UCD Career Mentoring Programme

The UCD Career Mentoring Programme is open to undergraduate students in the following areas:

• UCD College of Social Science & Law - Stage 2, Stage 3 and Final Year Students
• UCD College of Arts & Humanities - Stage 2, Stage 3 and Final Year Students
• UCD College of Engineering & Architecture - Stage 2, Stage 3 and Final Year Students
• UCD College of Science - Penultimate and Final Year Students
• UCD College of Health and Agricultural Sciences (School of Agriculture and Food Science only) - Stage 2, Stage 3 and Final Year Students

If you do not fall into one of these categories, we are very sorry, but you will not be able to apply for this programme. Please reach out to your school offices to see if they have any mentoring opportunities available for you.

If selected for this programme, the minimum requirements are as follows: 

• Attend a mandatory training session on 11 or 12 November 2025 (1 hour) 
• Attend the Launch Event on 19 November 2025 
• Participate in a minimum of 3 Mentoring Meetings (3 x approx. 60 minutes each) 
• Preparation for mentoring meetings and work on follow-up tasks
• Submit feedback via survey at the end of the programme
• Attend optional Share Session with other mentees

Overall we anticipate participation in this programme, fulfilling all necessary requirements, would comprise about 10 hours' time commitment. Please keep this in mind when you are applying and consider in advance if you will have the required time needed to engage in this programme.

As a mentee you'll experience a wide range of benefits as a result of your mentoring partnership which could make a big difference to your life and your future career prospects. Working with a mentor is an opportunity to learn from a UCD graduate with professional experience and to benefit from their knowledge and insight, whether you are clear on the role you want to step into, or are considering postgraduate programmes, or are still unsure about your career direction.

Taking part in the UCD Career Mentoring Programme will allow you to:

• Explore a particular profession or employment area
• Gain insights on the skills and qualities required for specific careers
• Develop your career management and employability skills
• Increase your confidence and resilience
• Expand your professional networks
• Apply for the UCD Advantage Award 

The application period for the 2025-26 UCD Career Mentoring Programme will be open for 6 weeks. You will be able to apply from Monday, 25 August (9.00am) until Sunday 5 October (11.59pm). 

Three actions are required to apply:

• Attendance at an Information Session. Sessions are repeated multiple times throughout the application period, are online or on-campus, and (opens in a new window)can be booked on MyCareer.

Career Mentoring Programme 25/26 - Information Sessions 

• Complete and Submit UCD Career Mentoring Programme 2025/26 Application Form. **The link to the application form will be emailed to attendees of the Information Session**  
• Set up a profile on the UCD Alumni Network platform. You will be given more information on how to do this at the Information Session, as well as tips and advice for creating a good profile.

As there are a limited number of mentoring partnerships available per School/College, applying for the UCD Career Mentoring Programme does not guarantee you will be offered a place on the programme.

Selection is based on a number of factors: 

• Allocated Places. Places are capped and revised year on year per School/College according to student application numbers. 
• Availability of mentors. Every year, the Programme Team try their best to recruit mentors to match student numbers, but it is not always possible to find mentors in certain fields.  
• Application content. Depth of content provided in application form and Alumni Network profile can help the Programme Team to find a suitable match for you. 
• Timing of application. When your application is submitted - applications are ultimately processed on a ‘first come first served’ basis so the earlier you apply the better chance you have of gaining a place. 
• Previous participation. If you have participated on the programme before, other applications will be considered first in order to give other students a chance    

The UCD Career Mentoring programme is highly popular and every year the number of student applications far outweighs the number of places offered. If you are not selected, we will give you advice on other steps you can take to further your career development, for example, attending a Career Networking workshop or a one-to-one career consultation session. 

We will be in touch with all applicants regarding selection around mid-October 2025. 

Mentees and mentors are matched according to information submitted by both parties in the programme application form and also on the UCD Alumni Network profile. Criteria for matching include area of study, stated interest in a particular industry, sector or career area, and motivation for applying, so it is important that students provide comprehensive information on these areas in order to be as suitably matched as possible. 

The UCD Alumni Network platform carries out the matching process which will be checked by the Programme Team. Please bear in mind that we may not be able to ensure a perfect match between mentor and mentee, however we aim to match mentees with mentors who share some commonalities, and who we feel will be able to support our students effectively. Even if the mentor is not in your ideal role or sector, they may still be able to support you and share career insights that will assist in your career planning.

If you are selected for the programme, you will receive an email from the Programme Team welcoming you to the programme and sharing contact details of your mentor. Then it will be up to mentees to reach out to their mentor to introduce themselves and arrange the first mentoring meeting. 

Throughout the mentoring programme it is up to both mentee and mentor to arrange the format, duration, dates, times, frequency, etc. of the mentoring meetings. We ask you to commit to at least 3 mentoring meetings (approx. 60 minute-duration each) during the mentoring period (November to May). Please keep your academic calendar in mind when scheduling your meetings, as you may not have the capacity for mentoring when exams and assignments come around. 

If you wish to meet more times, and if your mentor is able, we encourage you to do so - however, this really does depend on your mentor’s availability. 

It is important to remember that the mentoring partnership is led by you in terms of what areas you would like the mentoring discussions to focus on, so we would strongly encourage you to think about what you want from your mentoring partnership before you meet your mentor. 

Some career areas to cover might be: 

• Exploring job roles and sectors
• Deciding what to do after college
• Practicing job interviews, professional communication and networking
• Where to source and apply for work experience opportunities
• CV/LinkedIn profile reviews
• Developing your professional networks
• Clarifying and working towards your career goals

The UCD Career Mentoring programme is jointly run by the UCD Careers Network and UCD Alumni Relations departments. UCD Alumni Relations engage directly with alumni associated with the mentoring programme and UCD Careers Network manage all engagement with students participating on the programme. 

During the application process, and throughout the programme, students can get in touch by email at (opens in a new window)careermentoring@ucd.ie. Students can also request a one-to-one support meeting, online or in-person, if further advice or assistance is required. 

Mentees should also refer to the Career Mentoring Programme 25/26 - Mentee Handbook which has valuable advice on the nature of mentoring partnerships and resources for mentees to use such as the Mentoring Meetings Record forms. 

Students can get in touch with (opens in a new window)careermentoring@ucd.ie if they have further queries on the mentoring programme.

Alumni can reach out to the Alumni relations team at (opens in a new window)alumnivolunteer@ucd.ie.