The College of Biological Science Undergraduate Mentorship Program (CoBUMP) is a graduate student-led initiative in which upper-year undergraduate students interested in pursuing biological research are paired with graduate student mentors. This program began as iBUMP in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph in the spring of 2017. After 3 years of success and over 150 undergraduate students paired with graduate mentors, we have expanded to the rest of CBS, offering this mentorship program to students in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Human Health & Nutritional Science as well.
The benefits of this program are twofold: the undergraduate students benefit from one-on-one mentorship from a current graduate student regarding the scientific research process, scholarship applications, graduate school applications, and graduate student life; the graduate students benefit from gaining valuable mentoring skills that may be difficult to gain otherwise, and can boost their chances of receiving scholarships themselves. It also provides everyone involved with opportunities to interact with other members of the CBS community, strengthening ties between the departments and fostering a sense of connectedness.
If you have any questions or comments regarding this program, please do not to hesitate to contact the CoBUMP Committee at CoBUMP@uoguelph.ca. [1]
Meet the Team
The CoBUMP Committee. Top (from left): Alyssa Banaag (Co-Chair), Zachary Jones (IB Undergraduate Representative), Olivia Williams (Co-Chair), & Andrila Collins (BIOMED Graduate Representative)
Middle (from left): Monica Grigore (HHNS Undergraduate Representative) & Meaghan Bride (MCB Undergraduate Representative & Social Media Coordinator)
Bottom (from left): Rebecca Matsakawo (BIOMED Undergraduate Representative & Social Media Coordinator), Julian Bommarito (HHNS Graduate Representative & Communications Coordinator), Alicia Plourde (MCB Graduate Representative) & Kevin MacColl (IB Graduate Representative & Treasurer)
How to apply
Students interesterd in participating in the CoBUMP program should complete the surveys link below.
CoBUMP Mentor (grad student) [2]application. [3]
CoBUMP Mentee (undergraduate student) application [4]. [5]
