CRA Receives NSF Award to Develop a Mentoring Program for NSF’s CSGrad4US Graduate Fellowship

In response to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate’s recently announced CSGrad4US Fellowship program, the Computing Research Association’s Education (CRA-E) and Widening Participation (CRA-WP) committees are working to develop a CSGrad4US Mentoring Program for recipients of the CSGrad4US Fellowship.

Funded by the National Science Foundation (award #2123180), the goals of the CS Grad4US Mentoring Program are (1) to guide returning students through the application process towards a successful CS Ph.D. admission and school selection and (2) to mentor them through the transition to Ph.D. graduate study during the first year. The program will include both a group mentoring component addressing general aspects of the graduate application process and an individual coaching component. Specific topics include the admissions process, preparation of all components of a strong graduate application, differences between graduate programs at different institutions, and how to compare programs with respect to the Fellow’s goals and background, and general guidelines on making a selection among admission acceptances.

The CSGrad4US Mentoring Program will provide not only general graduate application advice and guidance, but also provide missing larger context and network to students returning from the workforce. These goals are achieved through group mentoring sessions followed by individual coaching during the application and decision making process and the first year in graduate school.

With an understanding of the myriad pathways into computing research, the mentoring program aims to support students with varying levels of research experience, including those with no prior research experience. The mentoring program will be led by Erik Russell (Computing Research Association), and co-PIs: Susanne Hambrusch (Purdue University), Lori Pollock (University of Delaware), Maria Gini (University of Minnesota), and Russ Joseph (Northwestern University).

Are you interested in serving as a mentor or coach?
The mentor and coach application is now available on the CS Grad4US Mentoring Program webpage.