Graduate Students of Color (GSoC) Mentor Program

The Cross Cultural Center continues our Graduate Students of Color (GSoC) Mentor Program for the 2015-2016 academic year. The need to improve faculty-graduate student mentorships within underrepresented groups was one key recommendation resulting from the “Diversity Dialogues with the Dean” in 2014. The GSoC Mentor Program was created to address that recommendation. Last academic year, the GSoC Mentor Program was a successful pilot program, and this year will begin officially as a Cross Cultural Center program. Our goal is to assist in the retention of UC Davis graduate students from historically marginalized communities through social- and academic-oriented mentorship and programmatic events in order to holistically support graduate student scholars in their development and empower them to promote a more diverse graduate community.

Based on the current UC Davis graduate student enrollment rates by race/ethnicity, graduate students of color represent less than 30% of the total graduate student population. Our purpose is to build a community among participants that will provide some opportunities to explore their academic and career choices, in advancing of professional development and learning opportunities, and other necessary skills pertinent to the graduate student community.