Cal State Fullerton’s Project upGRADS is one of four national programs selected as 2024 Examples of Excelencia by Excelencia in Education for intentionally serving Latino students on their journey in higher education.
Project upGRADS, or Utilizing and Promoting Graduate Resources and Access for Disadvantaged Students, aims to improve access to graduate education for Latinx students.
Over the past five years, the program has improved enrollment, persistence and graduation rates for the university’s Latinx graduate students.
Project upGRADS offers advising, mentorship and scholarships and has served close to 7,000 graduate students since 2019, said faculty members Katherine Powers and Volker Janssen, who lead the project.
“This recognition 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,” said Powers, who has directed the grant program since its inception.
The 2024 Examples emerged from 345 nominations from 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 103 program submissions and 18 finalists, including Project upGRADS.
Each year, four Examples of Excelencia are selected from the associate, baccalaureate, graduate and community-based organization levels for their intentionality and evidence of effectiveness in positively impacting Latino students.
Funded by a $3 million U.S. Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institution grant, Project upGRADS addresses the disparities in enrollment, retention and graduation rates between Latinx students and the general graduate student population.
Project upGRADS has helped to increase the number of Latinx graduate students from 30.3% in 2020 to 36% in fall 2023. Janssen said that the three-year graduation rate for Latinx students steadily increased to 74.8% in 2020, higher than for non-Latinx students.
“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,” he said.
As a result, Janssen added that the share of incomplete or withdrawn graduate applications from Project upGRADS advisees in fall 2023 was only 5%.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%.
Standout Program Uplifts Grad Students
The program’s activities for students include workshops on the benefits of graduate school, the admissions process and financial aid to faculty mentoring and professional networking.
Jesus Hoil was eager to participate in Project upGRADS as a first-generation college graduate and a first-year student in the master’s program in history with a concentration in Chicana/Chicano studies.
“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,” said Hoil, who participated in the program’s activities, including the Master’s Early Access and Transition summer bridge program.
Hoil plans to write his master’s thesis about the Yucatán region and the indigenous Maya people — his family’s heritage and ancestry. He aspires to teach at the community college level.
“Project upGRADS has given me a community, and I’ve benefited from the welcoming environment and connection to campus resources and faculty.”
Programs selected as Examples of Excelencia and finalists are featured online in Excelencia’s Growing What Works Database for institutional leaders, funders, policymakers and others interested in evidence-based programming for Latino students.