CRA-W Canadian Distributed Mentor Project

The Canadian Distributed Mentor Project, is a program to encourage undergraduate women in computer science and computer engineering to go to graduate school. It matches female students who have finished their second or third year of undergraduate studies with female professors for a summer of research and mentoring. It awards $3,500 to each student to supplement an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) in Universities, which provides $4,500 (+ travel). Thus, each student will receive a total of $8,000 (+ travel) for 16 weeks of work. In addition, $1000 is awarded to each mentor, to offset research and mentoring costs.

Ten students will be funded for summer 2009. Priority will be given to students from universities where there are no female professors who can serve as their mentors.

The application deadline for both students and mentors is Monday, January 19, 2009.

Student applicants must be female, Canadian citizens or permanent residents, registered (at the time of application) as a full-time student in a bachelor's degree program in computer science, computer engineering, or a related field (for example, mathematics or electrical engineering), and considering graduate studies in computer science or computer engineering. Students must have obtained, over the previous years of study, a cumulative average of at least B and must have completed at least two years of their bachelor's degree by May 2008. Students must also be full time.

A potential mentor must be an assistant, associate, or full professor of computer science or computer engineering at a Canadian university. She must hold an NSERC grant and have an active research program into which students may be integrated. The mentor's department must be willing to allocate support from the USRA program to the matched student.

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Student and Mentor applications are open!
The application deadline is Monday, January 19, 2009.


Student applications must be submitted online at http://parasol.tamu.edu/craw/cdmp/student/application/

Mentor applications must be submitted online at http://parasol.tamu.edu/craw/cdmp/mentor/application/

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF STUDENTS

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, registered (at the time of application) as a full-time student in a bachelor's degree program in computer science, computer engineering, or a related field (for example, mathematics or electrical engineering) who are considering graduate studies in computer science or computer engineering. Students must have obtained, over the previous years of study, a cumulative average of at least B, completed all the course requirements of at least the first year of university study of their bachelor's degree, and be full time. First consideration will be given to women who have completed at least two years of their bachelor's degree by May 2008.

To be eligible to apply for an award, you must:

  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada,
  • Be registered as a full-time student in a bachelor's degree program, and
  • Have obtained, over the previous years of study, a cumulative average of at least B.

The primary criteria for selection are:

  • The match between the student's experience and skills and the needs of a participating researcher's research project.
  • The student's potential for success in graduate school, as indicated by her record.
  • The student's potential gain from the experience (e.g., students at institutions unable to offer research opportunities with professors).
  • The potential that the student's participation will advance the goals of the program.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF MENTORS

A potential mentor must be an assistant, associate, or full professor of computer science or computer engineering at a Canadian university. She must hold an NSERC grant and have an active research program into which students may be integrated.

The primary criteria for selection are:

  • The suitability of the professor's research project for undergraduates and the match of skills required for the project with student applicants.
  • The conduciveness of the professor's university environment to the goals of the mentoring project (e.g., an active summer research population that would provide the student with a window on future graduate life).
  • The professor's demonstrated skill in the delicate task of mentoring undergraduates.
  • The potential that the professor's participation will advance the goals of the program.

AWARDS FROM 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008


Sponsors

The Canadian Distributed Mentor Project is sponsored by CRA-W (the Computing Research Association Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research) the JADE Project (the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for British Columbia and the Yukon). Funding is provided by General Motors Canada and NSERC.

                             


The Computing Research Association (CRA) is an association of more than 180 North American academic departments of computer science and computer engineering; laboratories and centers in industry, government, and academia engaging in basic computing research; and affiliated professional societies.

Computing Research Association
1100 Seventeenth Street, NW, Suite 507
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. 202-234-2111 / Fax: 202-667-1066
E-mail: info@cra.org
http://www.cra.org


© 2005 by the Computing Research Association (CRA). Permission is given to reproduce the contents, provided such reproduction is not for profit and credit is given to the source.