Diversity statement at UMinn

[Catria]

I checked against the University of Minnesota's application forms and they asked for a diversity statement. It's not about what I'm putting in it (it's essentially the same stuff that goes into a law school diversity statement, except that one changes "law school" for "PhD program in X"), but how much it is going to affect my chances, especially since I'm an international student. I know that a personal statement can hurt you if it's poorly written but I am totally clueless about how the diversity statement would affect my chances.

 

How much weight is given to the diversity statement in the admissions process if it is required?

[peachypie]

I don't know how much weight is given in a diversity statement but I treated mine as critically as i did my personal statement.  for example I presented a well thought out and written statement on diversity and my individual impact.  I'd say that I spent a decent amount of time writing it, however mine was shorter than a SOP.  It was only a one page statement (I think that is what the limit was that was listed?).  Anyway, I would treat it as just as important as any other portion of your application and another option to show why you are a good candidate.

[fuzzylogician]

I asked the schools I applied to how important the diversity statement was. Only two schools wanted one. Both said it would only be used in case I was admitted in order to determine if I was eligible for special diversity fellowships, but I would not be since I was an international student. Otherwise, they said, no one would really look at it too much. I didn't spend too much time on it, but I think I still wrote something decent. 

 

The moral of the story: ask. 

[victorydance]

I believe you only have to do the diversity statements at University of Minnesota if you are applying for either of these fellowships: DOVE (Diversity of Views and Experience) and ICGC (Interdisciplinary Center for Global Change Fellowship).

 

The former of the two is only applicable for American students. So you might actually not have to do a diversity statement, I would make sure to check for sure yourself.

[cyberwulf]

Diversity statements are typically used to establish whether you are a member of an under-represented group (e.g. racial/ethnic minority, disabled, low-income, etc.) and hence eligible for fellowships/scholarships available specifically to those groups. As mentioned by a couple of other posters, the bulk of this funding is available only to U.S. citizens/permanent residents.

 

If "being an international student" is your primary claim to increasing diversity, then by all means write the statement but I wouldn't spend time agonizing over it since it is unlikely to have much of an impact on your application.

Edited August 27, 2014 by cyberwulf

[Catria]

How I understood a diversity statement: it was an essay in which one wrote about what experiences, background would contribute to diversity in one's chosen program that one would not write in a personal statement, that is, the experiences and background not directly relevant to the program one chooses to apply to.

 

To this effect, I mentioned, and expanded, on one aspect of my background that I felt had no business being mentioned in a personal statement. I used this document as a guideline (change law school for PhD program): http://prelaw.cas.nyu.edu/docs/CP/2746/LawSchoolDiversityStatementQuickGuidelines.pdf