Advancing Diversity via Graduate Admission

CK Cheng and Gary CottrellUC San Diego

Feb. 2012

Graduate Admission with Diversity

• Graduate program becomes popular with the advance of the technology and globalization.

• Graduate program has the flexibility for admission

• Diversity of graduate students is critical for education– Research Assistants– Teaching Assistants– Attendees of special topics

Outlines

I. Looking for the Best Talent with an Open Mind

II. An Example from 2010 CSE MS Admission

III.Enriching Student GroupIV.Remarks

I. Looking for the Best Talent

Admission: Recruit the best talentDiversity: Recruit the best with an open

mindWhat are our metrics?• Schools, GPA, GRE, References• CV, Statement

Looking for the Best Talent (2)

Whom are we looking for?• MS graduates• MS with potential for Ph.D. program• MS with potential to shine in the worldThe metrics for the above may not be

consistent. • Motivation, Perseverance• Diverse Talents, Sportsmanship• Leadership, Entrepreneurship

Read beyond the scores: UIC’s inadvertent experiment

“There is some data that some minority students who do poorly their first year (even bad enough to be expelled or put on probation) can ultimately succeed once they've made an adjustment.  

One of the reasons we know this I think is because of a database glitch -- when the university changed database systems:  students who should have been expelled or put on probation were not. Eventually the bug was fixed, but a surprising number of these students went on to complete degrees (which probably wouldn't have happened if the system had been working correctly).” –J. Lillis, UIC 

• Percent Below 1000• 86% of African Americans 76% of Puerto Ricans • 69% of Mexican Americans 61% of American Indian and Hispanic• 48% US Citizens 39% Non-US Citizens

My take on this: This is a preparation problem, not an ability problem.

What does GRE scores tell?

At Admission

Name EthUG

GPAUndergrad. Institution

Mabery, Eric AA 2.00 WilliamsThompson, Cheryl AA 2.20 USCMendoza, Ramon HA 2.31 SFSUAugustin, Danielle AA 2.36 SDSUAlegria, Michelle HA 2.37 UC BerkeleyVillanueva, Jacinto PI 2.42 UC BerkeleyLopez, Timothy HA 2.45 SFSUEvans, Erika AA 2.48 UC DavisCampbell, Tammy AA 2.50 UCLAPalacios, Emil HA 2.50 UC BerkeleyHines, Leslie AA 2.60 UCLAJones, Grace AA 2.60 SFSUPulliam, John AA 2.60 UC BerkeleyRonne, Talia HA 2.62 West Wash UTorres, Manuel HA 2.69 SFSUNavarro, Lorena HA 2.71 UC DavisMirsoian, Susan HA 2.71 UCLAAndaya, Armann PI 2.74 SFSULawson, Latevi AA 2.75 XavierWrighting, Diedra AA 2.80 Howard U.Encomio, Vincent PI 2.81 UCSDDrexler, Anna PI 2.85 UC BerkeleyMorales, Christina PI 2.89 UC DavisGomez, Noe HA 2.90 UC IrvineGomez, Gustavo HA 2.91 UCSBParangan, Audrey PI 2.93 SFSU

SFSU MS URM Bridge students with low entering GPA’s

After masters?

“Students with Promise”, F. Bayliss, SFSU

What does GPA tell?

