The Division of Diversity, Equity, & Educational Achievement administers and supports several service programs and scholarships that support UW–Madison students as well as faculty and staff.
Accessibility and Belonging Administration
Accessibility and Belonging Administration (ABA) provides inclusive support and resources to all UW–Madison faculty and staff. Services offered within the ABA umbrella include affirmative action compliance, disability resources and accommodations, learning communities for facilitating dialogue and change, and research, evaluation, and quality improvement.
- Affirmative Action
- Employee Disability Resources
- Learning Communities
- Diversity Planning and Research
The Office of Affirmative Action Planning and Programming (OAAPP) oversees UW–Madison’s strategies and compliance related to Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action. This includes developing and implementing UW–Madison’s Affirmative Action Plans and providing data-informed service to the university and schools, colleges, and divisions. OAAPP serves as a resource hub for workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion and supports institutional efforts in creating a welcoming and inclusive community.
The Employee Disability Resources (EDR) office serves as the campuswide hub for information on the disability accommodation process for employees and applicants. We recognize that all UW–Madison applicants and employees with disabilities have a right to ask for a reasonable accommodation, and we advocate for a process to identify if one can be made. If you are experiencing difficulty in the hiring process, while performing duties of your job, or accessing an employment benefit, you can consider requesting an accommodation.
We offer essential information, consultation, education, and referral services to employees and applicants, Divisional Disability Representatives, and supervisors and managers to help minimize barriers in the workplace. We’re guided by our belief that disability is an important aspect of diversity, and we support full inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all aspects of employment and participation at UW–Madison.
Learning Communities for Institutional Change and Excellence (LCICE) provides a forum for active participation in dialogue focused on creating working, learning, and teaching environments where everyone is heard, valued and included. Through dialogue, one learns how to engage in transformative changes of behaviors, policies, and procedures that collectively impact the campus climate for all community members.
The Office of Strategic Diversity Planning and Research (OSDPR) is responsible for research, evaluation and assessment actions; leading quality improvement activities; and supporting internal and external reviews relating to diversity, equity and inclusion across the UW–Madison campus.
High Impact Practice Programs
The High-Impact Practices (HIPs) portfolio provides learning experiences that use evidence-based pedagogies and culturally relevant practices that center equity-mindedness to facilitate the academic, personal, and professional success of students. The portfolio supports academic coaching, mentoring, experiential learning (including internships, study away/abroad, and undergraduate research), preparation for graduate schools, and overall financial, physical, and socio-emotional well-being.
Academic Coaching to Thrive and Succeed (ACTS) provides free peer-to-peer tutoring to students in the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement to help them achieve academic success and thrive at UW–Madison.
ACTS also supports Indigenous scholars, who can join our ACTS Indigenous Student Services Canvas page to stay informed on events and resources from our department and from many of our campus partners. ACTS is also home to Network for Development & Growth of Indigenous Scholars at UW–Madison (NDGNS UW) — a four-year program. Incoming scholars can learn more about how to get involved at Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR).
The Center for Educational Opportunity (CeO) provides services for students that are first generation, meet certain federal family income guidelines, and students with documented disabilities. CeO advisors and staff embrace a personal approach and provide support in every aspect of the student’s path to achievement and success.
The Division of Diversity, Equity, & Educational Achievement (DDEEA) Internship Program provides high-impact employment opportunities for students to develop marketable work experience that combines their skills, interests, and identities.
The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program supports eligible undergraduates in acquiring the knowledge, skills and capacities necessary to successfully navigate the rigors of Ph.D. studies through immersion in research and a variety of scholarly activities. Each year, highly qualified students are selected from a pool of eligible applicants. The goal is to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.
Eligible students in need can seek additional financial support of up to $500 from the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement (DDEEA).
Student Engagement and Scholarship Programs
The Student Engagement and Scholarship Portfolio (SESP) Portfolio houses student scholarship programs with an infrastructure that supports college attainment. Through intentional programming, personalized advising, and scholarship support, the SESP portfolio prioritizes student success, focusing on academic excellence, leadership, community building, and service. SESP prepares students to enact the Wisconsin Idea, growing as ethical and responsible leaders who can thrive in an interconnected world.
The Mercile J. Lee Scholars Program (MJLSP) serves over 500 high-achieving undergraduate students. With a philosophy of “Excellence in Scholarship, Leadership and Service”, the program is at the forefront of providing intensive and consistent levels of direct support to talented students who as a cohort are admitted to UW–Madison. Since its creation in the early 1980s (originally named Chancellor’s and Power-Knapp scholarship), the MJLSP has established itself as the premier scholarship program on campus. Scholars benefit from individualized advising, a supportive peer network, leadership development opportunities, mentorship, alumni connections, and more. In addition to the structured support provided by the programs, scholars also receive a full tuition financial award.
The Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives provides culturally relevant and transformative arts programming to promote positive social dialogue and to give cultural art forms a legitimate academic forum. By harnessing the broad cultural influence of spoken word, hip hop, and emerging as well as traditional art forms, OMAI’s events and programming create learning environments that directly enhance UW–Madison’s campus climate, improving retention and graduation, and preparing future leaders to reinvest in their communities.
One of OMAI’s most prominent initiatives is the First Wave (FW) Hip Hop and Urban Arts Scholarship Program. FW is a cutting-edge multicultural artistic program that offers full tuition scholarships for urban arts, spoken word and hip-hop culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. FW brings young artists and leaders from across the United States and beyond to enroll as students, to live, study, and to create a close-knit and dynamic campus community of student activists.
The Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE) prepares Wisconsin students to succeed in college with an emphasis on enrollment at UW Madison. The program recruits students at the pre-college level (8th grade) in Madison and Milwaukee School districts. PEOPLE provides a support infrastructure dedicated to achieving the goals of college attainment and degree completion. PEOPLE consists of two programs: one specific to precollege students and one specific to college scholars at UW–Madison. PEOPLE provides students enrolled and their network (families, teachers and counselors) with sustained individual attention critical for being academically, psychologically and culturally prepared to succeed in a rigorous college environment. Students who are admitted/enrolled at UW–Madison may be eligible for a four-year tuition scholarship. PEOPLE currently serves over 1,100 students across the educational pipeline (middle school to college) in the state of Wisconsin.
Posse identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse extends to these students the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, diverse teams—Posses—of 10 students. Posse partners with colleges and universities to award Posse Scholars four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships. The University of Wisconsin-Madison became a Posse partner college in 2002. The UW–Madison Posse Program was the first major public research institution to launch this unique program. Since then, more than 600 Posse Scholars have been awarded merit scholarships to attend UW–Madison. UW–Madison Posse partner cities include L.A., New York, Chicago, and D.C.