Best Practices

There are a number of things that faculty can do to improve their chances of recruiting their top graduate applicants.

Of the many things faculty can do, the most important is engagement. At the earliest, likely before the deadline for applications has passed, faculty should engage closely with their most promising applicants. This engagement can come in many forms

  • Arranging interviews (e.g. Zoom, phone, other) in advance
  • Describing current activities of graduate students under your direction. This could include contact information (with permission). Your own students will also be a font of information about housing, departmental culture, the climate of your research group and what it is like to be at UCSB. Often your own graduate students are your best advocates and this sends a strong message that a student will be welcome.
  • Discussing research opportunities, for example any funded activity you might have and how the student might fit in, or broad initiatives where their training and interests fit well.
  • Discussing departmental opportunities, such as unique class offerings, other faculty that also might be of interest as instructors or committee members, or unique funding opportunities such as travel awards.

Be upfront about the cost of living, how students are typically funded (e.g., TA ships, central fellowships, research), and expectations for milestones, such as advancement to candidacy and time to degree.

When recruiting, it is not uncommon to find that a student who ultimately selected UCSB came because a UCSB faculty member was one of the only individuals who responded positively to their inquiries, gave them the information critical to their choice of institution, and made them feel welcome.

Planning Your Department Recruitment Efforts

Based on Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's (Virginia Tech) recruitment plan, the Graduate Division has adopted a similar model and developed a strategic communication plan. We strongly encourage departments to develop a strategic communication plan that highlights all or part of the following:

Goal:
Contact applicant regularly (once a week; once every two weeks)

Department faculty

  • Email department highlights and information
  • Advisor calls student
  • Graduate student in lab calls/emails

Department staff 

  • Email financial letter
  • Call to help with financial letter
  • If additional recruitment money becomes available, set up campus visit 

Graduate Division Dean 

  • Email UCSB highlights and information

College of Engineering Dean/College of Letters and Science Dean 

  • Email UCSB highlights and information

Yield‐Encouraging Acceptance of Admission Offers

Cultivate a relationship between the admitted student and your department. Emails and phone calls from faculty, current students, Graduate Program Assistants, and alumni play a critical role in the student’s choice of graduate programs.

Make sure to respond to a student within 24 hours of their contacting you and maintain a log of communication with each student so that others know what the student has been asking, learned about, etc.

  • Graduate Student Mentors: Offer current graduate students a stipend or part‐time paid position to reach out to admitted students (e.g. phone calls, personal contact during visit) 
     
  • Alumni Mentors: Create an alumni advocacy program to connect with prospective and admitted students.
     
  • The more personal and individual an interaction feels for a student the better. Introduce students to specific faculty, staff, students and alumni whose interests may intersect. Also make them aware of student organizations or activities that may be of interest to them. 
     
  • Inform and invite students to any lectures or programs of interest the department/campus may be holding during time when students are making their decisions. They may not be able to come, but it will give them an idea of the different opportunities available to them.
  • Departments really need to plan for an alternative to in-person campus visits. Plan virtual campus visits and involve current students and/or alumni in the planning and activities.
     
  • If possible, coordinate a newly admitted student weekend and create opportunities for faculty, staff, current students, and prospective students to interact. Remember that the Graduate Division’s peer advisors (located in the Graduate Student Resource Center), are pleased to meet with students upon request.
     
  • Offer a mix of social and academic activities. Formal panels are a great way for students to be introduced to an entire department, as are virtual informal mixers. A virtual dinner or happy hour with current students allows prospective students to ask questions and learn things they might have otherwise not asked.

Evaluation of Admission Applications

Appoint an admissions committee that is representative of the diversity of your department or that has individuals who are interested in achieving diversity in your department.

  • Have a discussion about what characteristics the department is looking for in students.
    • What are the different indicators of success and/or what makes a student the right fit for the department?
    • In addition to grades and test scores, what other qualities are you looking for: research/ work experience, research/academic interests, leadership, overcoming adversity, and/or unique perspectives or skills?
  • Invite the Director of Admissions, Outreach, and Diversity, to meetings concerning admissions and application evaluation practices.

Evaluation and Follow‐Up

Keep records of who attends what events, how many contacts are made, etc., so that you can use these to evaluate the process at the end. After the recruitment and admissions season is over, evaluate the process in order to begin planning for the next year.

  • Contact students who accepted and rejected offers of admission to UC Santa Barbara to ask why 
  • Evaluate effectiveness of different strategies
  • Hold meeting with faculty and staff involved to get their insights on the process
  • Talk with current students involved about what they thought did and did not work
  • Maintain contacts at other institutions that may be useful once recruitment begins again