IPiB and UW–Madison work to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the sciences. Information about IPiB and campus-wide commitment to DEI, including initiatives, programming, and communities, appears below.
Additional resources can be found on our Student Resources page, including information on campus-wide student communities and organizations, how to report an incident on campus, and disability and accessibility access.
IPiB is committed to providing an outstanding graduate education to a diverse group of talented students. We have a moral obligation to ensure that our community is welcoming to all and that the people who identify and solve the most fascinating scientific questions are representative of the society that science serves. We commit to the continual pursuit of an equitable structure and climate for all trainees, staff, and faculty in the IPiB community. We aim to foster an inclusive environment where ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives within our community are shared, respected, and enacted through action-oriented and meaningful improvement of our practices and climate.
IPiB Statement on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Admissions
- All IPiB students receive an annual stipend and tuition remission for the duration of their studies. Fee waivers are available, and GRE scores are not required for IPiB. Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.
- IPiB is continually exploring how to improve support for students and recognizes that the graduate school interviewing season poses a financial burden to prospective students. Beginning with the incoming fall 2023 class, IPiB has provided winter coats during prospective student visits to students who may not be able to afford one for a single recruiting weekend.
- Prospective IPiB students outside the U.S. attend virtual group meetings with students and faculty and interview with IPiB faculty virtually. The UW–Madison International Student Services (ISS) office provides information for international students, such as transitioning to life in Wisconsin and the United States.
- Current IPiB students and staff represent the program at the annual SACNAS, ABRCMS, and/or AISES conferences, and travel scholarships are available to those who attend.
Mentorship and Training
- First-year IPiB students are assigned a student mentor.
- IPiB faculty are encouraged to participate in Advancing Research Mentoring Practice (ARMP) training provided by WISCIENCE.
- IPiB faculty are required to complete sexual harassment training when they join the program and once every four years thereafter. They are strongly encouraged to complete an unconscious bias training offered through WISELI or to learn about unconscious bias through other campus resources.
Courses
- IPiB faculty are encouraged to talk about diversity, equity and inclusion throughout their courses, and at the beginning of each semester at minimum.
- IPiB faculty are encouraged to invite guest speakers from historically underrepresented and marginalized groups to give research lectures and seminars.
- IPiB students are required to take BIOCHEM/BMOLCHEM 701: Responsible Conduct in Bioscience Research during the fall semester of their first year of study. The course covers research misconduct and related topics as well as bias in STEM environments, the importance of diversity in science, culturally aware practices in STEM, realizing work-life satisfaction, mental health resources, and more.
Research
- IPiB faculty can host an undergraduate researcher for a summer project. Several programs are available on campus, including Biological Interactions through WISCIENCE, the PEOPLE Program, and the Indigenous Working Group.
- Other opportunities include mentoring researchers from the Menominee Tribal College and hosting high school students for summer research.
Seminars
- IPiB invites scientists who also have expertise in DEI spaces to give seminars on their research and DEI work as part of the Biochemistry Colloquium seminar series.
Book Club
- GLDC organizes an annual book club to highlight and discuss DEI in STEM. The inaugural book club was held in summer 2022.
Tea Time
- The Graduate Leadership and Development Committee (GLDC) organizes monthly tea time events during which the IPiB community comes together to talk about life and research. Themed events highlight the cultural diversity in IPiB.
BADGRS @ the WID
- IPiB students working in labs in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (WID) or the Morgridge Institute can attend BADGRS @ the WID meetings. Meetings are grad-student only discussions guided by prompts and case studies. Meetings are a safe space for students to share experiences, listen, empathize and reflect.
- In the past, GLDC has also hosted meetings using the BADGRS @ the WID format.
Let’s Talk Space
- GLDC and University Health Services provide Let’s Talk spaces for graduate students to express needs and concerns with mental health providers in a safe and confidential environment.
Campus Resources and Organizations
- The campus Diversity Inventory is an online database of diversity and inclusion programs, events, research, support services, and assessment on campus and in the Madison community.
- Everyone in the IPiB community is encouraged attend the campus-wide Diversity Forum each fall.
- Everyone in the IPiB community is encouraged to try Fair Play, an online simulation that mirrors the complex social world of a graduate student in academia that is funded by the University of Wisconsin System Administration and NIH.
- Campus organizations abound and are often linked to the Student Affairs website, the UW–Madison Diversity, Equity and Inclusion website, and the Graduate School Diversity webpage. You can also search the Wisconsin Involvement Network to find student organizations on campus.
- A partial list of organizations in which IPiB students and faculty participate includes: TAA, Graduate Research Scholars communities, ASBMB, SACNAS, AISES, Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM), MOSAIC, DREAM, NOBCChE, the Multicultural Student Center, the Indigenous Student Center, and the Latinx Student Center.
Graduate School
- The Graduate School provides resources for academic and professional development, diversity programs, accessibility, policies, and more.
- The Graduate School Diversity Training website outlines ways to be involved in DEI initiatives on campus.
- IPiB students are encouraged to attend Graduate Assistants’ Equity Workshops and participate in the Delta Program in Research, Teaching and Learning.
- Some IPiB students are members of the SciMed Graduate Research Scholars (GRS) community.
- Each year, the Graduate School sponsors a limited number of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to become members of the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society.
- The Peer Mentor Awards recognize graduate students who exhibit stellar mentorship qualities.
School of Medicine and Public Health
- Resources shared by SMPH
Financial and Basic Needs
- Students can search for many scholarship opportunities on campus using the UW–Madison Scholarship Hub. The Biochemistry Department offers scholarships to IPiB graduate students, including the Sigrid Leirmo Memorial Award and the Denton Award for Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring. Several fellowships are also available.
- Basic needs resources are offered through both UW–Madison and the Madison community. Basic Needs Assistants are available to help students navigate resources. The Dean of Students Office website includes information about food access programs including the Badger FARE program.
Other Programs and Opportunities
- Some IPiB students have joined Project Short, a student-led organization committed to working to shrink the socioeconomic gap in medical and graduate school.
- SMDP Biotech is a one-year career mentoring program that pairs ethnically diverse students with industry mentors.
Madison Area Resources (Miscellaneous)
- Madison Friends of International Students connects UW international students with local residents to foster cultural exchange, global goodwill, and friendships around the world.
- Learn more about City of Madison civil rights programs here.