DMCS Mentorship

DMCS Mentorship

The DMCS Mentorship Program was established in 2021 with the overarching goal of helping DMCS undergraduate students in their final year of their degree. The program pairs volunteer graduate student mentors with undergraduate mentees. Mentorship lasts for the entire academic year.

Am I eligible for the program?

The program is aimed towards upperclassmen in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. A mentee must be a Marine Science major or minor attending Rutgers starting at least their 4^th or final year in the program, whichever is first. For example, if you are at least a 4^th-year student, you are eligible for the program. If you are finishing early (e.g., 3^rd-year student, and 3^rd year is your final year), you are also eligible for the program.

Mentors must be a graduate student in the Oceanography program at Rutgers. This includes the PhD/MS program and the Masters in Operational Oceanography program.

Program Goals

• Connect undergraduate students with graduate student peers, department resources, and opportunities
• Provide general academic guidance to undergraduate students during their final stages of their degree
• Expose undergraduate students to opportunities in the field of marine science; e.g., government, academia, NGOs, industry, and education
• Increase undergraduate student knowledge about the graduate school application process and degree options
• Assist undergraduate students with applying to/obtaining opportunities listed above, including but not limited to developing/reviewing materials for said opportunities (e.g., curriculum vitae, resume, personal statements)

Program Expectations

The program is designed to be flexible for the needs of the undergraduate mentees. As a mentee, you can meet with your graduate student mentor as many times as is conducive for both mentee and mentor, but we encourage that meetings happen at least once a month.

Method of meeting is based on mentee preference. This can be via email, phone, video call, and/or in-person meetings, and/or any combination of those options. Graduate student mentors are expected to meet with their undergraduate mentee, ideally at least once a month.

Additional Program Benefits

In addition to one-on-one mentorship with a graduate student, the program also offers group events to benefit undergraduates: e.g., graduate admissions panel, CV writing workshops, etc. Keep an eye out for emails from the Graduate Student Contact with information on these events. Accompanied with these events are post-event materials, when applicable, that are distributed via email for students that can’t attend due to scheduling conflicts.

For students interested in applying to graduate school, please see the DMCS Applying to Graduate School Guide for application timeline guidance, tips, and more.

DMCS Mentorship Program Committee

Bob Chant (Faculty)

Silke Severmann (Faculty; Undergraduate Director)

Lauren Cook (Graduate Student Contact) lcook@marine.rutgers.edu

If you are a mentor or mentee and need assistance, please reach out to the Graduate Student Contact directly.

Joining the Program

The mentorship program takes new undergraduate seniors and graduate student mentors at the beginning of each Fall semester. If you are interested, keep an eye out for an email on behalf of the Graduate Student Contact and/or Dr. Severmann, and fill out the interest form posted here in September.

Interest Form

Fill out this form if you are interested.