology doctoral programs (including the different areas of research, funding, and admissions). We also provide opportunities for attendees to engage in Q&A sessions with current graduate students and faculty.  

Before this event, our team worked on a comprehensive resource guide that we sent to registrants before and during the event. The resource guide covered commonly asked questions that came up during last year’s event and included advice from current grad students, staff, and faculty about applications, living on a grad student stipend, what it’s like living in Seattle, and more! Chelsea Mackey and Celine Lu put an incredible amount of work into this document, and it is an awesome resource that we are excited to share. It gets better and more comprehensive every year! 

This year we had over 380 folks registered and over 150 attendees. We send the recording and resource guide to registered participants so those who can’t attend due to conflicts or living in a different time zone can still access the event and information. Of the 36 attendees who completed this year’s post-event survey, most were unaffiliated with UW (94%) and they represented diverse racial and ethnic (22% Hispanic/Latine) identities, first-generation statuses, and range of current positions (see more details in charts below). 69% of participants identified themselves as women, and 31% reported that they would be international students.  

Attendees overwhelmingly found the session informative and enjoyed getting to know our department. Based on our post event feedback survey, attendees found the Q&A to be most useful, and all respondents indicated that they would be likely to pursue a grad program at UW after attending this event. Importantly attendees generally felt more confident in their knowledge about applying to grad school in psychology after attending the event!  

Ishaan Ambrish pulled some quotes from our feedback survey to share with UW faculty, staff, and grad students who made this event possible:  

• “This event made me feel that UW has a strong emphasis on inclusion, and I feel like this is a community I want to be part of”  

• “I really loved the dynamic between the current students and meeting attendees. They were very encouraging and responsive to each of my questions and those of the other participants. Gaining insight from current graduate students in various phases of their education has moved me to better approach my application and my studies altogether.”  

• “Students and faculty showed a lot of passion, DEI initiative and department-wide focus was very clear, program and financial information explained well” 

•  “I loved how the Q&A sections were set up. I'm impressed that the questions were answered so efficiently with nearly 200 people in the Zoom call!”  

• “This Zoom answered some of the questions I had about UW, and it convinced me that applying will be worth my time. Thanks for the work you guys put into this!”

This feedback is so encouraging, and we could not put on this event without those on the planning committee, and current faculty, staff, and graduate students who volunteer to present and answer questions! We are so grateful to all who contribute to our efforts to diversify our department and demystify the application process for applicants. And a special shoutout to Carol Lu for hosting the live event!  

We encourage students of all academic stages who are interested in learning more about doctoral degrees in psychology, especially students who are planning on applying to graduate school this upcoming cycle, to attend this event next year. If you know of anyone interested in graduate school in psychology, please direct them to our website and to be on the lookout for the 2025 event! And if you’re interested in getting involved with next year’s event, please email Carol Lu at carolylu@uw.edu.  

On behalf of the DSC 2024 Virtual Recruitment Event subcommittee:  

Lindsey Green  

Carol Y Lu   

Ishaan Ambrish  

Chelsea Mackey  

Celine Lu