Graduate Student Mentor Training Course

The UR2PhD graduate student mentor training course is a virtual, synchronous course that prepares participants to provide culturally-responsive mentorship. The curriculum aims to familiarize students with empirically-proven principles and best practices in mentorship. By the end of the series, participants will be capable of explaining and recognizing techniques for fostering inclusive, positive, and successful mentorship environments. They will also craft their own personal mentoring philosophy.

This course intends to serve as a professional development opportunity for graduate students. Our hope is that participants in this course will continue to mentor students beyond the term in which they participate.

Eligibility

To be eligible to participate, graduate students must be actively engaged in mentoring undergraduate researchers. This course requires concurrent mentorship practice. Priority will be given to mentors of undergraduate participants in the UR2PhD research training course.

Students do NOT need to hold any specific nationality, nor do they need to identify as any specific gender to be considered for this program; however, they MUST currently attend a North American-based institution.

2025 Application

Acquire formal training in the art of effective research mentoring, a pivotal skill for long-term career success
Learn to design and adapt research projects based on research goals, advisee skills and experiences, and project challenges
Hone essential communication skills and techniques for assessing and promoting student development and growth
Develop and formalize a personalized mentorship philosophy
Establish a supportive peer network with students across various universities
Become eligible for additional funding opportunities, including travel support for technical conferences

Responsibilities and expectations

Participants in the course must certify understanding and adherence to the following responsibilities and expectations:

Attend and actively participate in the 1-hour virtual course sessions, missing no more than 2 sessions

We expect all participants to have their cameras on and actively contribute to discussions during course sessions
Complete course assignments in a timely fashion
Participate in evaluation efforts, as requested
Complete course assignments in a timely fashion

Fall 2024 meeting dates

For the fall of 2024, synchronous meetings will be held on Wednesdays.

Session	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
A: 11am – 12pm ET B: 3pm – 4pm ET	9/4	9/11	9/18	9/25	10/2	10/9	10/23	11/6	11/20	12/4	12/11

Upcoming course offerings

Our team anticipates meeting on Tuesdays at 12pm ET and Wednesdays at 4pm ET during the spring of 2025.

Session	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
A: Tuesday, 12pm – 1pm ET	1/21	1/28	2/4	2/11	2/18	2/25	3/4	3/11	3/18	3/25	4/1
B: Wednesday, 4pm – 5pm ET	1/22	1/29	2/5	2/12	2/19	2/26	3/5	3/12	3/19	3/26	4/2

For the summer and fall of 2025, we anticipate offering the course on the following dates.

Please note these dates are subject to change and will be finalized after instructors are hired for the term.

Summer 2025 Schedule
Session	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Tuesday & Thursday Timing TBC	5/20	5/22	5/27	5/29	6/3	6/10	6/17	6/24	7/8	7/15	7/22

Fall 2025 Schedule
Session	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Tuesday Timing TBC	9/9	9/16	9/23	9/30	10/7	10/14	10/21	11/4	11/18	12/2	12/9
Wednesday Timing TBC	9/10	9/17	9/24	10/1	10/8	10/15	10/22	11/5	11/19	12/3	12/10

Compensation

Participants who successfully complete the graduate student mentor training program in its entirety will receive a $1,000 stipend. Stipends will be paid directly to participants following the completion of the course and required documentation (i.e., Independent Contractor’s Agreement, W-9 or W-8BEN Forms, and Direct Deposit Form).

To be considered as having “completed” the course, graduate student participants must actively engage in and attend course sessions, complete all assigned coursework, and have a maximum of two unexcused absences. If a graduate student has more than two unexcused absences, they will not receive the stipend. This criterion ensures an optimal learning experience for all participants and maintains the program’s integrity.

Students at institutional partner schools:

If you are a graduate student attending an institutional partner school (Barnard College, Boston University, University of Alberta, University of California Riverside, University of North Texas, University of Waterloo, or Wellesley College), please contact your local coordinator for detailed application instructions.

Students at non-institutional partner schools:

Mentors of undergraduate students in the research training course who are not affiliated with our institutional partners can apply to participate.

All students who apply will need to have their eligibility verified by their faculty mentor. Priority will be given to mentors of undergraduates participating in the research methods course.

We recommend taking the following actions if you are interested in participating:

Talk to your faculty advisor about advising a team of 2-4 undergraduate researchers
In collaboration with your faculty advisor, identify a research project that would advance your research and be suitable for undergraduates
Determine what session is most appropriate for the research experience (i.e. spring, summer, or fall), and whether undergraduates will receive course credit or pay for their participation
Recruit the undergraduate student researchers using an inclusive process that encourages applications from women and other gender-marginalized folks
Ensure selected researchers apply to the undergraduate research training course
Apply to the graduate student mentor training course

2025 Application

What should participants expect once they are accepted?

All graduate students (irrespective of entry point) will be required to complete a course commitment form. The commitment form will ask to students to certify that they understand the course expectations and agree to follow them. Students will also be asked to submit documentation required for the stipend, including: an independent contractor’s agreement, direct deposit form, and relevant tax form (W-9 or W-8BEN).

Students admitted to the course will have access to the course canvas, syllabus, content, and relevant links.

UR2PhD: Undergraduate Research Methods Course by Computing Research Association’s UR2PhD Program. This work, “UR2PhD Undergraduate Research Methods Course”, is adapted from “Early Research Scholars Program” by Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego, used under CC BY 4.0. “UR2PhD Undergraduate Research Scholars” is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the Computing Research Association’s UR2PhD Program and is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International