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What is Grad CAFE?

Grad CAFE is a transformational mentoring program funded with $1,000,000 from 2024-2029 through the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) grant. Grad CAFE provides a holistic, strengths-based, community-building approach to mentoring graduate students with a cross-disciplinary, intersectional, multi-tiered model from start-up to scale-up that is easily replicated. The Grad CAFE model has the potential to reshape graduate student mentoring nationally and internationally by moving from a one-to-one top-down approach to a community and strengths-based approach that will positively impact the mental health and well-being of graduate students, address the local and national lack of diversity in STEM programs, and close achievement gaps in retention and degree completion for underrepresented graduate students in STEM.

Theoretical Framework

Grad CAFE’s theoretical framework addresses Wai-Ling Packard’s factors impacting student persistence using three of the four major components of HSI “servingness” identified by Garcia, Núñez, and Sansone (2019; described below). Wai-Ling Packard (2016) identified three factors impacting students’ persistence in STEM: capacity, interest, and belonging. Capacity refers to the ability to learn and demonstrate competence in STEM, which is indicated, in part, by grades in classes. Capacity also refers to the student’s sense of self-efficacy or confidence in their ability to persist and achieve in STEM. Interest refers to a student’s perception that STEM is relevant, useful, and feasible for their future. Belongingness refers to a sense of shared identity. Belongingness is a particularly critical factor for underrepresented individuals in STEM, as the current demographics of the STEM workforce can send a negative signal to underrepresented students about how they fit into STEM (McGee, 2020).

Garcia et al. (2019) describe four major components of ‘servingness’ at HSIs: outcomes, experiences, internal organizational dimensions, and external influences. As we cannot impact external influences, we focus on the first three components here. Outcomes include both academic variables, such as retention and completion, as well as non-academic variables, such as academic identity and sense of belonging. Experiences include student-student interactions and interactions with faculty, staff, and other members of the larger community. Internal organizational dimensions include factors that negatively or positively affect Hispanic students such as culturally relevant curriculum and a focus on servingness by institutional leaders. As UArizona is one of a select few R1 HSIs, Garcia et al.’s (2019) framework is relevant for creating a program that addresses diversity issues in STEM and fits in with our mission as an HSI.

Student Information

Interested in joining Grad CAFE? Here's some information about what is involved in a typical semester.

• Example syllabus for the required course GRAD 696 
• Example course calendar for GRAD 696
• Expectations for peer mentors and community leaders

Grad CAFE reports and news

• Grad CAFE 2024 final report
• U of A’s Grad CAFE helps underrepresented STEM students succeed socially, academically (RII, 8/29/2024)
• Graduate Communities for Academic Fellowship & Efficacy (Grad CAFE) receives $1 million NSF Innovations in Graduate Education grant (Faculty Digest, 10/3/2024)
• Grad CAFE: A Holistic Approach to Supporting Graduate Students (Graduate Center Newsletter, 11/8/2024)
• Grad CAFE IGE grant abstract
• NSF IGE grant proposal

Program Contact

Dr. Celeste Atkins: catkins@arizona.edu