Diversity & Inclusion

The Political Science Department at UC Santa Barbara places a high value on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We are committed to fostering an intellectual community comprised of people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. A diversity of perspectives and insights helps us flourish together. We acknowledge the lack of equity in the US education system, from primary and secondary schools right up through college and graduate institutions, and our goal is to work toward overcoming those inequities within our own community and beyond. We support the UC Board of Regents’ Policy on Diversity and are committed to helping students of all races, religions, cultures, gender identities, and economic backgrounds to find an intellectual home and flourish among us.

UC Santa Barbara is also a socio-economically diverse institution. We are one of only a handful of designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) in the United States: the first member of the prestigious Association of American Universities to be so designated, and recently we were named the best HSI. We are also an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. Further, we were recently ranked second in social mobility by the New York Times’s College Access Index, and we rank among the top institutions for Pell Grants in the country.

For more information, contact our Diversity Officer, Professor Alison Brysk.

Resources

Student Organizations and Alliances
American Indian Graduate Student Alliance
Black Graduate Student Association
Chicanx/Latinx Student Organizations
Graduate Students for Diversity in Science
Queer-Trans Graduate Student Union
Women in Science and Engineering

Anti-Harassment Resources from Professional Associations
AAUW Guide for Creating a Safe Anti-Sexual Harassment Workplace
APSA Resources Combatting Sexual Harassment
WPSA Anti-Harassment Policy

UCSB Campus Resources on Mentoring
Selected Mentoring Publications
Mentoring Basics
Faculty, Staff, and Graduate Student Mentoring Training
Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity
Article: What would your ideal graduate mentoring program look like?: Latina/o student success in higher education

UCSB Campus Resources on Family
My Family Resources
Graduate Student Parents
Parenting-Related Employment Accommodation Policies & Benefits

More UCSB Campus Resources
Multicultural Center 
Food Security
Disabled Students Program (click here for the list of covered disabilities)
Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS)
Resources for Graduate Student Parents