Why Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) degrees are on the rise in colleges

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A growing number of colleges offer bachelor’s or master’s degrees in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The trend is in response to growing demand for DEI experts — and comes amid a backlash against diversity initiatives.
Courses in programs vary but are interdisciplinary, covering subjects ranging from history to business management.

Anifern Gonzalez, an undergraduate student at Bentley University near Boston, changed her major four times before settling on a relatively new degree program.

Her chosen course is offered at a few other institutes: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI.

This term has become controversial. Most recently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed eliminating DEI programs from the state’s public universities on the grounds that they were too ideological. But advocates say these programs help diverse groups gain representation, participation and a sense of belonging.

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“I’m finally in a place now, especially with the major, where I’m establishing myself, just feeling comfortable in the spaces I’m entering,” says Gonzalez, who is of Dominican descent and grew up low-income. House in Salem, Massachusetts. She is the first in her family to go to college.

Bentley’s DEI degree programs – Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts – were the first undergraduate-level offerings of their kind in the country.

Amid growing demand for DEI experts in everything from education to finance, the number of colleges with undergraduate and graduate DEI programs is growing. At least half a dozen colleges across the country either offer or soon will offer DEI degree programs, according to a USA Today analysis.

There has also been an explosion in DEI certification programs, which are less rigorous and more narrow. Dozens of colleges offer minors or concentrations with degrees like “diversity studies,” from Texas State University to Michigan Tech to the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. And more than 100 schools now offer programs classified as intercultural or multicultural diversity studies, up from 50 in 2012, according to research by consulting firm Eduventures.

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Attracting new students, making colleges more welcoming

Comprehensive data has not been collected on how many colleges offer DEI degrees, let alone on the outcomes of these new, specialized programs. Some observers, including executive coach and DEI expert James Rogers, worry that they are little more than a superficial — but lucrative — response to the 2020 census.

But participants and advocates say the degrees make sense in a society with identity-related conflicts and opportunities for trained professionals to bridge the divide.

Gonzalez, who will be the first Bentley student to graduate with a science degree at DEI, signed up for the program shortly after hearing about it. As a freshman and sophomore, she struggled to adjust to Bentley’s campus culture but has thrived since switching to a DEI major. She has taken classes on managing diversity in the workplace, the history of racism in the US, and ways to bridge people’s identities.

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“It’s been a search for me to just find my voice,” says Gonzalez, who interned for a consulting firm that does DEI work, learning about options she can pursue with her degree. She also realized the importance of company culture and how she can be the person who shapes it.

Gary David, a Bentley sociology professor who helped develop the school’s DEI program, says one rationale for the major installation was to enroll a new type of student. “We can’t attract different people if we stay in the same places we’ve been,” he remembers arguing with himself.

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DEI degrees meet the demand for specific skills

But creating a DEI degree also addresses the growing demand for people with clear subject matter expertise. LinkedIn data shows that between 2015 and 2020, diversity and inclusion roles globally increased by 71 percent. Other research shows a pronounced increase from 2020 onwards. According to data from Indeed.com, for example, DEI job postings grew 123 percent between May and September 2020.

People often assume that “anyone can do (DEI) work or we don’t need it,” says Paulette Granberry Russell, president of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. But she says more and more employers are realizing that if they want to be successful, they need to be better about DEI — and that doing so requires specific skills. According to Granberry Russell, her organization’s membership has increased by 60 percent since 2020.

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“You go into the program thinking, ‘I have a certain level of expertise’ or ‘I have a limited vocabulary,’” says Darwin Connor, who recently earned a master’s from Tufts University in suburban Boston with a focus on DEI leadership and is now chief diversity officer at a New York law firm. . “And when you get there, and you start reading and interacting with your classmates, you realize how much you don’t know.”

The University of St. Thomas, with campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, is in the process of launching a DEI master’s program. “As a society, it is time for us to move from compassion to action,” says Catholic University Executive Vice President and Provost Eddie Rojas.

“Action is knowing what diversity means, knowing the power of diversity and how to take advantage of it.”

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It’s an interdisciplinary endeavor, and St. Thomas’ program will reflect that, Rojas says, drawing eight departments from three colleges. It would also try to keep tuition low — as low as $7,500 a year for the average student.

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Leaders at St. Thomas and other schools say their goal, in keeping with their interdisciplinary nature, is to appeal to a wide range of students – not just those who aspire to become chief diversity officers. And they want to attract students from outside the self-selected groups who enroll in programs related to diversity—that is, women, people of color, and those with progressive viewpoints.

Avoiding the echo chamber is key for these programs to have real impact, according to Rogers, who co-wrote a 2022 book on how to conduct DEI training that is authentic and transformative.

For Rogers, DEI initiatives in the corporate world often fall flat, largely because there is little solid consensus and understanding of what “diversity” and “inclusion” mean.

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Will Del Pilar, vice president of higher education policy and practice at the Education Trust, agrees. “Sometimes these (DEI) positions become more functional than practical,” he says.

Such challenges are precisely why degree programs are needed, say leaders and advocates.

“To me, DEI is kind of life-or-death,” says Silas Pinto, who co-directs the Tufts program, which now includes “justice” in its name. Pinto points to how systemic oppression affects the health and livelihoods of some.

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