Diversity at Carolina

The Graduate School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill believes in providing a rich, multi-cultural and diverse learning environment for all students and faculty. Listed below are information and links on a variety of programs and activities that promote a diverse, rich learning environment, plus relevant diversity and cultural links. Visit the latest schedule of diversity events.

Bringing together talented students and faculty from a vast array of cultural, racial/ethnic, economic, and geographic backgrounds enhances the learning experience for all our students. The University endeavors to recruit quality students from all ethnic, socio-economic and other diverse backgrounds and create a climate that nurtures and supports their success in graduate study. Currently, 21 percent of our graduate students represent minority racial/ethnic groups, including about 9 percent who are African-Americans, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Americans. About 11 percent of our new graduate students for 2002 are members of these U.S. minority groups. In addition, approximately 62 percent of our graduate students are women.

Our campus offers a rich array of cultural programs. The Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center has weekly programs that provide opportunities to engage in dialogue on race and culture. The Duke-UNC Latin American Studies Center is devoted to the study of Latino and Hispanic communities. Carolina has a strong Native American student presence with a variety of cultural activities and a growing number of graduate students and faculty interested in conducting research on Native American issues. Within the metropolitan area of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, there are numerous opportunities to attend a variety of social and cultural activities. You can also take advantage of cultural programs at the twelve Historically Black and Native American Institutions in North Carolina.

The Graduate School offers our minority students many types of support from helping arrange campus visits and orientation programs, to workshops on topics from professional development to finding funding. We also offer fellowship opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds. Many services, such as childcare, health care, and job search assistance, are offered by the University. The Graduate School also sponsors social events for our multi-cultural student body. These gatherings offer graduate students from diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and culture the opportunity to socialize, network, and establish lasting relationships.

“Education takes place most productively among persons with differing social backgrounds, economic circumstances, personal characteristics, philosophical outlooks, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, expectations, and aspirations, to mention salient factors. The University works to assure that we have a compliment of students, faculty, and staff that broadly reflects the ways in which people differ. We speak of these differences as representing ‘diversity.’ ”
— From the Report of the Chancellor's Task Force on Diversity, 2005