Diversity in research and scholarly activity enriches the educational experience, both individually and collectively, by fostering the free exchange of individual ideas and experiences. The CTRD Training grant, and all of the participating academic departments at Indiana University, are strongly committed to providing a welcoming environment for students, postdoctoral fellows and staff as well as increasing diversity within the life sciences through the recruitment and retention of graduate students from traditionally underrepresented groups.   We strongly encourage members of these groups to apply to our CTRD Training Grant and special efforts will be made to increase the diversity of our trainees. Trainees, however, must be citizens, non-citizen nationals or permanent residents of the US.

In addition, the CTRD-affiliated departments (e.g., Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, Gender Studies, Medical Sciences) actively assist students with applications for many prestigious fellowships offered through the university and the IU Graduate School’s "Fellowships for Students Underrepresented in Graduate Education" Program, which offers fellowships for minority and women graduate students.  In addition, students receive funding through the James P. Holland Graduate Fellowship or the Partnership Fellowship. The latter two fellowships provide stipend and tuition support to Ph.D. students who are members of a group that is underrepresented in the biomedical/life sciences.

With funding from the National Science Foundation’s Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), the IU Graduate School is also working to increase its minority student PhD graduation rates through improved peer and faculty mentoring and the development of a peer network of graduate minority organizations on campus.

The IU Office of Academic Support and Diversity coordinates a wide array of programs and services that enhance excellence and equity for all members of the university. Indiana University also has an Affirmative Action Office on each campus and complies with all federal regulations against discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, religion, ethnic origin, veteran status, or handicap. The University provides a wide range services for students with disabilities, maintains the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, and complies with the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from CTRD-affiliated departments have traditionally represented a mix of equal numbers of females and males, who come from a wide variety of universities and colleges throughout the country as well as a number of foreign countries, including Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Romania, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey.