Achievement

Our IGERT team has worked with determination to build an inclusive, diverse environment. We interpret 'diversity' broadly, to include not just racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity, but also international and academic diversity. As a result, we have seen progress each year in the breadth and quality of our applicants and student body. For example, our Media Arts and Sciences PhD program applicants this year were 47% female, 27% domestic minorities, and 40% international. More important than these percentages (which alone are a significant accomplishment for a media computing program) is that the academic quality and diversity of the applicants. We successfully recruited two highly qualified female African-American students for Fall 2011 who both have undergraduate degrees from top-tier national universities. We have recruited students who bring expertise in areas from graphic design to mechanical engineering, in addition to their media computing qualifications.