The CS Women group is open to graduate and undergraduate students alike, however, most of the time only graduate students come to the events. We would really like to get to know the undergraduate women in the department and we think we might be able to help out in case you have questions about the program or graduate school in general. With this goal in mind, we came up with the CS Women Mentoring Project--we paired up undergraduate women who have declared computer science as a major with female graduate students.As of Fall 2008, the project will also include mentoring of incoming graduate students. We hope that this program with provide important resources to women who are new to the department and encourage them to attend more CS Women events in the future. 

This page provides answers to some frequently asked questions. If you have a question that is not answered here, please feel free to email your co-chairs (for contact info, see Home ).

FAQ for mentees:

• Q: Who can be a mentee?
• A: Undergraduate students who have declared a computer science major are automatically signed up and mentors are assigned to them. The mentoring project currently only applies to women. We hope to extend the program in the future. If you do not want to have a mentor or you are new to the department and you have not yet been assigned a mentor, please send an email to your co-chairs.
• Q: What are the responsibilities of a mentee?
• A: Mentees don't really have any responsibilities. We hope that this program will help you to meet some of the other women in the department and provide you with a person to talk to if you have questions about graduate school or anything else. We know it can be weird to be the only girl in your CS courses, and we just want you to know that there are a lot of women in the department.
• Q: What is the time commitment going to be like?
• A: We would like you to meet your mentor in person at least once (over coffee/tea/chai/latte/whatever) so you can get to know one another. The purpose of the program is to help you with any questions you might have, so you can put in as little or as much time as you want. You mentor will send you emails every once in a while to make sure you're doing OK and to check if you have any questions. If you haven't heard from your mentor in a couple of weeks but you have a question, don't hesitate to email her, that's what she's there for!
• Q: I was just assigned a mentor. What do I do now?
• A: Your mentor will email you soon to introduce herself and set up a time to meet. This is a very informal meet and greet over coffee/tea/latte/chai/you name it, and hopefully an opportunity for you two to get to know one another.
• Q: I have never met my mentor. What should I do?
• A: Your mentor should email you to set uo a time for your first meeting so there's nothing you need to do at this time. If it's been a couple of weeks since you were assigned a mentor and you still haven't heard from her, please let your co-chairs know.
• Q: My mentor is not answering my emails, what should I do?
• A: Try to send another email and wait for a couple of weeks to hear back. Maybe your mentor got swamped with research and just didn't have the time. If you still don't hear back, please send an email to your co-chairs so we can look into what is going on or assign you a new mentor.
• Q: I don't get along with my mentor, what should I do?
• A: If you have trouble getting along with your mentor, please send an email to your co-chairs and we will assign a new mentor to you.

FAQ for mentors:

• Q: Who can be a mentor? 
• A: Graduate students can become mentors at any point in their graduate career, however, we recommend that you complete at least one semester before becoming a mentor in order to get better acquainted with the department and the CS Women group. The mentoring project currently only applies to women. We hope to extend the program in the future. If you would like to become a mentor, please send an email to your co-chairs.
• Q: What are the responsibilities of a mentor?
• A: A mentor is expected to meet with her mentee at least once during the course of the semester. Moreover, mentors should plan on exchanging emails with their mentees regularly (at least once a month) to check in and answer any questions that might come up.
• Q: What is the time commitment going to be like?
• A: Mentors should expect to put in at least a couple of hours over the course of the semester to meet with their mentees and answer emails.
• Q: I just became a mentor. What do I do now?
• A: The first step is to email your mentee and introduce yourself. You should have received an email with your mentee's contact information. Please take the time to send her an email and tell her a little bit about yourself.
• Q: I have never met my mentee. What should I do?
• A: Send your mentee an email and invite her to meet you! We recommend a very informal meeting over coffee so you can get to know one another. The CS Women group will reimburse you for the coffee but please keep your receipts!
• Q: My mentee is not answering my emails, what should I do?
• A: Try to send another email and wait for a couple of weeks to hear back. Maybe your mentee got swamped with class work and just didn't have the time. If you still don't hear back, please send an email to your co-chairs so we can look into what is going on.
• Q: I don't get along with my mentee, what should I do?
• A: If you're having trouble getting along with your mentee, please send an email to your co-chairs.