Underrepresented Graduate Students in Psychology

Underrepresented Graduate Students in Psychology (UGSP) is a group dedicated to supporting and advocating for psychology students from racial, linguistic, geographic, or socioeconomic backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in graduate education. UGSP is designed to provide valuable social support to these students whom may otherwise find it difficult to pursue their graduate studies. Through activities, mentorship, and community outreach, we hope to provide a community that encourages the potential and promise of those from underrepresented groups. By promoting and improving multicultural training in psychology, we hope to not only increase ethnic minority student recruitment, retention, and graduation but also improve intergroup relations within our department. UGSP operates with the following branches: UGSP Brown Bag Committee This committee organizes a lecture series that is open to all graduate students. These talks are given by faculty members and post-doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds or whose research focuses on diversity issues. Each Brown Bag lecture includes both a research presentation and a career development component. This speaker series allows graduate students to network with prominent faculty members from underrepresented groups, hopefully fostering a sense social connectedness and community within the Psychology Department. UGSP Undergraduate Outreach Committee This committee organizes panels for undergraduate students to learn about various aspects of the graduate student experience. We hope to galvanize interest in graduate school by offering examples of successful underrepresented students from their own university. We also hope that this will provide undergraduates with the opportunity to connect with graduate students so they feel comfortable asking questions about diversity in graduate school. UGSP High School Outreach Committee As members of underrepresented groups, we find it imperative to give back to our communities through teaching, education, and service. UGSP will target high schools in low-income neighborhoods and will hold lectures for both parents and students about getting into college. UGSP Transfer Outreach Committee This committee is dedicated to providing resources and improving the experiences of the diverse group of transfer students at UCLA. A central goal of this committee is to serve transfers as they navigate their undergraduate experience and provide tools and information as they set future goals by creating/hosting events and building community between undergraduate and graduate students. UGSP Social Committee The Social Committee plans and coordinates various events each year, typically off campus. Our goal in organizing these events is to foster a sense of community among UGSP members. It is a chance for students to interact with people that come from diverse backgrounds who share similar experiences.

http://ugsp.psych.ucla.edu/
ucla.ugsp@gmail.com

Signatories: Riley Marshall, Xochitl Smola, and Francesca Querdasi

Advisor: Aranza Angelica Guzman