Undergraduate Student Diversity Project

Chancellor with students

Our Charge

The excellence of UC Berkeley depends upon a diversity of thought and perspective within our community, and our institution flourishes when individuals of all backgrounds feel welcome and able to participate in the Berkeley experience.

For our campus to remain preeminent, ensure that those we educate can thrive in a multicultural world, and meet our representative responsibilities as a leading public institution in California, we must we embrace, embody, and protect diversity of every kind. This includes but not is limited to race and ethnicity, disability, intellectual interest, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, geographical origin and religious and ideological beliefs.

The Berkeley campus launched the Undergraduate Student Diversity Project in December 2018 to  increase diversity among our undergraduate class, improve the campus climate for those historically underrepresented in higher education, and ensure that every member of the campus can access Berkeley’s wide range of offerings. Over the course of the 2018-2019 academic year, study teams examined the below topics:

  • Admissions Outreach, Recruiting, Marketing, and Yield;
  • Undergraduate Admissions Policy and Process; and the
  • Campus Experience for Underrepresented Students

The teams' findings and recommendations were published in fall 2019, and implementation began shortly thereafter under the direction of Associate Director of Financial Aid Silvia Marquez.

Publications

The following recommendations from the Undergraduate Diversity Project's three working groups were published in fall 2019: