COMP (Community, Outreach, and Mentoring Program) is a graduate student led program designed to foster community and inclusivity within the UCI Mathematics Department. COMP is an expansion of the Math Department Peer Mentoring Program, and was formed in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and concerns highlighted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kelly Isham and Jesse Kreger founded COMP in Summer 2020. Sidhanth Raman is the COMP Fellow for the 2023 spring quarter.

Please address any questions or concerns relating to COMP to Sidhanth.

The mission of COMP is to

• support incoming students better, with a specific focus on students from diverse backgrounds,
• create a better sense of community among the graduate students in the Math Department,
• lead to better retention of students, and more success for graduate students in the Math Department, and
• connect math graduate students to important resources in the UCI community.

One aspect of the program will include facilitating a weekly discussion, led by the COMP fellow, covering topics relating to student health and well-being to broader social issues that affect the mathematical community and beyond. The discussions will be open to all department members.

Another large component will include pairing incoming graduate students with peer mentors to help make the transition to grad school easier, with a special emphasis on mentoring students from historically underrepresented populations and retaining them in the program.