The SSAWW Graduate Student Caucus is excited to announce a new cycle for our Mentorship Match Program. This program pairs dissertating graduate students with a faculty mentor who will read and provide feedback on two chapters of their dissertation during the 2026-2027 academic year. The program concludes with a series of online panels in Spring 2027 in which graduate students and their mentors showcase graduate students’ developing dissertation projects. This is a great opportunity for graduate students to obtain feedback on their work, make connections with faculty who are not at their institution, and share their dissertation project with a wider audience.
We invite participants from all institutions to apply but are especially committed to providing support to scholars of color, those at under-represented institutions, and those who may have limited opportunities for mentorship at their home institutions.
If you are a dissertating graduate student interested in participating in this program during the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year, you must:
1) have completed drafts of at least two chapters of your dissertation (or a chapter and an introduction) to be sent to your mentor by October 1st, 2026,
2) be willing to meet with your mentor (preferably twice) before February 15, 2027, and
3) participate in our online panel in March 2027.
In addition, we ask that you complete this short form by Friday, September 4th if you’d like to be considered for the 2026-2027 Mentorship Match Program. This information will tell us about your dissertation project, help us confirm your eligibility, and find a fitting faculty match for your exciting work!
Additionally, if you are a faculty member interested in participating in the program, please complete this faculty member form by September 4th, 2026. The Mentorship Match Program offers an opportunity for faculty members to network with and mentor rising scholars and is especially beneficial for faculty who may not have the opportunity to work with graduate students at their home institution. As a faculty mentor, we ask that you
1) commit to reading and giving feedback on two chapters of the student’s dissertation by January 31st, 2027,
2) meet with the student to discuss feedback (preferably twice) before February 15, 2027, and
3) participate in our online panel in March 2027.
If you have any questions, please contact Elissa Zellinger (Elissa.Zellinger@ttu.edu) and Colton Hicks (colton.hicks@rutgers.edu).
If you are not interested in, or eligible for, this program but would still like to be involved in SSAWW’s Graduate Student Caucus, please email Colton Hicks (colton.hicks@rutgers.edu) to be added to the listserv.