National Mentoring Community

The NMC pairs Black/African, Latino, and Indigenous undergraduates and graduate students in physics and related majors with mentors.
Join the NMC
A mentor speaking with two students

The NMC accepts new mentees throughout each academic year and accepts new mentors in the Fall. The NMC pauses accepting new mentees in the Summer. Complete this form to express interest in becoming a part of the NMC as a mentee or mentor.

Join as a mentor or student mentee

We welcome students and mentors who share our vision of a physics community that is just and fair.

Students who enjoy a variety of mentoring relationships are more productive, successful, and content with their careers than those without such a rich "constellation,” so we encourage mentees to connect with multiple mentors within the program.

What a mentor can do for students

By having a mentor and a structured mentoring experience through the NMC, you can benefit from the knowledge and experience shared by a professional physicist in your area of interest.

Why you should become a mentor

Invest in the physics community and students' future by mentoring Black/African American, Latino, and Indigenous students. Physicists at any career level in any sector may participate. Sign-ups open annually in the fall.

Our approach to mentoring

Our approach to mentoring recognizes a wide array of mentoring relationships and relies on an anti-deficit approach to working with students. We use the Community Cultural Wealth Model as a framework for training mentors to ensure cultural competency to set mentees up for success.

Mission

Our mission is to address the minoritization and marginalization of people in physics by providing personal and professional development to mentors and mentees, matching mentors and mentees, and providing resources to mentees.

Vision

We envision a future in physics where no one is marginalized or minoritized on the basis of race or ethnicity. To achieve our vision of justice and fairness, we center the experiences of Black/African, Latino, and Indigenous students in STEM.

Definitions

We define marginalized as a person or group with experiences pushed to society's periphery and minoritized as a smaller group impacted by the majority's policies and practices, such as being a racial minority in a region due to immigration policies.

A Black physics student at APS March Meeting

Emergency and Experience Grants (EMERGE)

The NMC Emergency and Experience Grants (EMERGE) Program supports NMC mentees in their pursuit of earning a physics degree by providing grants for emergencies and professional development experiences.

Review the process for aid

Contact us

If you have questions about the NMC or about getting involved in mentoring, please feel free to contact us.

Related

This scholarship supports African American students seeking bachelor's degrees in physics and astronomy.

A diverse group of students chatting together on steps

The APS Bridge Program addresses diversity gaps by providing pathways to graduate school for students from underrepresented groups.

A woman working at a laptop computer.

APS supports physicists and other scientists from the beginning of their education to every stage of their careers.

Mature professional woman advising a younger colleague during a coffee break

Experienced physicists can connect with students to steer the next generation on a path to success.

Join your Society

If you embrace scientific discovery, truth and integrity, partnership, inclusion, and lifelong curiosity, this is your professional home.