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Graduate Student Mentorship Initiative (GSMI)

We run the Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI) program with the mission to help graduate school applicants from minoritized backgrounds by pairing them with STEM professionals in their respective STEM disciplines.  We provide our applicants with graduate school preparation material, one-on-one guidance from a mentor in their STEM field, financial assistance in the form of fee waivers, feedback on written materials, access to webinars, mock interviews, and access to a broader community of peers and mentors.

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Since 2019, we have helped a total of 450 students (generally around 70-80% of each year's cohort) receive acceptances into STEM graduate school programs, including Master's and PhD programs. ​​Our applicants were accepted to graduate programs in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering, Astronomy, Biomedical Engineering, Cell & Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Oceanography, Physics, and Psychology at several universities throughout the U.S. and some abroad!

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Click to enlarge. Flyer by Catharine Brady.

Demographic information on our GSMI students (2019-2022): 

  • 46% identified as Latinx, 20% as Black, 3% as Indigenous

  • 65% of our cohort identified as women

  • 46% applicants were first-generation (first-gen) college students

  • 65% applicants were from low-income backgrounds

  • 21% started their education at community colleges

Applications are now closed for GSMI 2023. The next cycle of GSMI will take place from August to December 2024. If you plan on applying to graduate school next year, and are interested in participating in GSMI 2024, we encourage you to fill out our interest form. We will notify you when applications open for GSMI 2024.


For any questions, please contact: cientificolatino@gmail.com

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Thank you to our GSMI 2023 partners for their generous support!

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STEM Graduate School Applicants

Please note that for 2023 we will only be accepting 100 graduate school applicants to participate in our program. If you have questions about this, please contact cientificolatino@gmail.com. Thank you for your understanding!
Eligibility:

  • Students from minoritized backgrounds applying to STEM Master's and PhD programs in Fall 2023

    • We welcome applications from students from historically minoritized backgrounds, including those related to race and ethnicity, gender, first-generation college student, low-income, child of immigrants, disability, veterans, gender identity, sexual orientation, justice history, students with demonstrated commitment to improving diversity and inclusion, etc.

    • ​​College seniors, post-graduate students, post-baccalaureate students, and other applicants in post-bachelor positions, including those working as research assistants/technicians, etc.

    • If you are not applying to graduate school this Fall 2023, you are not eligible. However, if you sign up for our mailing list, you will have access to a subset of the upcoming GSMI 2023 Webinars.

  • All STEM fields are eligible, which include: Astronomy, Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Mathematics,  Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neuroscience, Oceanography, Pharmacology, Physics, Psychology, Public Health… and many more!

    • Social & Behavioral Sciences: We acknowledge that economics, sociology, and political sciences are important members of the STEM family. Unfortunately, we cannot support these disciplines this year, but we hope to in the future!

  • Unfortunately, the following students are not eligible: 

    • Students applying to Post-bacs (PREP), PA, MD, MD/PhD, PharmD, Non-STEM PhD programs ​​

    • Students seeking support on fellowship applications who are not currently applying to PhD programs

STEM Mentors

Responsibilities:

  • Commitment to helping a GSMI Applicant during their graduate school application process 

  • Provide feedback on graduate school applications (personal statement and CV) 

  • Regular email correspondence with our GSMI Applicants

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Eligibility:

  • STEM professionals including PhD students, PhD candidates, post-doctoral fellows, Faculty, post-PhDs in industry, and other non-academic positions

  • All STEM fields eligible (see above for included disciplines)

  • Sign-ups for mentors will open in mid-June. Due to amazing interest in mentoring from the scientific community, we may only open sign-ups in specific fields. Follow us on Twitter to be notified of when mentorship positions open. If you are interested in helping out, please check out other options here!

Program Timeline

Scholars (Graduate School Applicants)

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Mentors

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Please contact us here or at cientificolatino@gmail.com if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

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