The Weill Cornell Graduate School is a vibrant community of scholars from around the globe. Our goal is to create a welcoming environment and help our students find their community. Diversity is something that we cherish and work to infuse in our institution’s fabric and practice. It is something we celebrate all year round from our Coffee Hours to Diversity Week. Our commitment to diversity has been recognized nationally through the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award by INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine five years in a row. The NIH has awarded the Graduate School a $2.4 million Initiative for Maximizing Student Development grant to support the education and recruitment of well-trained biomedical scientists from underrepresented backgrounds. Find out more about how our institution supports diversity here.
Our Team
The Office of Student Diversity services over 1,200 graduate and medical students. Meet the members of the office:
Our Commitment to Social Justice and Anti-Racism
We at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences take great pride in our efforts to advance racial justice and equity. A diverse community of students, faculty, and staff is vital to the success of our institution and the future of science and medicine. Work done by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, as well as conversations with the community as a whole, has led us to establish a series of short-term and long-term goals to dismantle systemic racism, advance racial equity, and champion social justice. These include unconscious bias training for all faculty, students, and staff, enhancing our outreach and pipeline program efforts to attract diverse and underserved student populations, and increasing the faculty of the graduate school from underrepresented groups. We encourage you to explore our vibrant community during the application process and welcome you to join our cadre of diverse scholars. Please visit the Social Justice and Anti-Racism (SJAR) Task Force website for more information.
Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Program
The Weill Cornell Graduate School is proud to be the recipient of a research training and career development (R25) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, amounting to $2.4 million over five years that will help to increase the number and enhance the success of PhD students from underrepresented backgrounds. The Weill Cornell IMSD program, the first at a biomedical science graduate school in New York City, supports four incoming doctoral students each year for the first two years of their training. In addition, WCGS has committed matching funds towards the support of IMSD and non-IMSD students in the third and fourth years of their training. Learn more: here.
Esprit de Corps
The Esprit de Corps Program is open to all first-year students with a curriculum that focuses on helping students from diverse backgrounds ease the transition into graduate school. Monthly seminars help students develop some of the “soft skills” needed to navigate through graduate school. The program also provides a strong community among peers and program leadership. A key to the success of the Esprit de Corps Program is the near-peer mentor, or coaching system. The coach is a veteran graduate student who is passionate about mentoring and has also participated in the program themselves.
Learn more about Esprit de Corps: https://gradschool.weill.cornell.edu/student-experience/diversity-and-inclusion/esprit-de-corps
Summer Research Programs
Weill Cornell Graduate School offers a variety of summer programs intended for high school and undergraduate students. The goal of our programs is to expose students from diverse communities to scientific research; and to enhance scientific research in so doing. Students accepted to these programs work with mentors in a laboratory to conduct biomedical research and present their projects. They also attend journal clubs, professional development workshops, and seminars throughout the summer. Our marquee programs include:
- Advancing Cornell Career Experiences for Science Students (ACCESS)
- Gateways to the Laboratory Summer Program
Diversity and Outreach Student Groups
Tri-Institutional Minority Society
TIMS brings together students, administrators, researchers and faculty members from the Rockefeller University, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City to make scientific opportunities available to all underrepresented groups and bring together all members of our scientific tri-institutional community. Our activities include organizing educational outreach, professional development, and networking programs. We also provide social opportunities to foster community across all three campuses.
To learn more, click here.
Tri-I Outreach Committee (TORC)
The Weill Cornell Graduate School (WCGS) promotes public awareness and understanding of science through science outreach initiatives. By contributing to science education and mentorship in the broader community, the WCGS students, faculty and staff help to spread enthusiasm for the STEM fields among youth in the New York City area. Over 100 student and postdoctoral volunteers are coordinated through the Tri-Institutional Outreach Committee (TOrC) to conduct science outreach in the Tri-Institutional community and beyond.
To learn more, click here.
Jewish Students Organization of Cornell (JSOC)
The Jewish Students Organization of Cornell (JSOC) is dedicated to celebrating Jewish culture and strengthening the Jewish community at Weill Cornell. JSOC hosts communal Shabbat dinners (both catered and potluck!), as well as celebrations for Chanukah, Purim, Lag Ba’Omer, and other Jewish festivities. Additionally, JSOC connects Weill Cornell students to opportunities and resources throughout New York’s Jewish Community.
Muslim Students Association of Weill (MSAW)
The Muslim Students Association of Weill is a group for Muslim and non-Muslim students, who wish to explore Islam, learn more about it, and interact with other health professional students who may share similar drives and challenges. The climate of the world today is a scary one and now, more so than ever, communities like this are paramount to shedding light on who Muslims really are. Our activities will range from casual get-togethers to holiday celebrations to in-depth discussions about Islam as a faith, and in the context of healthcare and of the world at large.
Q! Queer Health Alliance
Q! is a group for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer (LGBTQ+) identifying individuals and allies to bring up issues within the medical school community, facilitate contact with LGBTQ+ faculty, provide social and professional networking opportunities in the NY region, and advocate for open dialogue with the administration about LGBTQ+ issues in the curriculum. Previous activities have included an LGBTQ medical professional panel, welcome mixers, citywide medical school, and graduate school socials, lectures about LGBTQ-related topics, social activism, and support for conference participation.
Watering My Garden (WMG)
Watering My Garden is a support group/sister circle for self-identified women of color and allies. We host events with speakers that facilitate discussions about a wide variety of topics that intersect with medicine including but not limited to, relationships, leadership, and identity. Our goal is to provide a safe space to be in community with one another as we navigate our paths in medicine.
WCM Christians in Medicine
WCM Christians in Medicine is a group of students at WCM committed to learning and growing together, both in our careers and in our Christian lives. Led by a ministry fellow from Columbia University, we aim to have a warm and welcoming group where we can discuss how our faith impacts and shapes our lives in very real ways. Anybody from WCM is welcome: med, grad, PA, nursing, or other. The more the merrier and the richer the discussion! Please join us whether you grew up in the church, are new to the faith, or are just curious to learn more.