Admissions Institute UC Berkeley Graduate Admissions InstituteThe UC Berkeley Graduate Admissions Institute aims to provide information and resources to academic departments interested in diversifying their graduate student cohorts and promoting the values of equity, inclusion, justice and belonging across their academic programs. The Admissions Institute will host a series of virtual workshops on holistic graduate admissions to provide training and a forum for discussion on best practices for holistic and equity-minded admissions at UC Berkeley and across academia. The Admissions Institute encourages all graduate admissions committees, including faculty, staff, and student members, to be represented at these workshops. Department or unit Faculty Equity Advisors, Chief Diversity Officers, or equivalent are also welcome to attend. The admissions institute provides two Primary Workshops and two Supplementary Workshops. Primary WorkshopsIntroduction to Equity-Based Holistic Review Date: TBD Strategies for Equity-Based Holistic Review Date: TBD Supplementary WorkshopsThe Admissions Institute will also provide two supplementary workshops that participants will be encouraged to participate in November. Evaluation Protocol Improvement Workshop Date: TBD This workshop will focus on working with departments to refine/improve their existing admissions rubrics. Participants will be asked to bring existing rubrics for review/improvement. Participants without an existing rubric will work to imagine what a rubric for their program can look like. Graduate Applications in the Post-Pandemic Context Date: TBD COVID-19 has disrupted the experiences of undergraduates in their traditional preparation for graduate study. With particular attention to students from underrepresented backgrounds who may have not been able to engage in research experiences (such as summer REUs), this workshop will focus on working with programs in developing metrics to review applications within the context of the student’s access to resources and opportunities. Continuing WorkIt is anticipated that the Graduate Admissions Institute will continue each Fall semester and will supplement our Graduate Diversity Leadership Academy which expands on admissions to include workshops/conversations about inclusive mentorship and belonging, effective use of data to promote and assess equity and inclusion, and departmental climate. The overall goal of these efforts is to not only provide information and resources, but to build cross-departmental communities seeking to bring effective and lasting change based on the principles of justice, equity, inclusion, and belonging. UC Berkeley Admissions Academy Partners: Grace O’Connell, Damian Elias, Meltem Erol, Denzil Streete