The Center for Advancement of Students and Alumni into Graduate and Professional Programs (CASA) at Georgia State University has received a $1.25 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to establish a program that supports the progress of students from traditionally underrepresented groups into Ph.D. programs in the humanities.

CASA’s Humanities Inclusivity Program (HIP) will create a pipeline and support network for undergraduates in the humanities to enter and succeed in doctoral programs. HIP’s students will benefit from extracurricular research experiences, intensive writing instruction and expanded mentorship opportunities that will aid their progression towards—and application and acceptance to—Ph.D. programs in the humanities.

“The Humanities Inclusivity Program creates new opportunities for our undergraduates to get involved in high-level scholarly work. Our hard-working faculty and our top-notch graduate students will also benefit from serving as mentors and role models to these talented undergraduate students,” said Dr. Kyle Franz, director of CASA. “We look forward to seeing the great work of our HIP scholars in the years to come.”

One of the largest and most diverse universities in the country, Georgia State has proven that students from all kinds of backgrounds can succeed. Over the past four years, African-American, Hispanic, first-generation and Pell-eligible students have, on average, all graduated from Georgia State at or above the rates of the student body overall.

“Despite being a big institution Georgia State has been shown time and again to be a place that knows its undergraduate students very well and how to support them effectively,” said Armando Bengochea, senior program officer for diversity for The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. “We look forward to seeing how the institution integrates this set of research and mentoring opportunities into its overall plan for student success.”