Mentor Training Certificate Program
This monthly series consists of 90-minute in-person workshops designed to train faculty to become effective clinical and translational research mentors. Designed for both training naive participants and previously trained mentors, this series offers both repeating (“required”) and new (“elective”) workshops annually. Via presentation of evidence-based best practices, these sessions use an open discussion format, breakout groups, and hypothetical case scenarios as the impetus for participants to reflect on their own experiences in mentoring — as a mentee and/or as a mentor. Workshops are aligned with and guided by Northwestern’s Foundational Principles of Effective Faculty Mentoring (Intentional, Relational, Holistic).
Requirements to obtain this certificate are outlined below.
Completion of the NUCATS Mentor Training Certificate Program fulfills NIH requirements for faculty mentors on T32 and other training grants.
- If your mentoring focus is primarily on early career faculty within the medical school, we encourage you to participate in the NUCATS Mentor Training Certificate Program.
- If you are primarily engaged in training predoctoral and postdoctoral level mentees, we recommend you participate in the Provost’s Advancing Mentoring Excellence Program as the content will be more directly relevant to your mentoring.
This program is open to all faculty across all ranks and tracks who hold appointments in the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, are members of NUCATS, or who collaborate with faculty involved in biomedical research.
Please note that registration for each workshop is required. Attendance will be capped at 42 participants. Spots will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
The 2026-27 NUCATS Mentor Training Certificate Program Series will be held in-person on the third Tuesday of the month from 9 to 10:30 a.m. starting in October 2026 and ending in June 2027. Registration will open in mid-summer 2026.
Registration Coming Soon Registration Guide
Workshop Schedule and FAQ
To learn more about the 2026-27 Mentor Development Series schedule, as well as answers to Frequently Asked Questions, please follow the links below:
Certificate Requirements
To earn a certificate, faculty must participate in three required workshop sessions and three additional elective workshop sessions. All requirements must be completed within three years to be eligible to "count" toward the certificate. To receive credit for any given workshop, you must attend the full 90-minute session and complete the corresponding session evaluation.
Completion of the NUCATS Mentor Training Certificate Program fulfills NIH requirements for faculty mentors on T32 and other training grants. Learn more about the MTCP here.
Attend All 3 Required 90-Minute Mentor Development Workshops (4.5 Hours, offered annually)
- Establishing and Aligning Expectations
- Mentoring Across Differences
- Articulating your Mentoring Philosophy and Plan
Attend 3 Additional 90-Minute Elective Mentor Development Workshops (4.5 Hours)
Elective workshops will be offered throughout the year (5 per year); topics for elective sessions vary each academic year.
Program Surveys & Evaluations
- Complete Baseline Survey at the start of the program (prior to the first session you attend).
- Complete evaluations for every session for which you are seeking "credit" (within one week of session attended).
- Complete End of Program survey once all certificate requirements are met.
