Cross Campus Graduate and Professional Mentorship

What is Cross Campus G&P Mentorship?

By leveraging our Cross Campus online community, the Yale Alumni Association arranges mentor-mentee relationships between students of Yale’s participating graduate and professional schools and their alumni.

This is a 1:1 relationship. Each mentor is matched with one mentee for a dialogue to last at least three months.

Along the way, we guide each pair of mentors and mentees.

How does the program work?

Cross Campus Grad School Mentorship pairs each student with a dedicated mentor. Beforehand, students express preferences. Mentors do so, too. In arranging pairings, Cross Campus Grad School Mentorship takes into account factors such as:

  • Graduate or professional school affiliations
  • Types of advice sought (e.g., career paths, networking, life skills)
  • Non-career interests; personal skills and characteristics
  • Hometown and availability

How do I apply?

  • To create your Cross Campus profile (it’s super easy): go to crosscampus.yale.edu
  • Then, at the homepage, click on “Mentorship” and then choose “G&P Mentorship”
  • At our Cross Campus Grad School Mentorship “About” page, you’ll click on “Join Program”
  • You’ll answer a few more questions — and then you’re in!

We’ll soon match and e-introduce you to your partner. Need more help? Just click on “Resources” – it’s all there for you!

Must I apply now? Or can I apply later?

Apply any time. Cross Campus Grad School Mentorship matches mentors (Yale alums who have volunteered mostly from among Yale’s participating graduate and professional schools) with mentees (students of those schools) several times annually. We refer to each of these cycles as “application windows.”

  • Our first application window ends in early April for G&P alums; and mid-April for G&P students.
  • During each subsequent application window, we welcome additional applications by alums volunteering to serve as mentors and by students asking to be matched with a mentor.
  • Prospective mentors: keep in mind that this is a time when mentorship is especially important

When and how can Yale College students join to be matched with alumni mentors?

At the start of 2021, we launched Cross Campus College Mentorship (3CM) to connect Yale College students with Yale College alumni who volunteer as mentors. So far, 3CM has paired more than 1,100 Yale College students and alumni in three-month, 1:1 mentorship dialogues.

What are the mission and goals of the program?

Cross Campus Grad School Mentorship opens doors to: career exploration, scholarly success, new insights, broader personal networks, and meaningful, lasting relationships.

Goals:

  • For students/mentees: sustained, pertinent, focused advice leading to enhanced career or life-skill wisdom, insights, and/or action steps
  • For alumni/mentors: another meaningful way to give back to Yale — by helping to change lives
  • For mentors and mentees: (i) building an ever-closer sense of community among Yalies, and (ii) encouraging even more Yalies to join Cross Campus

Please tell me more. What is Cross Campus? Do I need to join?

On your way to our mentorship program, you’ll join Cross Campus. With more than 15,000 Yale alums and students, Cross Campus is Yale’s online networking, community-building, and mentoring program. Cross Campus facilitates relationships between Yalies — whether that’s alumni to student or alumni to young alumni. It’s powered by PeopleGrove, an expert in the field, and features ways to engage:

  • Gaining or giving advice, with one-time questions/answers
  • Online posts by Cross Campus members
  • More than 40 Cross Campus Groups
  • Mentorship (see above)

Cross Campus also features links to Yale affiliates along with resources to navigate our website, to make the most of your Cross Campus membership, and to be the best advisor or advice-seeker you can be.

How do alumni and students get started on Cross Campus?

  • Go to crosscampus.yale.edu and click “Join.”
  • Create your Cross Campus profile.
  • Set your preferences (privacy/visibility, availability, notifications).
  • At the landing page, click on “Programs.”
  • Answer a few mentorship questions.
  • That’s it! If you’re paired for a mentor/mentee dialogue, you’ll be notified.
By Brian Miller
Brian Miller