At Admission At MS Graduation

Name EthUG

GPAUndergrad. Institution

MS GPA PhD Institution

PhD Date Admitted

PhD Date Completed Post-Doc

Mabery, Eric AA 2.00 Williams 3.53 Stanford U. 2004 CurrentThompson, Cheryl AA 2.20 USC 3.86 Harvard U. 1999 2007 ApplyingMendoza, Ramon HA 2.31 SFSU 3.45 U. Washington 2002 2007 UWash F.H. CanCtrAugustin, Danielle AA 2.36 SDSU 3.79 UC Berkeley 2006 CurrentAlegria, Michelle HA 2.37 UC Berkeley 3.54 UC Davis 1994 2000 LLNLVillanueva, Jacinto PI 2.42 UC Berkeley 3.61 UC Davis 1993 1999 Harvard ULopez, Timothy HA 2.45 SFSU 3.70 Johns Hopkins U 2003 CurrentEvans, Erika AA 2.48 UC Davis 3.83 Oregon St. U 2001 2006 IndustryCampbell, Tammy AA 2.50 UCLA 3.59 Cal. Tech. 2004 CurrentPalacios, Emil HA 2.50 UC Berkeley 3.87 UC San Francisco 2000 2007 ApplyingHines, Leslie AA 2.60 UCLA 3.70 Washington St. U 1999 2003 Beth Navy HospJones, Grace AA 2.60 SFSU 3.39 Albert Einstein 2003 CurrentPulliam, John AA 2.60 UC Berkeley 3.44 Emory U. 2001 2006 Morehouse MedRonne, Talia HA 2.62 West Wash U 3.81 UC Davis 2004 CurrentTorres, Manuel HA 2.69 SFSU 3.57 UC Davis 1997 2002 U.Wisc/U.GeorgiaNavarro, Lorena HA 2.71 UC Davis 3.78 UC San Diego 1996 2002 UCSDMirsoian, Susan HA 2.71 UCLA 3.72 UC San Francisco 2007 CurrentAndaya, Armann PI 2.74 SFSU 3.67 UC Davis 2004 CurrentLawson, Latevi AA 2.75 Xavier 3.54 UC Davis 2006 CurrentWrighting, Diedra AA 2.80 Howard U. 3.49 Harvard U. 2000 2007 ApplyingEncomio, Vincent PI 2.81 UCSD 3.85 VA Inst Marine Sci 1997 2004 FL Gulf Coast UDrexler, Anna PI 2.85 UC Berkeley 3.91 U Wash 2005 CurrentMorales, Christina PI 2.89 UC Davis 3.87 UC Berkeley 2000 2005 UCSFGomez, Noe HA 2.90 UC Irvine 3.44 Northwestern U 2004 CurrentGomez, Gustavo HA 2.91 UCSB 3.67 UC Davis 2004 CurrentParangan, Audrey PI 2.93 SFSU 3.90 UC Berkeley 2004 Current

SFSU MS URM Bridge students with low entering GPA’s

“Students with Promise”, F. Bayliss, SFSU

II. An Example from 2010 CSE MS Admission

Admission with diversity makes differences

• Statistics of 2010 MS Admission of CSE Department, UCSD

• Observations

Data of 2010 CSE MS Admission

MS/CSE Ph.D./CSE AESE MAS CMU Silicon Valley

MBA/UCSD

# applicants 645 785 14 124 495#enrolled 61 35 12 62 59Female 24% 5% 0% 3% 36%Minor. (US) 20% 0% 0% 0% ?GRE Q 771 779 710 770GRE V 566 551 500 600TOEFL 107 102 103GPA (US) 3.41 3.69 3.3 3.3staff 0.75 1.25 $113K 5 13

Observations of 2010 MS Adm

• Female student percentage significantly higher than among B.S. graduates nationwide.

• Several African-American and other minority students.

• Domestic students from universities including Caltech, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale, CMU, and MIT

• Foreign students from universities including the Ecole Polytechnique and Tsinghua,

• Countries including Kazakhstan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Zimbabwe

Observations of 2010 MS Adm (2)

• The MS program advances diversity; the PhD and AESE programs do not.

• The MS is more selective than the Rady MBA, and much more selective than CMU Silicon Valley.

• Compared to the MS program, the AESE program is low-fee and has low workload.

• The regular CSE programs are staffed very leanly compared to the CMU, Rady, and AESE programs.

III. Enriching Student Group

• Pool of Minority Students• Bridge Program• Diversity Admission

Top Minority Baccalaureate Producers(2005 -2006)

Rank Academic Institution State Men Women Total % Grad.

