While at USC, we have a number of programs to support our graduate students to be successful in their studies. These programs support under-represented students to navigate their education and to support them through specific training and mentoring opportunities.

EDGE: Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (EDGE-SBE) is a four university alliance established in 2006 which aims to increase the enrollment, retention, and successful graduation of under-represented minority students in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences.

EDGE Summer Institute: The First-year Institute for Research Socialization and Training (FIRST) is a seminar series organized as part of the Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education in Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (EDGE-SBE) program at the USC Graduate School. The objective of FIRST is to orient rising second-year doctoral students for research training through formalized faculty mentorship over the summer between the first and second year of doctoral study.

Diversity Lunches: Our office hosts a series of mentoring lunches for diverse graduate students in the sciences and African-American Ph.D. scholars each semester in which students share their experiences and opportunities for fellowships and grant funding. These lunches provide networking opportunities for our students.