UC Berkeley, as one of the nation’s top producers of underrepresented minority Ph.D.s in the STEM fields, prepares its graduate students for careers in academic and research and advances its doctoral recipients into the ranks of the nation’s faculty. The UCB AGEP Program builds upon this success through the work of full-time diversity officers situated in the academic departments. Diversity officers work closely with faculty, students and administrators on recruitment, admissions, student advising, retention and advocacy through a variety of programs including:

• The Berkeley Edge Conference, a pre-application recruitments conference for graduating seniors.
• Support for student-initiated recruitment and community-building efforts.
• Annual student retreat including academic and professional workshops as well as networking events.
• Academic Luncheon Series, where advances students ready to enter the job market present their research to a peer audience.

UC Davis is an international leader in agricultural, biological, biotechnological and environmental sciences, engineering and health sciences. The UCD AGEP Program consists of the Summer Scholars Program, a nine-week research program for newly admitted doctoral scholars, and the Advantage Fellows Program, a professional development program for current UCD doctoral students. The UCD AGEP Program offers students a variety of benefits including:

• A summer research stipend of $6000 for Summer Scholars.
• Faculty-mentored research opportunities through the Summer Scholars Program.
• Weekly academic and professional seminars and workshops for Summer Scholars, and monthly professional development seminars for Advantage Fellows.
• Personalized career development strategies for Advantage Fellows.
• Travel funds for Advantage Fellows to attend research and teaching conferences to present research and build effective career strategies.
• Community-building and networking opportunities through interaction with faculty, current and former AGEP Scholars and Fellows, and other graduate students.

UC Irvine is ranked as one of the top fifteen public universities in the nation and was the first public university whose faculty received Nobel Prizes in two different fields – chemistry and physics – in the same year. UC Irvine recognizes that a diverse graduate student population is key to the continued success of the campus, the community and the world, and is committed to the outreach, recruitment, retention through the AGEP program. The UCI AGEP Program supports underrepresented students’ goals of acquiring an academic position in teaching and research through a variety of opportunities including:

• The AGEP Summer Research Program for Undergraduate and Master’s Students, an eight-week mentored research experience including graduate preparation workshops.
• The UCI Competitive- Edge Summer Program, a faculty-mentored summer research program with academic and professional preparation workshops for newly admitted doctoral students.
• Guaranteed on-campus housing.
• A Graduate Lecture Series, quarterly networking opportunities, pertinent to graduate students’ goals of acquiring academic positions in teaching and research.
• Conference travel support for enrolled students presenting research at scientific conferences.
• A personalized student support team dedicated to assisting AGEP scholars in curriculum vitae writing, fellowship and grant searches, job search preparation and more.

UC Los Angeles is world-renowned for its faculty and student research programs, ranking first among the UC campuses in both the number and dollar amount of research awards received. Situated in one of the world’s most culturally diverse cities, the campus is home to the largest UC graduate student body. AGEP initiatives are facilitated by a program director who supports STEM students in their academic and professional success, and departments in recruitment, funding, mentoring and matriculation. UCLA AGEP PLEDGE (Providing Leadership and Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education) provides a myriad of opportunities including:

• Pathways to Success, advising undergraduates on statements of purpose and the graduate application process, and graduate students with their academic portfolio.
• UC Edge: University of California Recruitment Day, an all-day UC-wide event for undergraduates engaged in research.
• AGEP Summer Scholars, research opportunities for undergraduates and master’s students.
• The UCLA Competitive-Edge Summer Program, a faculty-mentored summer research program with academic and professional preparation workshops for newly admitted doctoral students.
• STEM-PLEDGE, a graduate organization providing peer mentoring, community-building, faculty-student interdisciplinary networking, professional development and leadership opportunities.
• AGEP Leadership Travel Awards for conferences and research.
• Partnerships with California State Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

UC Merced, as the first new research university of the 21st century, is building research and educational programs that are broadly interdisciplinary in structure with a focus on graduate education organized around multidisciplinary groups that transcend traditional boundaries and focus on major problems in society. The UCM AGEP Program establishes a foundation for the success of individuals from underrepresented groups by creating an understanding of, and respect for, the obstacles that students encounter, providing undergraduate students with an opportunity to experience what graduate school might be like through a summer research experience including:

• Hands-on laboratory experience with a research mentor.
• Graduate preparation workshops, including GRE preparation.
• Seminars on academic life, its responsibilities and rewards.
• Connections with underrepresented faculty members.

