Resources | Mentoring Aspiring Graduate students and building an Inclusive Community (MAGIC)

These resources are for both mentees and mentors. For mentees they include how-to-guides specific to using our mentoring network, information and programs on applying to grad school, as well as fellowship information. There are also guides and examples of CVs and personal statements from our community. For mentors, we’ve included guides on mentoring current and prospective grad students. Many of these resources are sent to us from members of the community, and while we’ve shared them here because we think they look terrific, we do not have the capacity to fully evaluate everything we post.

We will be continually updating this page and adding more resources!

Last updated on 10/4/24

For Mentees

For Mentors

Resources for Mentees:

MAGIC-specific Resources

What should I ask mentors?
Meeting tips for mentees
Meeting Topic Menu – Examples of topics you may want to discuss with your mentor
Drop-In Mentoring Email Template – You can use this for help sending your initial email to a mentor

General Graduate School Advice (from other individuals and institutes)

MAGIC Program Orientation: Grad School Crash Course (video)/ MAGIC Grad School Application Crash Course (slides)
Psychin’ Out – A resource hub and global community of aspiring and current psychology students and trainees uplifting each other. Their resource hub has example application materials, useful templates and more! They also have an active twitter
STAR Scholars Fall Seminar Series – An online series of workshops from the University of Michigan. Topics include “How to get involved in research”, “Life of a doctor, but not that kind!”
Mitch’s [Prinstein’s] Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology – Read this if you are interested in being a clinician but need help figuring out the differences between various possibilities for grad school (e.g., masters/doctorate in social work or school psychology, masters in counseling, PhD)
Online Graduate School Application Workshop organized by Professors Isabelle Barriere Jonathan Nissenbaum. Recordings of the event are available to those who complete their survey
A Twitter thread by PhD candidate Maximilian Scheuplein with some resources about applying to grad school
Let’s Talk Grad School by Margaret Echelbarger
A Twitter thread about demystifying the graduate application process by Cientifico Latino
Tips for applying to a PhD program in Psychology by Jamil Zaki from Stanford
How Applying to Grad School Works – a guide to Psychology PhD apps
Resources for Students by the American Psychological Association
Resources for applying to Psychology PhD programs and grad fellowships by New York University grad student Kate Nussenbaum
Jobs & Grad School (Clinical – Psychological Sciences at UConn)
Preparing Grad School Apps (Clinical – Psychological Sciences at UConn)
Preparing Grad School Interviews (Clinical – Psychological Sciences at UConn)

Other Programs Similar to MAGIC

Stanford Neuroscience Application Assistance Program (SNAPP) – by Stanford grad student and post-doc volunteers in neuroscience
Application Assistance Program (AAP) – by MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences grad students graduate students from various labs in computational, molecular, systems, and cognitive tracks
Project SHORT (Students for Higher-Ed Opportunities and Representation in Training) run by volunteer professional health and graduate students, residents, faculty, and post-docs
Diversity In Psychology Program – by the University of Minnesota graduate programs in psychology. They will start accepting applications for the fall 2025 program on June 1, 2025.
The Application Statement Feedback Program (ASFP) – aims to provide fast, constructive feedback and editing support for the research/personal statements of PhD applicants in psychology, with an emphasis on underrepresented minorities and/or those who are not ‘in the know.’
Yale Psychology Sneak Peak – applications closed 7/15/24. Stay tuned for next year’s program!
Prospective PhD and RA Event in Psychology (PPREP) – by the Harvard Psychology Community
The University of Waterloo’s Lift mentorship program – aims to provide resources and mentoring to Psychology undergraduate students about graduate studies in Psychology.

CV Prep

CV Examples

Personal Statement Examples

Fellowship Information

National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program – Although NDSEG is sponsored by the Department of Defense, Cognitive Science is one of the areas they fund. The 2024 application deadline is 11/1/24.
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program – The NSF GRFP supports graduate students in STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees. The 2024 application deadline for Psychology (deadlines differ by area!) is 10/18/24.
Helpful advice from a previous GRFP recipient, Alex Lang including examples of successful essays
Advice from graduate student Kate Nussenbaum on applying to US graduate fellowships
A list of fellowships especially geared towards Neuroscience PhD students – From UC Berkley. A very comprehensive list, and many of the fellowships are applicable to other areas of psychology!
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship – Sadly, this terrific program is no longer offering new fellowships

Resources for Mentors:

MAGIC- specific Resources

Meeting tips for mentors

General Mentoring Advice

Advice on Advising: How to Mentor Minority Students by Shampa Biswas – an article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education (3/13/2019)
Making Graduate School Admissions Processes More Accessible: An Open Letter to Our Colleagues in Positions of Power in Graduate School Admissions
APA Guidelines on Race and Ethnicity in Psychology
4 Tips for Mentoring Minority Students
3 Ways for Advisors to Support Grad Students by Considering Cultural Differences
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources for UConn Department of Psychological Sciences