About

The Faculty-Student Mentoring Program (F-SMP) supports student engagement and development through undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activities. Central to these efforts is the development of long term relationships between students and their faculty mentors as they engage in academically purposeful tasks.

The primary goal of F-SMP is to encourage and support enhanced student learning via campus programs and activities that facilitate increased academic and personal development. To achieve this goal, we support student success by:

• providing academic planning and guidance to students to facilitate participation in rigorous academic endeavors and activities;
• supporting participation in undergraduate research, scholarship, creative activities and community-based service initiatives across colleges and disciplines;
• offering active student academic support for these efforts through workshops and undergraduate courses and  seminars;
• encouraging mentoring, coaching, and other nurturing interactions among faculty mentors and students; and
• presenting students with opportunities for disciplinary or cross-disciplinary regional, national, and international conferences and proceedings.

Protégés (students):
The F-SMP program serves SDSU juniors, seniors and transfer students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. A list of eligible students is established for each college by the F-SMP office, in collaboration with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Students who meet F-SMP participation criteria are then recruited by the faculty mentor, who holds orientation meetings and distributes applications. Selected students must make a one-year commitment to the program, and when appropriate, they may be asked to enroll in course work as part of their participation in the program. Protégés are expected to achieve all F-SMP undergraduate research learning outcomes during the project period.