Graduate Scholars Program

The Graduate Scholars Program (GSP) provides first-year and second-year domestic doctoral students from diverse backgrounds with an advanced doctoral student mentor, a targeted orientation to campus resources, professional development opportunities, and networking events across campus. GSP is a comprehensive program designed to provide support, mentoring, and services for all first- and second-year domestic doctoral students. We encourage participation of students from non-traditional backgrounds or who are underrepresented, under-resourced, under-served in the academy.

Program benefits include:

• Participation in “mentoring families,” groups that match first-year students with an advanced doctoral student mentor to meet monthly throughout the winter and spring quarters.

• Direct access to professional development workshops, panels, and an orientation to resources provided in collaboration with the Graduate Student Resource Center, starting fall quarter.

• Invitation to networking events and informal gatherings starting fall quarter with graduate students from across campus, visiting and UCSB-based faculty, and Graduate Division Diversity & Outreach Peers, to open lines of direct communication and promote community building.

Recruitment for the Graduate Scholars Program takes place just before and during the first couple weeks of fall quarter. Faculty and Advanced Graduate Student Mentor nominations will also be solicited from departments over the summer. Students in their second year are invited to remain in the program, and all GSP alumni are invited to the networking events.