Graduate Student Resources

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Clubs

MCDB Graduate Student Contacts for Diversity and Inclusion Organizations and Resources

Colorado Diversity Initiative

  • Purpose: Oversees several programs (SMART, STEM Routes, Colorado Advantage) at CU to promote diversity in STEM.
  • What can you do?: Understand this umbrella program which funds SMART and STEM routes and advocates for other student organizations.
  • MCDB Contact: Joe Villanueva, jovi0540@colorado.edu
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Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART) Program

  • Purpose: Mentors URP undergrads across the country, promote attending and completing graduate school. This includes a summer program run through the CDI, where they send out emails to identified graduate students at CU (typically those involved in STEM Routes first) to ask for grad mentors.
  • What can you do?: Sign up to be a grad student mentor!
  • MCDB Contact: Joe Villanueva, jovi0540@colorado.edu
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Stem Routes Mentorship Program

  • Purpose: Provides mentoring for URP undergrads at CU to promote STEM research as a career.
  • What can you do?: Attend weekly Zoom meetings! Sign up to be a mentor here:
  • MCDB Contact: Joe Villanueva, jovi0540@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE)

  • Purpose: Provides coaching, mentorship and a platform for discussion, networking and support to encourage and inspire women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields throughout their professional careers.
  • What can you do?: Sign up to me a graduate student mentor or mentee! Attend seminars and meetings for women in STEM!
  • MCDB Contact: Tricia Nguyen, tricia.nguyen@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Pride Office

  • Purpose: Creates programming and space where LGBTQ+ students, staff and faculty can come together and create a community where they feel safe, supported and able to find connections with others who identify in similar ways.
  • What can you do?: Gain resources for inclusivity—including queer friendly housing, trans inclusive healthcare, support groups for queer and trans POC, among many others!
  • MCDB Contact: Liza Brusman, Liza.Brusman@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM)

  • Purpose: Provides networking, professional development, and social activities for queer students and allies interested in the fields of engineering, science, technology, and math (STEM). Overall goal is to encourage LGBTQ+ visibility in STEM, especially to early-career (highschool) scientists.
  • What can you do?: Sign up to be on their monthly panels discussing graduate school! Host research proposal competitions for highschool students! Attend weekly virtual meetings to discuss outreach opportunities and seminars! Volunteer for fundraisers for highschool outreach!
  • MCDB Contact: Dusty White, Dustin.N.White@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Miramontes Arts & Sciences Program (MASP)

  • Purpose: Supports motivated traditionally underrepresented or first generation undergraduate students interested in being part of a diverse community of scholars.
  • What can you do?: Sign up to be a graduate student mentor!
  • MCDB Contact: Alison Swearingen, Alison.Swearingen@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Pre-Collegiate Development Program (PCDP)

  • Purpose: Provides rural and pre-secondary education outreach and mentorship. Provides mini-classes over the summer mimicking all college courses, including all science and engineering.
  • What can you do?: Sign up to be a TA for pre-secondary education mini-college courses!
  • MCDB Contact: Galen Squiers, galen.squiers@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC)

  • Purpose: Provides physics mentoring to URPs in primary and high school.
  • What can you do?: Volunteer to teach physics at partnering schools at the end of July for the following school year!
  • MCDB Contact: Kate DaPron, Katherine.Dapron@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Biological Sciences Initiative (BSI)

  • Purpose: Provides financial support for undergrad research. There are funding opportunities for school year and summer (10 hours/week academic year, 30-40 summer "BSI Scholars") max stipend $2,500 per semester. Research for credit also available.
  • What can you do?: Encourage undergraduate research mentees to apply! Present at periodic poster sessions to broaden undergraduate knowledge!
  • MCDB Contact: Sam Holtzen, saho2901@colorado.edu
  • Website:

McNair Scholars Program

  • Purpose: Provides mentorship for underrepresented students seeking a graduate education.
  • What can you do?: Sign up to be a mentor!
  • MCDB Contact: Ben Nebenfuehr, Benjamin.Nebenfuehr@colorado.edu
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Leadership Alliance

  • Purpose: An umbrella program for undergraduate research opportunities for URPs that CU ÌÇÐÄVlogÆƽâ°æ is a member institution of through CDI/ODECE. Takes SMART students and the few other programs that CU has over the summer and provides useful workshops and a symposium. At the end of every summer, the 30+ institutions that are involved in the program attend the Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS), which gives the students in these programs an opportunity to present their research to a larger group of students and get feedback from graduate students. Running through Brown University, typically 3-4 graduate students mentor the SMARTees, escort/attend the conference with the SMARTees, and act as judges for the undergraduate's research presentations; while at the same time recruit for the various grad programs at CU. The last few years, there have been two grad students from engineering (mechanical/ electrical and biological), one from chemistry and one for "biology" (me!)
  • What can you do?: Sign up to be a mentor!
  • MCDB Contact: Joe Villanueva, jovi0540@colorado.edu
  • Website:

Metropolitan State University (MSU) of Denver Bridge program

  • Purpose: Mentor MSU undergraduates for a future career in graduate school.
  • What can you do?: Have zoom meetings with MSU undergraduates this fall and spring and talk why you chose your career path! Volunteer for seminar slots to talk to MSU Denver undergrads!
  • MCDB Contact: Liza Brusman, Liza.Brusman@colorado.edu
  • Website: N/A

Events of Interest to Trainees

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