The interest form will close at 5:00pm PT on Friday, Aug 16th, 2024.

The University of California Office of the President has provided funding to UCR to support programs that promote diversity among the future professoriate. Postdoctoral employment is an area of increasing importance in pursuit of an academic career path. However, it is also an area that can be mystifying to graduate students from historically underrepresented backgrounds.

To address this issue, the Graduate Division has proposed adding postdoc scholars to the Graduate Student Mentorship Program (GSMP) in which UCR postdocs serve as mentors to a diverse range of graduate students chosen to participate in the program which provides mentorship and guidance to incoming first-year graduate students in CHASS & STEM fields. It is our intention that this program will assist graduate students in better understanding the process involved in obtaining, and succeeding in, postdoc positions, and also provide postdocs with an opportunity to gain additional experience in one-on-one mentoring in ways that support their professional development as well. Topics that postdoc mentors may wish to discuss with their mentees include:

• how to find postdoc positions
• workload expectations
• work logistics (moving, connecting to a new institution, etc)
• maintaining relationships
• pursuing a tenure-track academic position as a postdoc

Postdoc mentors will commit to mentoring no more than six graduate students and two peer mentors over the course of an academic year. Postdoc mentors meet with their cluster and submit a report once per quarter. In return, postdoc mentors will be paid $500 in research funds at the end of the academic year (fall-spring). We will make every effort to pair mentors with graduate student mentees in the same or a similar discipline, though this cannot be guaranteed.

Requirements:

• The GSMP Postdoc and Faculty Mentor Orientation is mandatory. It will be held in person on Tuesday, September 17th, 2024.
• Postdoc Mentors are encouraged to attend the GSMP Luncheon which will take place from 1pm-2:30pm on Monday, September 23rd, 2024.
• Mentors must be available to meet with their cluster at least once a quarter, submit quarterly reports, and attend workshops, meetings, and social events as much as possible.

Please fill out the form below if you are interested in serving as a postdoc mentor. If you have any questions, please contact the GSMP Specialist, Monique Posadas at monique.posadas@ucr.edu. Please submit the interest form by 5pm on August 16th, 2024.

Apply Here