Mentoring ethnic minority students for careers in academia: The WICHE Doctoral Scholars Program

The need for academic mentoring of ethnic minority doctoral students in cou nseling psychology has resulted in a call for training programs to build en vironments that not only provide financial assistance, bur also work toward enhancing qualitative aspects of training that may be important in the stu dents' preparations for future academic careers. This article describes the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education's (WICHE) Doctoral Schol ars Program that provides both external funding and strategies designed to encourage faculty-student mentoring. The extent to which WICHE has influenc ed doctoral training in the counseling psychology program at the University of Utah is described from the perspective of the WICHE director, a WICHE f aculty mentor and two WICHE doctoral scholars. The importance of the facult y mentor as a facilitative agent in the training of ethnic minority student s and in helping them to prepare for careers in academia is highlighted.