Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Mentoring for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars

Nominations for 2027 are open!

Great mentors make a lasting difference. The Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Mentoring celebrate UCSF graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who go above and beyond to support the growth, success, and professional development of others.

Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are invaluable contributors to UCSF’s mentoring community. Whether formally or informally, they often serve as mentors, supervisors, and sponsors - teaching and guiding others, providing encouragement and feedback, creating opportunities, and advocating for their mentees’ success.

We invite nominations that recognize outstanding contributions in one or more of these areas:

  • Research Mentoring: Providing hands-on training in research and analytical techniques; guiding experimental design and methodology; strengthening scientific writing and presentation skills; and helping mentees build the knowledge, skills, and confidence to work independently.
  • Career & Professional Mentoring: Helping mentees explore career paths, build professional skills and networks, set goals, identify opportunities, and prepare for their next steps.
  • Social & Inspirational Mentoring: Encouraging mentees to persist and succeed, building confidence, serving as a role model, and helping others navigate challenges and achieve their goals.

Mentees may include graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, staff, interns, volunteers, undergraduates, or high school students - including individuals visiting UCSF or affiliated with other institutions.  

Submission Deadline: Online nominations open until November 13, 2026

Who is Eligible?

Eligibility Requirements

Nominees must be either:

  • All currently enrolled UCSF master’s and PhD students who are registered at the time of nomination and through January 31, 2027. Students in joint programs must have UCSF as their home campus.
  • All postdoctoral scholars who are in a UCSF postdoctoral scholar title code at the time of nomination and through January 31, 2027. 
Who Can Nominate?
  • Only current UCSF staff, faculty, students, and postdoctoral scholars may submit nominations using their UCSF email address.  
  • Student nominators in joint programs must have UCSF as their home campus.
  • You do not need to be the nominee’s mentee. You simply need to know their mentoring contributions well enough to describe their role and impact.
  • You may nominate multiple people, but you may nominate each graduate student or postdoctoral scholar only once. 
What You'll Need to Submit

Before starting the online nomination form, please prepare:

  1. Nominee information
    • Provide the nominee’s name and graduate program, department, or postdoctoral affiliation.

  2. Nomination statement — required

    • You will need to upload a PDF describing the nominee’s mentoring contributions and impact.
    • Format: Maximum 1.5 pages, single-spaced, 11-point Arial, 1-inch margins.
    • Your statement should describe: 
      • How the nominee has served as a mentor, supervisor, and/or sponsor* during their time at UCSF.  
      • Highlight their contributions to research, career and professional, or social and inspirational mentoring.
      • Explain how they engaged with and supported their mentees or trainees.
      • Describe the impact of their mentorship on mentees’ educational or academic success, professional development, confidence, growth, and/or ability to succeed.
      • Include specific examples or stories that demonstrate what makes their mentorship exceptional.

    Mentoring may involve individuals within or outside UCSF. We welcome examples involving graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, staff, interns, volunteers, undergraduates, high school students, and other trainees.

  3. Letters of support — optional
    • You may upload up to two additional letters of support from individuals within or outside UCSF who can provide further insight into the nominee’s mentoring contributions.

    • Format: PDF, maximum 1 page per letter, single-spaced, 11-point Arial, 1-inch margins. 

       

* the roles of mentor, supervisor, and/or sponsor are traditionally defined as:

  • Mentors provide psychological and emotional support, teaching and training, career support, and role modeling.
  • Supervisors set mentee research goals, assess knowledge and understanding, provide positive and corrective feedback, evaluate progress, manage conflicts, enforce consequences, and support trainees.
  • Sponsors connect mentees with opportunities and advocate for their advancement, recognition, and promotion.
Awards and Selection

We will recognize three graduate students and three postdoctoral scholars for their outstanding mentorship.

Each awardee will receive:

  • A $600 stipend
  • An award certificate
  • Recognition on the GEPA website
  • Recognition at the Dean’s Mentoring Awards ceremony on January 26, 2027, at Mission Bay, in celebration of National Mentoring Month

Award recipients and their nominators will be notified no later than early January 2027.

Award Selection

The six award recipients will be selected by a committee composed of postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, faculty members, and administrators. UCSF does not use race, gender, sex, or other protected categories or proxies for protected categories in the selection process. content.

Ceremony Details

2027 Dean’s Awards for Excellence in Mentoring 

Thursday, January 26, 2027, 4 to 5 p.m. 
Byers Auditorium, Genentech Hall (UCSF Mission Bay campus)

Ready to Nominate? 

Once you have the nominee information, nomination statement, and any optional letters of support ready, submit your nomination through the online nomination form by November 13, 2026.

The person submitting the form will serve as the primary nominator and point of contact for nomination-related communications. 

Questions? Contact [email protected].