The NUIN Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee has been active in increasing diversity and promoting an environment of equity and inclusion across racial, ethnic, socio-economic, sexual, gender, disability and religious identities for over 20 years. The current committee includes representation from NUIN student, faculty, staff and postdoctoral fellows.

In 2020, the DEI Committee partnered with NUIN staff, faculty and students to evaluate all aspects of the NUIN program through a DEI lens. Categories of program milestones, representation, environment, curriculum, admissions/recruitment, committees, resources and events were assessed and feedback was collected through a survey, one-on-one conversations, an external focus group report and townhall-style meetings. The following actions were taken as a result:

• As a result of extensive feedback from faculty and students regarding advancement to candidacy (qualifying exam), the qualifying exam was modified to a more individualized experience.
• The curriculum committee approved the creation of two new courses: "NUIN Graduate Foundations" (a required course for all first-year students focused on adjusting to graduate school) and "Finding Your Voice as a Scientist," a second-year course for preparatory training on science communication.
• Staff from the Office of Human Resources created a tailored unconscious bias discussion for admissions committee members, and the committee adopted the use of a holistic rubric system for application review.
• The DEI committee expanded its membership, divided into working groups and defined a series of goals.