The Health Disparities Interventions Lab coordinates the Graduate Psychology Diversity Pathway Program at East Carolina University . The Diversity Pathway Program is comprised of different initiatives (e.g., Diversity Pathway Open House, High School Outreach Program) that aim to ultimately increase the diversity of the applicant pool for ECU’s doctoral psychology program and its 3 concentrations: Clinical Health Psychology, Pediatric School Psychology, and Occupational Health Psychology.
The Diversity Pathway Open House is a program invites racial/ethnically diverse students from surrounding minority serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities, for a day-long program. The program provides participants with an overview of graduate programs offered within the department, an opportunity to attend various graduate classes within the department’s concentrations, and advice and mentoring on preparing for and applying to graduate school. The advice and mentoring regarding applying to graduate school includes how to write a personal statement, how to obtain research experience, and how to build a competitive application.
The program began in 2015 and was initially funded by the 2014-2015 Mini Grant Program: The Power of Pipeline Programs, through the Office of Equity and Diversity at East Carolina University. Following the program’s inaugural year, the department has been able to sustain the program through department funding. In addition to funding from the department, the program has been sustained by significant faculty and student involvement within the department, during the day of the event.
The High School Outreach Program is the most recent initiative where local high school students can interact with the HDI Lab. This program provides exposure to research examining health disparities affecting racial/ethnic, sexually marginalized, and medically underserved populations. Students will also have the opportunity to receive mentoring on college readiness skills (e.g., resume/personal statement, discuss future careers in psychology).
