Recruiting Practices

Based on data, prospective students are primarily interested in the quality of their chosen graduate program and their likely experience if they come to ISU. It is best that you convey the groundbreaking, exciting, compelling, and internationally recognized research that your faculty are involved in. Your website could include:

• Stories of graduate students presenting at research at conferences including those winning presentation awards
• Faculty winning awards
• News releases about groundbreaking research
• National rankings

Prospective graduate students don’t always know about the collegial aspect of graduate work. You could include:

• Graduate student organizations.
• Peer mentoring for 1st year students for underrepresented students.
• Research groups and how students collaborate on projects.
• Multiple faculty who serve on each student’s advisory/program committee.

To address questions about the financial side of graduate study, a strategy might include:

• What an assistantship means in practice, such as stipend amount per month, benefits, and tuition scholarship
• The career outcomes of students

Below are topics about recruiting that maybe helpful:

• Recruiting Strategies
• Admissions Protocols: Diverse Students
• Retaining a Diverse Graduate Student Body
• Why Students Choose ISU (and Don’t)

The Graduate College also offers a number of resources that could enhance your program’s recruiting communications.

• Professional development workshops based on six competency areas (career, communication, management, teaching, research, wellness)
• Center for Communication Excellence, including new writing center
• Travel grants to present at conferences
• Information about community resource on-campus and around Ames
• Graduate College Recruiting Brochure (PDF)

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