Best approaches for recruiting students
Develop inclusive language for advertisements that expressly encourages students from diverse backgrounds to apply, e.g.,
- Experience working directly with people from diverse racial, ethic, and socioeconomic backgrounds
- Ability to speak a second language (or a specific language)
- Ability to communicate in multiple cultural environments
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ability to present to diverse audiences, specifically racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse communities
- Experience working on a diverse team
- Create labs that are committed to building a diverse group and strongly encourages applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds
Expand advertising to include job boards geared toward Underrepresented Minority (URM) recruitment (e.g., the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Society for Advancing Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)).
- Community newspapers, news websites run by communities of color
- Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges, community colleges and schools with a large number of students of color, either graduate or undergrad, alumni associations or current job boards
- McNair Scholars, Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Collaborative (DDCSC), University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees (UC Leads)
- A list of websites to consider posting job advertisements is provided separately at the end of these notes
Consider selecting students based on increasing diversity in the lab - not simply based on ‘pedigree’. Multiple studies have shown that some of the highest impact science comes from papers with authors from diverse backgrounds. At the same time, we are also more likely to recruit students that are more like us. Enhancing the variety of interests, experiences, and perspectives in the department can be beneficial to everyone.
- In your selection criteria consider including non-traditional criteria, i.e.,
- Drive and motivation to persist and succeed
- Potential to bring a unique and critical perspective based on non-traditional educational or socio-economic background4
- Ability to communicate with multiple cultures to maximize effective collaboration
Make personal connections
- Develop a network of collaborators at HBCUs and HSIs that can help identify promising students
- Become a mentor for the multicultural program in your society
- Society for Freshwater Science, Ecological Society of America, American Fisheries Society, The Wildlife Society, American Ornithological Society
Make it clear through your website that you are dedicated to providing an inclusive culture in your lab
University graduate admissions committee
- Should be provided with demographic data for women and underrepresented groups in the department and university. This should include number of applicants, admitted, and enrolled graduate student data in each department
Don’t list a huge list of qualifications – can discourage some students to apply
Be up front about pay and duration of funding in conversations with students
- If pay is perceived as too low, fees are too high, etc., consider raising issue with your college as a barrier to entry that is limiting its ability to meet its (most likely) stated DEI goals
How to attract diverse students to a geographic/political location, particularly one that lacks diversity?
Demonstrate inclusive culture of lab/university
- Develop a virtual support network
- Collaborators from multiple institutions that students from diverse backgrounds can reach out to for guidance and mentorship
- Invite guest speakers from diverse backgrounds
Legality/ethics of explicitly targeting diverse students
- Affirmative action is illegal in most places (e.g., California)
- See different language that can be used in job advertisements and on websites that encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds, but is not specifically ‘targeting’
How to avoid bias in advertising and interviewing students
We all have our own implicit biases
- Take implicit bias training
- Include a collaborator on the search committee
- Have the rest of your lab group meet with prospective students/postdocs and provide opinions on the candidate
