MPSA 2025-2026 Academic Year Mentoring Program
Apply Today for the MPSA Mentoring Program!
The MPSA invites members to apply for the 2025-26 Academic Year Mentoring Program. The MPSA Mentoring Program connects emerging political science scholars with experienced mentors to foster professional growth, research excellence, and career development. Running throughout the 2025-2026 academic year, this program pairs mentees—ranging from graduate students to junior faculty and PhDs in non-academic roles—with mentors who provide tailored guidance in a supportive remote format. This year, we’ve welcomed over 70 exceptional mentors—spanning all political science subfields, from diverse institutions across a dozen countries, and specializing in academic, alt-academic, and non-academic career paths. Whether you’re a graduate student, junior faculty, mid-career professional, or exploring new directions, there’s a mentor for you.
Purpose of the Program
The goal of the MPSA Academic Year Mentoring Program is to empower mentees to achieve their professional and academic aspirations by providing personalized mentorship. Mentors will help mentees navigate challenges such as publishing their research, securing funding, preparing for the job market, navigating the tenure track, or transitioning into alt-academic or non-academic careers. Through one-on-one interactions over the course of the academic year, mentors will share their own experiences and offer insights, feedback, and encouragement to build mentees’ confidence and skills. The program is also intended to foster lasting professional relationships that strengthen the political science community.
What is the application process for mentees?
- Please review the mentor profiles and identify potential mentors you would be interested to work with. You will be asked to select two preferred mentors from the list.
- Submit an application no later than August 31, 2025. Please note: as there are a limited number of spaces in the Mentoring Program, not all applicants will be placed with a mentor, or with their preferred mentor; priority will be given to junior faculty, contingent faculty, Ph.D.s in non-academic positions, and graduate students nearing the completion of their dissertation.
Who can apply for the Mentoring Program?
MPSA members who are junior faculty, contingent faculty, postdoctoral scholars, Ph.D.s in non-academic positions, and graduate students are all encouraged to apply. There are more than 70 available mentors representing a wide variety of institutions, subfields and specialties, and career stages, including mentors who can provide guidance for non-academic career paths.
What is the timeline for those accepted to the Mentoring Program?
Around the start of the academic year (early September 2025) both parties will receive a notification containing names, contact information, and CVs. Mentees will be asked to reach out to their mentor within one week to establish contact and begin coordination of an initial meeting to establish expectations and a rough plan for how the mentoring relationship will develop over the course of the academic year.
What will the mentoring relationship look like?
Each mentoring relationship is unique, dependent upon the situation and need of the mentee and the particular experience and expertise of the mentor. Substantively, the Mentoring Program is intended to provide career guidance and professional development as opposed to assistance with research, reviewing manuscripts, etc. Common topics of conversation for graduate student mentees include preparing for and navigating the job market, publishing journal articles, transforming a dissertation into a publishable manuscript, teaching new courses, or time management techniques and research strategies; for Ph.D.s and junior faculty, common topics include academic administration, managing university and professional service responsibilities, preparing for tenure or promotion to full professor, pedagogical techniques in the classroom, or strategies for balancing professional productivity with personal wellbeing.
Questions?
Please contact MPSA Membership staff at mpsainfo@mpsanet.org for more information.
See what previous participants have to say about the MPSA Mentoring Program:
“This is a really great program for scholars in an early academic career, especially those who lack mentoring support within their own department or school.”
“I had an amazing experience in this program! My mentor was truly caring, inspiring, and insightful. I definitely plan to stay in touch in the future, and I am grateful to the MPSA Mentoring Program for giving us the opportunity to connect.”
“In the past three years I have tried other mentoring programs, but my life changed completely when I was matched with my MPSA mentor. We truly became friends – he is kind, passionate, and helped me to manage my job market stress while guiding me along the way. I feel lucky and I believe he is one of the best mentors out there.”
“Excellent program. The mentorship agreement was helpful in setting expectations and timeframes for meetings. My mentor was extremely helpful and I am thankful for the opportunity and ongoing professional connection.”
“This was a great mentoring partnership where I found a colleague, advisor, and friend. Thank you!”
“The MPSA Mentoring Program is an excellent idea. It matched me with a scholar who has been invaluable in my academic job search, providing timely advice and useful tips.”
“This is a very valuable program. This is the second time I’ve participated and both times have been very useful for my development.”
MPSA Mentoring Reception (Small Group Mentoring) at the Annual Conference
The 2025 Mentoring Reception will be held during the 82nd Annual MPSA Conference on Friday, April 4 from 7:00 – 8:00 PM at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, IL
(In-Person Participation Only)
The MPSA Mentoring Reception provides an opportunity for conference attendees who are graduate students, contingent faculty, junior faculty, or PhDs in non-academic positions to meet with faculty mentors over refreshments in a small group setting during the annual conference.
Please note, you must be registered for the in-person conference to participate; there will not be an option to participate virtually.
The call for mentors and mentees for the 2025 MPSA Mentoring Reception has passed. Notifications containing mentee names, contact information, and research questions/conversation topics will be provided to mentors in late March. Shortly after, each participant will receive a message of introduction to others participating in the small group mentoring session. There will be no on-site signups for this event, so you will have plenty of time to review the information for those in your group prior to the event.
Thank You to Our 2025 Mentoring Reception Mentors:
- Hassan Afzal, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- Nurgul R. Aitalieva, Purdue University Fort Wayne
- Craig D. Albert, Augusta University
- Elizabeth A. Bennion, Indiana University South Bend
- Mia M. Bloom, Georgia State University
- Philip Chen, University of Denver
- Daphne M. Cooper, North Carolina A&T State University
- Thomas C. Ellington, Wesleyan College
- David Foster, Florida State University
- Stephen N. Goggin, San Diego State University
- Taha Hameduddin, University of Kentucky
- Ji Yeon (Jean) Hong), University of Michigan
- Marc Hooghe, University of Leuven
- Yusaku Horiuchi, Dartmouth College
- Yujin (Julia) Jung, Mount St. Mary’s University
- Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Cristopher T. Lynch, Missouri State University
- Brian Newman, Pepperdine University
- Samuel Pimpong, University of Education, Winneba
- Verónica Reyna, Rice University
- Elizabeth Rigby, George Washington University
- Jake Rothschild, Verasight
- Jennifer C. Seely, Earlham College
- Christoph H. Stefes, University of Colorado Denver
- Pablo Toral, Beloit College
- Kimberly A. Twist, San Diego State University
- Matthew S. Winters, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign