Graduate Community Mentoring
Mission
The goal of the Graduate Community Mentoring program is to enhance the academic experience and support student retention, degree completion, and professional development.
Program Description
Faculty mentors are matched with small groups of 4–5 graduate students to create a supportive, collaborative mentoring community. Each group meets monthly—either in-person or virtually—for 1–2 hours throughout the academic year, offering a safe and welcoming space to discuss the graduate school experience, seek advice, and celebrate milestones.
While we strive to form discipline-specific groups in STEM and the Humanities, each group includes students from diverse academic backgrounds and levels, helping participants build connections beyond their departments. We also partner with campus units to provide workshops focused on professional development and increasing awareness of UNM resources.
- Be a registered graduate student at UNM
- Must attend orientation session
- Scholarship dependent on participation
Faculty and student participants receive small honoraria/scholarship based on participation during the semester.
Workshops offered 2024-2025
- Finding andApplying for External Grants with the Office of Sponsored Projects
- Understanding Imposter Syndromewith Career Services
- Know Your Rightswith PNMGC (Student-led Peer-mentoring Organization)
- Turning Tension into Supportive Solutionswith Ombuds Services
- Holistic Movementwith Johnson Gym
- Shared Paths, GCMcelebration with Grad Studies
Program Outcomes
- Students initiate collaborations on research projects, workshops, or discussion panels.
- Students form peer-led study groups to support academic success and skill-building.
- GCM has fostered meaningful faculty-student connections, leading some students to invite their mentors to serve on their Committee on Studies
Application
Each fall semester, we put out a call to invite faculty to join the program and open applications for graduate student participants.
Contact
Marina Perez
Project Assistant
gradmentoring@unm.edu
