General
For Mentees
For Mentors
General FAQs:
Who can be a mentee in the MAGIC program?
Mentees from any underrepresented or historically marginalized group are invited to participate. This includes people with disabilities, first-generation college students and individuals from low-income backgrounds. If you are unsure whether you are a good fit for the program, there is no harm in filling out the sign-up form!
The MAGIC program is not just for UConn students or to those who are considering UConn for their doctoral degree. If you are considering applying to a doctoral program, no matter where you are from, or where (or when!) you are considering applying — you can still sign up for MAGIC! And feel free to share this flier advertising our program with anyone who might be interested!
Who can be a mentor in the MAGIC program?
If you are a UConn graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, or faculty member doing research in any of the fields that MAGIC currently covers (Psychological Sciences, Cognitive Science, Neurosciences [including Cognitive, Animal and Human] or a related area [e.g., Linguistics or Speech and Hearing Sciences]), then we’d love to have you join as a mentor! Many of our mentees are interested in Clinical Psychology, so we especially welcome mentors in clinical areas.
What is the time commitment?
It’s up to you! You have the option of being matched with a specific mentor/mentee who you would meet with at what every frequency you agree on. Also, mentees can use the mentoring platform and resources as much or as little as they like. Similarly, Mentors who choose to be available on the platform can set their mentoring availability on the platform to whatever they have time for (e.g., 1 hr per week, 1 hr per month, etc.)
How do I join?
If you’d like to be a mentee (receive advice) or a mentor (give advice), please fill out this form.
After you fill out one of the above forms, we will either match you with a mentor/mentee in our MAGIC Formal Mentoring Program (if you selected this option during registration) or, if you indicated that you would like to schedule meetings on an as-need basis, we will add you to our MAGIC Drop-In Mentoring Group in HuskyLink. If you have any questions, email us at magic.initiative@uconn.edu.
Why is MAGIC currently limited to certain fields (Psychological Sciences and adjacent fields)?
The MAGIC program was developed by members of the UConn SLAC, IBACS and Neurobiology of Language communities. Because we work in Psychological Sciences and adjacent areas, we are starting the program in our own fields. We hope that others will join us in the future!
What is the relationship between MAGIC and UConn’s HuskyLink?
After piloting the MAGIC program in 2020, we felt that mentees would benefit from being able to search for mentors on their own, meet with more than one mentor, and easily request meetings with mentors. We therefore created a specific program for one-on-one matching and group for drop-in matching (both open only to our community of mentors and mentees) within an existing mentoring platform at UConn called HuskyLink.
FAQs for Mentees:
How do I find mentors?
If you opted-in to our one-on-one matching program, we will curate a match for you based on your interests and send you an email. If you are looking for a mentor in the drop-in group, you’ll find that HuskyLink has a built-in matching algorithm. These are just suggestions based on the specific information provided in your profile—you can request to meet with whomever you’d like. We suggest you use the search function to enter keywords such as, “Cognitive” or “Autism” to find matches based on research interests, etc.
I’m having trouble finding an appropriate mentor. Can you help?
Yes! Please email us at magic.initiative@uconn.edu if you’d like a suggestion from us.
After I find a mentor, can I meet with them on a platform outside of HuskyLink (e.g., Zoom)?
Yes, this is fine. Mentors may prefer to meet using another platform. If so, they will message you.
How often can I search for a mentor and request a meeting on the platform?
As often as you’d like! Availability is always changing (if a mentor is booked solid for the month, they will be unavailable for you to view) and we are always adding new mentors into the program.
My meeting invitations are expiring – why?
This can happen for several reasons. Once a mentee sends a meeting request, the mentor must select (if given options) and approve the meeting time. Only then will the meeting be scheduled. A meeting is more likely to be accepted if it’s requested a few days in advance as our mentors are all active faculty and grad students who may not check their email as frequently as they’d like to. If you are having trouble connecting with a specific mentor, please email us at: magic.initiative@uconn.edu. Alternatively, you can try requesting a meeting with one of our other mentors.
I no longer need the program and would like to be removed from the email list. What should I do?
Please email us at magic.initiative@uconn.edu and we can remove you from our list.
FAQs for Mentors:
I want to be a mentor, but I’m unsure about the time commitment. Should I sign up?
Yes! You can mentor as many students as you have time for. You have the option of being matched with a specific mentee (or more than one if you like) in our Husky Link formal program for one-on-one matching, and/or joining the MAGIC group within HuskyLink for drop-in mentoring. In your HuskyLink profile, you can specify your availability for meetings, for example, Saturday mornings only. You can always edit your availability under your profile to either accept fewer meetings per month or set an “away” period during which mentees will be unable to request meetings with you.
How will I know someone wants to meet with me?
If you opted to be matched with a specific mentee, you and your mentee will agree on a meeting time. If you are part of the HuskyLink, then when a meeting request is made, you will receive an email to accept or decline the meeting. When you log-in to HuskyLink, you will see the notification. You can also sync your other calendars with HuskyLink.
I have a profile in HuskyLink, but no one has asked to meet with me yet — is something wrong?
Mentees will request meetings as needed and based on their research interests. Including more detail in your profile can help mentees find you, and help the matching algorithm suggest you to them. Also try checking your availability – your profile may be set to away or your availability may be too limited. Finally, including a photo in your profile is always helpful.
A mentee requested up to meet with me, but I don’t think I am a good fit. Should I still meet with them?
Yes! They may be exploring their options or are interested in meeting with you because of something you put in your profile.
Can I meet with mentees on a platform outside of HuskyLink (e.g., Zoom)?
Yes this is perfectly fine. If you plan to do this, please message the mentee to provide meeting details.
If I join as a mentor, will I be available to any mentee in HuskyLink?
This is up to you. By default you will only be available to anyone in the MAGIC program or group in HuskyLink. However, you can opt-in to make your profile visible to other UConn students and Alumni via the privacy settings in your profile.
How do I reduce or increase my availability?
In your HuskyLink profile you are able to adjust the number of meetings you’d like to accept on a monthly basis. You can also edit the dates/times you are available.
My meeting invitations are expiring – why?
This can happen for several reasons. Once a mentee sends a meeting request, the mentor must select (if given options) and approve the meeting time. Only then will the meeting be scheduled. Sometimes mentees send requests for meetings with short notice (e.g., less than one day in advance). In these cases, if you don’t respond to the request before the requested meeting time, the invitation will expire. We have advised mentees that this is a risk when making meeting requests at short notice. When invitations do expire, we encourage you to send a chat to the mentee who requested the meeting to encourage them to send you another request with more notice (there will be a chat link in the email that notifies you of the expiration) .
I don’t have time to mentor anymore.
You can always edit your availability in HuskyLink to either accept fewer meetings or set an “out of the office” period during which your profile will be unavailable for mentees to view. If you don’t foresee having time to mentor in the future, you can deactivate your profile in HuskyLink. However, you will also need to email us at magic.initiative@uconn.edu if you’d like to be removed from our email list.
I am a UConn mentor (grad student or faculty member) and have left UConn. Can I still be a mentor?
Yes! By default, all mentors will remain listed until they decide to leave the program. For formal one-on-one mentoring, mentors will continue to need to opt-in each cycle.