Cal State Fullerton’s federally funded Project upGRADS offers advising, mentorship, and scholarships to improve access to graduate education for Latinx and underrepresented students.

The project has been highly successful, with close to 7,000 graduate students served since 2019, according to its leaders Katherine Powers and Volker Janssen, CSUF faculty members.

Project upGRADS, which stands for Utilizing and Promoting Graduate Resources and Access for Disadvantaged Students, is funded by a six-year, $3 million U.S. Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institution grant awarded in 2019.

The project, which serves students from CSUF’s eight academic colleges, aims to address disparities in enrollment, retention and graduation rates between Latinx students and the general graduate student population.

This fall, Project upGRADS was named one of four national programs selected as 2024 Examples of Excelencia by the nonprofit Excelencia in Education for intentionally serving Latinx students throughout their higher education journeys.

“It’s rewarding to see our efforts recognized by a community of peers in higher education practices,” said Powers, who has led the project since its inception. “Our recent Excelencia in Education recognition, for example, draws attention to the opportunities that Latinx students have in graduate studies at CSUF and is a reminder of our collective work as a Hispanic-Serving Institution in truly serving Latinx students.”

Empowering Latinx and Underrepresented Students

Project upGRADS supports Latinx and underrepresented students through one-on-one academic advising, new student onboarding, faculty-student collaborations, scholarships, professional development opportunities, and faculty training in cultural awareness and humility.

The project’s advising staff also proactively assists students as they complete their graduate school applications. Faculty mentors trained in cultural humility and culturally competent communications have also increased Latinx grad students’ sense of belonging.

“Empowering Latinx students to endure the stresses of graduate school, work and family obligations requires a deeper knowledge of students’ cultural backgrounds, which are often very different from those of our faculty,” Janssen said. “It takes skills and practice to help students bridge the divide between the institution and the world they know.”

Under the project’s Master’s Early Transition and Access summer program, first-year Latinx students learn about graduate student culture, life, and their academic program’s writing and research expectations.

Meanwhile, the project’s Pa’lante Fellowship program pairs graduate students of color with faculty mentors, helps them connect with peers, fosters their preparation for postgraduate careers, and provides scholarship support.

The project also offers workshops on the benefits of graduate school, the admissions process and financial aid, and assists students with professional networking.

Accomplishments and Future Plans

Project upGRADS has improved enrollment, retention and graduation rates for its graduate students across disciplines. Project upGRADS has helped to increase the number of Latinx graduate students from 30.3% in 2020 to 36% in fall 2023.

The three-year graduation rate for Latinx students steadily increased to 74.8% for the 2020 cohort, higher than for non-Latinx students.

Janssen explains that “the increase in Latinx graduate enrollment is due to the proactive advising of Project upGRADS staff members, who offer help and support to prospective applicants in emails, phone calls, Zoom meetings and in-person consultations.”

The share of incomplete or withdrawn graduate applications from Project upGRADS advisees in fall 2023 was only 5%. By comparison, for non-Latinx and non-Black students who did not get advised, it was close to 18%.

As some of the project’s activities do not continue during the grant’s sixth-year extension, Powers and Janssen are working with CSUF’s Office of Academic Programs and other areas of the campus to transform the project’s work into permanent practices at CSUF.

“Even when our grant funds are spent in the coming year, Project upGRADS’ work will become part of CSUF’s graduate culture for years to come,” Powers said. “Making lasting change has always been the purpose.”

CSUF was recently awarded another five-year, $3 million grant from the Department of Education’s “Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans” program, the fourth such grant in succession since 2009. The new grant funds the project “ELEVAR: Excelencia for Latinx: Engagement, Validation, Academics, Resources.”

Powers and Janssen are also managing ELEVAR, which continues to increase the number of Latinx graduate students and other students of color, expand academic offerings, and enhance institutional resources for student support.

Students Experience a ‘Sense of Community’

History graduate student Jesus Hoil participated in Project upGRADS as a first-generation college graduate. Hoil attended Project upGRADS activities like the Master’s Early Access and Transition summer bridge program.

“Project upGRADS was an opportunity to learn what to expect in graduate school and how to accomplish my goal of earning a master’s degree,” Hoil said. “Project upGRADS has given me a community, and I’ve benefited from the welcoming environment and connection to campus resources and faculty.”

Ashley Valenzuela Chairez ’24 (M.A. Spanish), was involved in the project’s Pa’lante Fellowship program.

“With graduate programs in general, I feel like many students either are full-time workers, have families, or have other obligations that make it challenging to connect with peers within academics,” Valenzuela Chairez said. “The fellowship gave me a sense of belonging. It was another way for me to connect with my peers in terms of sharing tips, resources, or more about our experiences in graduate school.”

Valenzuela Chairez also connected with a faculty mentor, who offered motivation and support through her time as a graduate student.

“The sense of community was really important for me,” Valenzuela Chairez said.