The Undergraduate Physics Mentoring Program (UGPMP) aims to pair mentors, who are well-settled in the physics major, with mentees, who are thinking of majoring in physics or have been recently admitted as a major. We aim to provide support for all students interested in or already admitted to UW Physics, and mentor-mentee pairs are selected based on shared identities, experiences, and interests.
We are a Registered Student Organisation (RSO) and have a RSO Discord for interested, current, and former mentees/mentors. For security purposes, please find our link on the official UW Student Hub (access instructions here) as “UG Physics Mentoring Program” under the “Clubs” tab.
Who can apply?
Prospective mentees: any student who is potentially interested in, thinking about applying to, or was recently admitted to (typically taking taking PHYS 1XX or 2XX courses) the UW Physics major. You may be unsure about committing to physics, but interested in learning more, or you may be a new admit wanting to better know the major and community.
Prospective mentors: any student who is well-settled in the physics major (typically taking PHYS 3XX or 4XX courses). You may be interested in sharing your experience in the major and your interests in physics, or impart personal or academic advice you wish you had received earlier on.
Program Application and Deadlines
Each quarter, new pairings will be established roughly by the end of the second week of the quarter. These will be made up of new applicants and previous mentors or mentees wishing to change their pairing. Thus, we strongly recommend that you apply early in the quarter, preferably prior to the second week.
For applications received later in the quarter, we will create new pairings in an ongoing fashion, if they are available; however, if a mid-quarter pairing is not possible, you will be pooled with the main cycle of applicants at the beginning of the next quarter.
| MENTEE Application | MENTOR Application |
Am I qualified to apply?
There is no knowledge, course, or grade prerequisite needed to participate in the program, other than being interested in becoming, or already being, a physics major or minor. We welcome double majors with other subjects, e.g. astronomy and math. We ask that you fill out the application form so that we can learn about your interests, hobbies and motivations, and thus find the most appropriate mentor-mentee pairings. Information in the applications is not shared outside of the Leadership Team.
Quarterly Summary
The program is designed to run on a per-quarter basis, but mentor-mentee pairs can continue for multiple quarters if pairs are happy with the arrangement.
Start of quarter
- Each mentor will be paired with up to two mentees.
- There will be a training session for new mentors and mentees, where we also provide resources to help learn how to be an effective mentor or mentee.
Throughout the quarter
- Mentors will meet one-on-one with each mentee roughly once every two weeks, either in person or remotely.
- Mentors will keep in touch with mentees via Discord or related media
- We will organize activities throughout the academic year. Different events are organized every quarter, but generally, there is a balance between academic-focused events (e.g. undergraduate research panels), and social events (e.g. physics bingo, physics trivia).
End of quarter
- Mentors and mentees will fill out evaluation forms at the end of each quarter used to improve the mentoring program.
Organization
The program is overseen and administered by a Leadership Team consisting of a physics faculty member together with physics undergraduates and graduate students who have volunteered to help. If you are interested in joining the team, please contact us via email (see below).
Contact Us
The present Leadership Team is listed here along with our individual emails. If you have questions about the program, please contact us either through our group email at phys-ugmentor@uw.edu or individually.