Mentoring Excellence Program

Effective mentoring is a crucial part of the academic experience. Mentors provide support and connect students to academic and campus resources to aid in the students’ success. The Mentoring Excellence Program (MEP) is a 5-week certificate program intended for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in becoming a mentor or seek to enhance their mentoring skills.

The program cultivates a qualified pool of trained mentors to support students in campus-wide initiatives, including Competitive Edge, Graduate International Connection, DECADE, and the Summer Research Program. Trained mentors obtain a skill set sought after in the career marketplace both inside and outside of academia.

What You’ll Learn

In this series participants will: 

  • Understand strategies and techniques for effective mentoring
  • Gain familiarity with relevant campus resources
  • Develop a personalized mentoring philosophy and mentoring plan
  • Learn about mentoring students from diverse backgrounds 
  • Learn conflict resolution in mentoring 

 

Who Should Apply

Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars form all disciplines and levels. 

*Due to the high volume of applicants, priority is given to students who are training to be peer mentors for Graduate Division’s mentoring programs. 

 

Certificate Requirements

The Mentoring Excellence Program is offered on a quarterly basis. Participants must attend all sessions in their entirety and submit a complete Mentoring Guide to receive a Certificate of Completion.

ATTENDANCE:

To receive your MEP certificate, you must attend all five sessions in full. Each session is 90 minutes long, and you are expected to stay for the entirety of the session for it to count.

  • In cases of emergency or unavoidable conflicts, we allow a one-time exception where you may attend at least 75 minutes and still receive credit. Any attendance below 75 minutes will result in being marked absent for that session.
  • If you are marked absent for one or two sessions, you must make-up that session in the following quarter. Your certificate will be issued after all required sessions are marked as completed and your mentoring guide is submitted.
  • If you miss three or more sessions, you will need to reapply to MEP in a future quarter and complete all five sessions then. Make-up sessions will not be available in this case.

 

Course Schedule 

This Spring quarter we are offering two cohorts, one will be virtual and one will be in-person. You can only enroll in one cohort.

  • 2026 Spring Schedule:
    • In-Person Sessions:
      • Wednesdays from 1PM – 2:30PM
      • Session dates: April 15, 22, 29, May 16, 13
      • Location: GPSRC
        • You must check in with a student assistant upon entering the center, otherwise your attendance will be marked as absent.
    • Virtual Sessions:
        • Thursdays from 2:30PM – 4PM
        • Session dates: April 16, 23, 30, May 17, 14
        • Location: Zoom
          • Please note that although this cohort will be virtual, all rules still apply. You have to attend the entire session for it to count, and zoom does notify us of how long you attend. You will also need to participate in the breakout rooms and when called on.
  • Timeline:
    • MEP Spring 2026 Interest Form will open up soon
    •  

How to Apply

Complete and submit the MEP Interest Form via CampusGroups. You will receive an email determining if you were selected for the program or not.

Graduate students: Login to CampusGroups with your UCI credentials. 

Postdoctoral Scholars: If you are new to CampusGroups, please create a “staff” account first.  

 

Making Up Session(s)

If you’re making up past sessions please check the name of the session you missed as the order might be different from your cohort. If you’re unsure, please check your Mentoring Guide to see which session(s) you didn’t fill out, check the email Rosie sent you with the names of your missing sessions, or you can email Rosie Victor (rvictor@uci.edu) to ask if you want to verify.

You must stay for the entire session, check-in if in person or log in to the zoom if virtual with your full name, and be an active participant for it to count.

After making up the session you must fill out your Mentoring Guide and email it to Rosie (rvictor@uci.edu) to receive your certificate.

 

Schedule 

The MEP sessions are listed below. Please note that we switch the order around quarterly depending on the facilitator’s availability.

 

Contact

Questions? Email Rosie Victor, Professional Development and Postdoctoral Analyst, at rvictor@uci.edu