UC Riverside has a proud tradition of close collegial relations between graduate students and faculty. Its faculty’s goal is to provide graduate students with the best academic training, the most thorough introduction to professional mores and practices, and to cultivate every opportunity for future career success. To achieve these goals, the UCR AGEP Program provides both prospective and current graduate students a wide array of opportunities designed to foster academic and career preparation. The UCR AGEP Program supports undergraduate and graduate student initiatives including:

• The Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program, an intensive eight-week mentored research experience including graduate preparation workshops and GRE preparation courses.
• Travel and research grants for current graduate students to attend professional research conferences.
• Get Connected, a monthly professional development seminar series for graduate students intended to acquaint students from different research areas, foster a peer support system and provide students with the resources needed to successfully navigate graduate school.

UC San Diego has achieved international distinction, in just four decades, for its educational excellence, research strength and institutional flexibility. It is ranked first IC system and fifth in the nation in federal research and development funding. UCSD AGEP Program contributes to a tradition of achievement by increasing the diversity of the UCSD graduate student body and the professoriate. UCSD AGEP focuses on supporting graduate students’ academic progress through a variety of programs including:

• Summer research internships for undergraduate students.
• The UCSD Competitive-Edge Summer Program, a faculty-mentored research program for five incoming graduate students.
• Guaranteed access to on-campus housing for eight incoming students.
• Ten first year $16,000 AGEP Fellowship awards (campus funded).
• A Peer-Networking Program designed to strengthen and foster community.
• Conference travel funding
• Personalized career advising, beginning with the graduate application process.
• A graduate Success Program, training and workshops on topics of academic progress and the transition to the professoriate.

UC San Francisco is the only UC campus dedicated exclusively to the heath sciences, and is home to graduate programs in the biological, biomedical, social and behavioral sciences. The UCSF AGEP “Pathway to the Professoriate” is a continuum of programs beginning with information dissemination, outreach and recruitment, progressing to immersion in research and teaching, and continuing through the postdoctoral years. The UCSF AGEP Program includes the following components:

• Summer research training.
• Bi-annual research colloquia for undergraduates.
• Team- and community-building activities. Enrichment workshops in publishing, grant /fellowship writing, professional socialization, responsible conduct of research, etc.
• Advanced Preparation for Academia , a co -curriculum to strengthen student and postdoctoral scholar resolve to enter the professoriate
• Teaching opportunities for graduate students and postdocs headed for academic careers.
• Access to inform at ion on postdoctoral opportunities for students, and to information on faculty positions for postdocs.

UC Santa Barbara has been ranked as one of the top two public research universities nationally and has produced five Nobel Prize winners in the last seven years. The UCSB AGEP Program incorporates strategies to support prospective and current graduate students including:

• A Graduate Research Internship Program, an eight-week, faculty-mentored research program for undergraduates, students in master’s programs, advanced doctoral students and potential postdoctoral scholars.
• Partnerships with California State Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
• Professional development seminars, interdisciplinary opportunities and support for student-initiated community-building efforts.
• Full-time diversity coordinators who work closely with the divisional deans, faculty, administrators and students on recruitment, admissions, advising, retention and advocacy.
• Graduate diversity peer advocates who assist in maintaining an environment that fosters graduate student diversity.

UC Santa Cruz offers the same academic rigor and resources of a major university within a personalized, small college setting. The UCSC AGEP Program is committed to providing comprehensive services to underrepresented students in the STEM disciplines, while also addressing the diverse and specific educational needs if incoming graduate students including:

• Academic and professional development funding for attendance at workshops, conferences, national meetings and other career building activities.
• Workshops and other activities designed to strengthen and foster community within the UCSC graduate student population.
• Partnerships with California State Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
• Preparation for postdoctoral transition and access to postdoctoral opportunities including grant funding.