1 University of California-Los Angeles Calif. 1568 2335 3903 53%2 University of California-Berkeley Calif. 1529 2149 3678 54%3 Florida International University Fla. 1310 2146 3456 71.04 University of California-Irvine Calif. 1528 1741 3269 62.05 University of Texas at Austin Texas 1359 1588 2947 33%6 California State University-Long Beach Calif. 1058 1688 2746 47%7 University of California-Davis Calif. 1098 1622 2720 47%8 California State University-Fullerton Calif. 970 1734 2704 47%9 University of California-San Diego Calif. 1110 1296 2406 48%

10 San Jose State University Calif. 1110 1295 2405 56%11 California State University-Northridge Calif. 850 1492 2342 43%12 University of Houston-University Park Texas 935 1360 2295 51%13 San Francisco State University Calif. 862 1402 2264 47%14 San Diego State University Calif. 917 1330 2247 37%15 University of Florida Fla 944 1232 2176 26%16 Rutgers University-New Brunswick N.J. 897 1197 2094 35%17 University of Washington-Seattle Wash 951 1137 2088 29%18 University of California-Riverside Calif. 840 1236 2076 67%19 University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii 745 1161 1906 72%20 California State Polytech University-Pomona Calif 1009 874 1883 59.0

Opportunities for UC Campuses

Partner with CSU Campus(es) Students w/ poor undergraduate performance and

Significant productive research (RA/MS) Liberal Arts BA -> Rigorous 2nd BS Late Bloomer (strong documented letters) Post-Bac or MS with strong performance

Strong undergraduate grade performance Significant Post-bacc research Rigorous training/courses

Admit CSU applicants with promise

(see next slide)

Opportunities for CSU CampusesUC Undergraduate Students Referred to SFSU

Name GPA UG BS SFSU MS PhD Post-Doc CareerInstit Instit/GPA Instit Instit Position

LL 3.5 UCSD 3.98 TX A&M U Alaska U Alaska

LN 2.7 UCD 3.78 UCSD UCSD Applying

CM 2.9 UCD 3.87 UCB UCSF NA

EP 2.5 UCB 3.87 UCSF NA NA

SM 2.7 UCLA 3.72 UCD NA NA

TC 2.5 UCLA 3.59 Cal Tech NA NA

NG 2.9 UCI 3.44 Northwestern NA NA

Unsuccessful PhD Applicants to UC PhD Programs Referred to SFSU

Name GPA UG BS Referred SFSU MS PhD Post-Doc

Instit By Instit/GPA Instit Instit

JL 3.1 CSUN UCSF 3.58 UCSF NA

CL 2.5 Temple U UCD 3.44 UCD NA

LL 2.8 Xavier U UCD 3.54 UCD NA

CT 2.2 USC UCSF 3.86 Harvard U NA

MT 2.7 SFSU UCB 3.57 UCD U. Wisconsin

Admission with Diversity

There is no magic: –Charles E.

• legal affirmative action in the sense of positive efforts to prevent inadvertent discrimination.

• double-checking minority and female applicant files to make sure that reviews have not been misinformed.

• holistic review based on whatever strengths are present in a file.

Admission with Diversity (2)

Adding diversity to our program is a strength, but diversity includes anything out of the majority, such as a double major in music, being a veteran, being a refugee, being from Goldman Sachs. Overcoming obstacles is also a strength, e.g. graduating from a hearing college despite being deaf, or despite having been a foster child. –Charles E.

IV. Remark• Create the best 2012 MS class

– Look for the best with an open mind– Enrich the student group

• MS admission makes huge differences for our Department.– Pool for Ph.D. program– MS thesis for research– Pool for Teaching Assistants– Attendees for special subjects

• Diversity helps us all– Funding, Promotion, Education

Thank you for your attention!

Best Wishes for 2012 Admission!