Student Mentorship Opportunities
The University of Calgary has many opportunities to get involved with mentorship programs. Whether you are looking to be a mentor or to be mentored, there is likely an option for you!
Mentorship Opportunities
What is mentorship?
Mentorship is a supportive relationship where an experienced person helps guide you through your academic, personal, and career journey at university. As an international student, a mentor can help you navigate a new environment, answer your questions, and connect you to opportunities and resources.
Mentor: An experienced individual who provides guidance, support, and advice to help someone grow and succeed.
Mentee: A learner who receives guidance and support from a mentor to develop their skills, confidence, and goals.
Providing students access to a community of peers, as well as contextualized academic advising, resources, and events.
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First Generation Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be mentors or mentees
- Open to students from any faculty
- Mentees must be first generation students (First-generation students are those whose parents, caregivers, or chosen family have not
completed post-secondary education, or who are the first in their family to attend college or university in Canada. This includes domestic, international, and Indigenous students. You are still considered a first-generation student even if your siblings have attended college or university.) - Returning mentors can also apply to become Circle Facilitators and/or Student Engagement Partners
Application details: Applications typically open between March-May
Contact: firstgenprograms@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
Mentors may be eligible for the First Generation-Scholars Program Mentorship Excellence Award.
Matching first- and second-year students with more experienced Science students (third year or above) to help them develop leadership skills and learn from their experiences. Mentees shape their learning journey with support from a senior undergraduate student, and Mentors develop leadership skills while sharing their experiences and insights.
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Science Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be mentors or mentees
- Restricted to students from the Faculty of Science
Application deadline:
Mentors can typically apply between May-December; mentees can typically apply between April–December
Contact: science.engagement@ucalgary.ca
Additional information:
This program typically requires participants to take part in one-on-one meetings (once a month during the academic year) and commit approximately 10 hours over the course of the academic year.
For lower year students, being a mentee means being in touch with a higher year student of your specific program, having them help balance and help you experience a meaningful and impact first year.
For upper year students, being a mentor means guiding lower year students through their current year of university, giving insights on academics and university life.
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Faculty of Arts Student's Association (FASA) Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be mentors or mentees
- Restricted to students from the Faculty of Arts
Application deadline: Contact the Faculty of Arts Mentorship Program (FASAMP) for information on important dates
Contact: external@fasaucalgary.ca
Additional information:
- This program typically runs from October to April
- Mentors are typically required to take their mentee to a club event related to their academic program or department.
- Mentors and mentees are typically required to connect 1-2 times a month and submit reflection surveys.
An academic for-credit class to give senior undergraduate students an opportunity to guide and support fellow students who are taking the courses you’ve already taken.
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Arts Peer Mentorship Program
Purpose: An academic for-credit class to give senior undergraduate students an opportunity to guide and support fellow students who are taking the courses you’ve already taken.
Who is it for:
- Senior undergraduate student can apply to be mentors
- Restricted to students from the Faculty of Arts
Application deadline: Applications are typically due in July for the fall term and November for the winter term
Contact: lstowe@ucalgary.ca
Additional information:
- Opportunities may vary as some courses are prerequisites to obtaining credits
Provide opportunities for students in the Bachelor and Master of Education programs to connect, find and provide support, and share new perspectives.
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Professional Peer to Peer Mentorship
Purpose: To connect students from across the years so they can support each other, share resources, and meet new people.
Who is it for:
- Student can apply to be either mentors or mentees (for undergraduate students)
- Restricted to students from the Werklund School of Education
Application deadline: Students can typically apply throughout the fall semester
Contact: werklund.mentorship@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- Peer matches are typically announced in early October
- Students typically fill out a check-in survey in early December
- This program typically wraps up in late February
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Community-Based Student Support Network
Purpose: To connect Community-Based students to each other, ask questions, access peer mentorship, and share experiences. Resources and connections are organized and available through a D2L course.
Who is it for:
- Students can apple to be either mentors or mentees (for undergraduate students)
- Restricted to students from the Werklund School of Education
Application deadline: This program typically opens in the spring and runs until the end of winter semester
Contact: werklund.mentorship@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- Registration is done through Elevate
- Certain events are conducted based on student interest
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Professional to Pre-Service Mentorship
Purpose: Promoting strong networks of educators between final year BEd students and Alumni & Community Members. Final year students in the Professional to Pre-Service Program, are mentored by alumni, partner teachers, and community members.
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be mentors or mentees
- Restricted to students from the Werklund School of Education and alumni
Application deadline: Applications typically open between March-September
Contact: werklund.mentorship@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- The first round of matching typically ends on the last day of May
- Informal meetings and communications typically occur from June to August
- Formal meetings typically begin in September
- Email check-ins typically occur in early December
- The program typically wraps up in February
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Graduate & Undergraduate Research Connections
Purpose: To connect undergraduate students interested in pursuing research during their BEd program or who are interested in going into graduate school and graduate students who want to share their research and connect with fellow graduate students within or beyond their EDSA groups.
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be either mentors (graduate students) or mentees (undergraduate students).
- Restricted to students from the Werklund School of Education
Application deadline: Applications are typically on-going throughout the fall semester
Contact: werklund.mentorship@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- Formal programming typically begins in October
- Email check-ins typically occur in early December
- The program typically wraps up in February
To help graduate students attain their desired career goals and make professional contacts by pairing students with a mentor in their field of interest.
