With climbing minority enrollment, ASU has shown progress in making campus more diverse.
Although the numbers have not come in for this year's enrollment, the Division of Graduate Studies has boasted gains in diversity in the last 10 years, said Maria Allison, vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies.
Allison defined diversity as any student who is underrepresented in their academic area. This could include men in nursing or low-income students.
"That's the way the world is, and ASU should reflect that," Allison said.
In the last 10 years, ASU's minority attendance has increased 84 percent. Of the degrees handed out by the Division of Graduate Studies, 14 percent went to minorities.
The Division of Graduate Studies also reported that of the 12,000 graduate students, 15 percent represent Hispanic, American Indian, African-American and Asian-American students.
With 46,670 students enrolled as undergraduates, 30 percent classify themselves as minorities.
Of the 30 percent, 42 percent state their race as Hispanic, and 12 percent claim they are African-American.
Diversity enriches the "kinds of experiences we have as students and faculty," Allison said.
"If students don't experience diversity at the university, then they won't be ready to experience it in the real world," she added.
The Division of Graduate Studies offers many organizations that are federally funded to help create a more diverse campus.
Shelby Sickler, an interior design freshman, said providing clubs that deal with other cultures would help draw students into ASU's graduate programs.
"You can get different people's perspectives," Sickler said.
Reach the reporter at amanda.m.gonser@asu.edu.
