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Holistic review refers to the consideration of a variety of variables when evaluating a candidate for admission into a graduate degree program. Admissions committees may consider academic, nonacademic, and contextual factors in the review process with the goal of identifying students who are most likely to succeed in their programs. The Council of Graduate Schools publishes published a helpful guide book that outlines many of the nuances of holistic review at the graduate level and issues ongoing guidance on this topic.

The UC San Diego Division of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs is committed to eliminating obstacles that might lead to admission bias against groups of individuals. As outlined in the June 2020 Memo, Dean James Antony encourages all graduate programs at UC San Diego to adopt holistic admissions practices and Division staff are available to assist programs who are interested in learning more about holistic admissions or adopting a holistic review process for their program.

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Please note you may need to log-in with a UC San Diego credential in order to access some articles. Do you have a helpful resource on holistic review that you'd like to share here? Email it to Tamara Schaps.

• Racialized Gatekeeping Systems: Guidance for Navigation & Transformation (IGEN, 2023)
• What Does Performance in Graduate School Predict? Graduate Economics Education and Student Outcomes (Athey et al,, 2007)
• The Case for Noncognitive Assessments (Kyllonen, 2005)
• Why We Should Use Noncognitive Variables With Graduate and Professional Students Evaluating MBA-Program Admissions Criteria: The Relationship Between Pre-MBA Work Experience and Post-MBA Career Outcomes(Sedlacek, 2004)
• Roadmap to Excellence: Key Concepts for Evaluating the Impact of Medical School Holistic Admissions (AAMC, 2013)
• Toward Inclusive Excellence in Graduate Education: Constructing Merit and Diversity in PhD Admissions Inclusive Graduate Education Network (IGEN) Equity (Posselt, 2014)
• Equity in Graduate Education Resource Hub

Additional Information & Next Steps

• Holistic Admissions Training Sessions
  • Clinical Psychology Holistic Review Training 11/30/20
  • Fundamentals: Equity in Graduate Admissions, 11/30/20, Cornell University
  • Excerpts from C-CIDE-UCSD Strategies for Holistic Review Slides 08/26/20
• Rubric Development Information & Templates
• GRE Information
  • GRE Resources & Articles
  • Requesting a Change of GRE Requirements
    • Requesting a Permanent Change of GRE Requirements - Letter Template
    • Requesting a Temporary Change of GRE Requirements - Letter Template
  • Waived GRE - Participating Departments
• Letters of Recommendation: How to Write, Read and Solicit Letters for EquityEquity
• Holistic Admissions Practices Workshop - May 31, 2023