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Graduate Students' Association (GSA) Mentorship
Who is it for:
- Students can join as mentees seeking a mentor
- Restricted to students a part of the University of Calgary’s Graduate Students’ Association (GSA)
Application deadline: Students can typically join at any time
Contact: julie.brown@ucalgary.ca or book a 1-on-1 meeting through the website
Additional Information:
- Students typically must meet with their mentor for 1 hour a month, for 6 months.
- Students can typically join Mentorship GSA at any time during their program.
Mentorship programs for students within the Faculty of Engineering.
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Schulich Student Mentoring Program
Purpose: To connect first-year engineering students with upper-year mentors
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be either mentors or mentees
- Restricted to students from the Schulich School of Engineering
Application deadline: Students can typically apply at any time from September to April
Contact: engineeringmentoring@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- Participants are required to complete the online orientation module
- Students must typically meet with their mentee/mentor twice per term and submit reflection forms
- Participants are typically required to attend the opening and closing networking events Participants should also submit mid-year and year-end program feedback surveys
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Schulich Industry Mentorship Program
Purpose: To provide an opportunity for career-minded students, alumni and industry mentors to connect and share their experiences.
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be either mentors or mentees
- Restricted to students from the Schulich School of Engineering
- Recent alumni are also eligible to be mentees
Application deadline: Students and alumni can typically apply at any time from September to May
Contact: engineeringmentoring@ucalgary.ca
Additional information:
- Mentorship matching is typically not available from June to August
- Students and alumni should apply using their UCalgary credentials
Mentorship programs for students within the Faculty of Nursing.
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Graduate Peer Mentorship
Purpose: To connect and empower graduate students in the Faculty of Nursing through services, leadership, and professional development.
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be either mentors or mentees
- Restricted to graduate students from the Faculty of Nursing
Application deadline: Please email the Nursing Graduate Students’ Association (NGSA) for specific application details
Contact: ngsa@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- Students can contact the NGSA via email or social media
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NurseMentor
Purpose: To pair current undergraduate nursing students with interested alumni to share mutual insight and guidance.
Who is it for:
- Nursing alumni can apply to be mentors, and undergraduate students can apply to be mentees.
- Restricted to undergraduate students from the Faculty of Nursing and alumni
Application deadline: New intake typically begins in August and ends in February
Contact: nursementor@ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- This program typically runs until April
- This program is recommended for students in their second, third, or fourth year.
Providing students an opportunity to bridge the gap between their classroom learning and what is happening in the real world by having students connect and learn with individuals in the business community.
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Haskayne BMO Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- Students can apply to be mentees
- To be a mentee, you must either be a student in BComm (2nd year and up), Master of Management, MBA, Executive MBA, Embedded Certificate in Leadership Studies
- Only graduated students with at least 5 years of professional working experience can apply to become mentors
Application deadline: Please refer to the website for important dates
Contact: mentorship@haskayne.ucalgary.ca
Additional Information:
- Mentees are typically expected to meet with their mentors at least six times throughout an 8-month period.
To provide students with a professional contact, the program gives them the opportunity to interact with experienced professionals in order to gain insight into their career path of interest, and access to learning opportunities that they may not have during the regular course of their academic career.
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Bachelor of Health Science Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- BHSc students in their first or second year of their study can apply to be mentees and University of Calgary faculty members can apply to be mentors.
Application deadline: Applications typically open in September
Contact: Please review the Student Guidelines on the website before emailing/calling. Questions or concerns, please contact: tharwat.skeik@ucalgary.ca (Tharwat Skeik) or call 403-210-6422
Additional Information:
- Pairing typically begins in September
To provide an opportunity for students and scholars to learn from Calgary’s most engaged and dynamic leaders.
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REALISE Community Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars can apply to be mentees
- REALISE Mentors come from a wide range of corporate, government, and not-for-profit fields.
Application deadline: Applicants are contacted via the REALISE program’s mailing list. Occasionally, ad hoc calls for mentee applicants will also be made to the REALISE training group.
Contact: realise@ucalgary.ca
Students are matched with a faculty member who will be engaged in the process and will help contribute to the success of students at UCVM and create a sense of community.
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Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- This program is mandatory for all Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) students to participate in. Faculty members can apply to be mentors.
- This program is only for DVM students
Application deadline: Please contact the email below for information on important dates
Contact: connect2ucvm@ucalgary.ca
Pairs students with experienced professionals across government, industry, and the nonprofit sector for personalized, one-on-one guidance. To help students gain valuable insight into potential career paths while developing the professional and leadership skills needed to succeed.
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Master of Public Policy (MPP) Mentorship Program
Who is it for:
- MPP students can apply to become mentees, and experienced professionals can apply to become mentors.
- Restricted to MPP students
Application deadline: Please contact the email below for information on important dates
Contact: mpp@ucalgary.ca
Pairs students with experienced professionals across the energy sector for personalized, one-one-one guidance. To help students gain valuable insight into potential career paths while developing the professional and leadership skills needed to succeed.
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MSc in Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV)
Who is it for:
- SEDV students can apply to become mentees, and experienced professionals can apply to become mentors.
- Restricted to SEDV students
Application deadline: Please contact the email below for information on important dates
Contact: sedv@ucalgary.ca