YOU CAN’T BE WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE.

Research shows that students of color have better academic outcomes when they have race and gender-concordant mentorship.

But only 2% of full professors in the United States are Black women.

So it is no surprise that lack of mentorship is the most commonly reported barrier to success for Black women pursuing doctoral studies.

SO WE CREATED THE

SISTA CIRCLE

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

A virtual small-group mentorship program that matches historically underrepresented women and gender non-conforming doctoral students with peer and professional mentors in their academic discipline.

To date, we’ve mentored 130 doctoral students and applicants, with a 97% doctoral program retention or completion rate amongst doctoral students.

Enrollment for the 2024-2025 Sista Circle Mentorship Program closes on August 25, 2024.

Meet Jabreel, an incoming PhD student at Virginia Tech

Watch her story to see the impact of the Sista Circle Mentorship Program and how it transformed her doctoral journey.

Support more scholars like Jabreel by sponsoring a doctoral student.

Research-backed and evidence-driven

89%

of mentees reported their relationship with their mentor made them feel more confident about their doctoral journey

91%

of mentees found their monthly Sista Circle group meetings helpful

74%

of mentees felt more supported in their doctoral journey after participating in the program

  • Before getting involved in the Sista Circle Mentorship program, I felt alone in my doctoral journey. Through this program, I have received resources and fellowship that have encouraged me to keep going. I feel prepared to enter my second year!

    Sista Circle 2022 Mentee

  • The Sista Circle Mentorship Program was a game-changer for me. I entered the program in a space of ambiguity about the direction of my doctoral journey. During the program, I felt supported and empowered to push through my circumstances and make progress toward my academic goals. My participation in the program definitely increased my sense of belonging in my program.

    Sista Circle 2023 Mentee

  • I was extremely fortunate to be paired with my mentor, I actually got to meet her in person at a conference! She has been a big sister, telling me how it is and how to be an amazing professor while working strategically. When other mentors could not be counted on at least I could count on her.

    Sista Circle 2022 Mentee

  • There was such a broad spectrum of what we could discuss during the Sista Circle meetings and even outside of that, my mentor's availability and responsiveness made me feel really supported.

    Sista Circle 2021 Mentee

  • The Sista Circle Mentorship Program helped me feel seen, validated and loved in ways I did not even realize I needed. Attending a PWI and starting this doctoral journey increased my stress levels tremendously to the point where I considered walking away and feeling like I did not deserve to be admitted. The mentorship program solidified my well-earned and well-deserved confidence about being a well-educated, phenomenal, unapologetically Black woman!

    Sista Circle 2023 Mentee

  • There’s no better feeling than having a tribe of like-minded women on this doctoral journey! It can be a long, isolated road, and my Sista Circle boosted my confidence and gave me a community to lean on.

    Sista Circle 2021 Mentee

  • My academic advisors are very hands-off but my mentee and Sista Circle assisted me in creating a plan for the completion of my journey. I highly recommend this program for other Black scholars!

    Sista Circle 2020 Mentee

Some of our Past Mentors

  • Dr. Dialika Sall

    Ph.D., Sociology

    COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

  • Dr. Beatrice Ncho

    Ph.D., Chemical/Biomedical Engineering

    GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

  • Dr. Veronica Eyo

    Ph.D., Educational Leadership

    UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

  • Dr. Ucheoma Nwaozuru

    Ph.D., Public Health

    SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY

  • Dr. McKenzie Stokes

    Ph.D., Applied Social and Community Psychology

    NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

  • Dr. Whitneé Garrett-Walker

    Ed.D., International and Multicultural Education

    UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

  • Dr. Renée Ragin Randall

    Ph.D., Literature

    DUKE UNIVERSITY

  • Dr. Mary Phillips

    Ph.D., Africana Studies

    MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

  • Dr. Patricia Virella

    Ph.D., Educational Leadership, Learning, and Policy

    UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

BECOME A MENTOR

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • The Sista Circle Mentorship Program is open to historically underrepresented women and nonbinary doctoral students enrolled at accredited institutions in the United States.

  • We match participants primarily by academic discipline, as well as by special circumstances (e.g., students completing doctoral programs online may be matched with a mentor who also completed their doctorate online). Our mentoring software uses an algorithm to make the matching process easier, but all matches are reviewed by the Cohort Sistas team before being finalized.

  • The Sista Circle Mentorship Program is 100% virtual. This allows us to serve more scholars!

  • Research shows that peer support is also critical to graduate program success, so we designed the Sista Circle Mentorship Program to include both vertical and horizontal mentorship. Our hope is that the mentees in each Circle become your colleagues, accountability partners, and collaborators beyond the program.

  • The Sista Circle Mentorship Program runs during the academic year, with enrollment beginning in August/September and the program concluding in May.

  • We will be announcing enrollment details for the 2024-2025 program in the summer. Please email us with additional questions, and we’ll be happy to help!

Looking for other forms of mentorship?

we SHARE resources, WORKSHOPS, and support for historically underrepresented women and non-binary doctoral students and applicants on the cohort sistas community platform.