Call for Applications: GradFund Peer Mentor - Hourly - June-December 2026

Deadline to apply: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until May 21, 2026.  The application portal closes on May 21, 2026. GradFund is currently accepting applications for a Peer Mentor. The Appointment will start as early as June 15, 2026 and will end on December 15, 2026.      

GradFund assists graduate students with navigating the process of applying for externally funded fellowships and grants. This position will be of special interest to graduate students who would like to develop their mentoring and advising skills for a tenure- track career and those who want to explore a career path in higher education administration or other career paths beyond the tenure track. Fellowship Advisors have the following five key areas of responsibility under the supervision of the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student External Support:      

1. Conduct confidential fellowship and grant pre-application and application review meetings.
2. Present GradFund programs and workshops.
3. Perform outreach to graduate programs and students.
4. Maintain and update records in the GradFund Award database
5. Assist with special projects

This is an hourly appointment for on-campus work. The hourly rate is $25/hour for up to 20 hours of work/week. The Appointment will start as early as June 15, 2026 no later than July 1, 2026 and will end on December 15, 2026.  

 Eligibility The applicant must be a doctoral student in the School of Graduate Studies (school 16) who has experience applying for external grants or fellowships as a graduate student and who will be a graduate student for the entire appointment period (June 2026 to December 2026.)

          An application should be submitted through the GradFund/SGS Submittable application portal. Application Components 

1. A letter of interest, explaining your qualifications to fill the GradFund Peer position, including past mentoring experiences you may have. In a brief narrative, summarize your computer skills and respond to the following questions:

• What is your experience applying for external funding?
• How would you use these experiences as a Peer Mentor?
• What are your teaching and mentoring experiences and how do you see utilizing these experiences and skills in this position?
• What is your dissertation research? (Limit response to one paragraph, written for the non-specialist)
• What experience do you have doing interdisciplinary work?
• How does this or any other related experience give evidence of your ability to work and provide mentorship across disciplines? 
• What are your career goals and how will being a GradFund Peer Mentor help you to develop skills to advance these goals?

2. A copy of your current CV   

3. A copy of a recent external grant or fellowship application, written as a graduate student   

4. A copy of your unofficial graduate transcripts   

Questions about the GradFund Peer Mentor position should be addressed to Senior Associate Dean Teresa Delcorso-Ellmann at teresa.delcorso@rutgers.edu