As 2025 comes to a close, it also marks the one-year anniversary of the Code to PhD program. Code to PhD is a student-run initiative that provides prospective Computer Science PhD applicants from underrepresented backgrounds with support and mentorship from current PhD student volunteers.
Christy and I started recruiting PhD volunteers to help develop and expand the program in January of this year. Before then, we had spent much of Fall 2024 brainstorming and outlining what this program would look like, how we could best support underrepresented Computer Science PhD applicants in the process, and how we could engage other PhD students in this effort. Over the course of 2025, we have garnered the support from almost 200 PhD student volunteers and prospective PhD applicants alike.
The Code to PhD program is a completely student-run effort with over 88 PhD student volunteers from 26 unique institutions across the United States (e.g., UChicago, Columbia, UC San Diego, Northwestern, Duke). These mentors bring expertise across all computer science fields, like Artificial Intelligence, Human-Computer Interaction, Theory, Robotics, CS Education, Systems, and Security. Our mentors have supported Code to PhD by donating their time and energy in (1) talking on panels, (2) hosting office hours, (3) being a mentor during the PhD application season, and (4) helping organize events and logistics.
We supported over 100 mentees across 17 different countries through our outreach efforts. One of our main efforts for this year was developing and launching our Mentorship Program, targeted at supporting prospective PhD applicants through the application process. We offered both a synchronous and asynchronous option, given that some mentees are spread across the world. We were able to support over 60 mentees in our mentorship program with the support of 34 PhD mentors. Our mentors provided students with feedback on research statements, guidance on selecting schools, and any other support mentees needed.
Throughout this year, we have learned so much from both the mentors and mentees who engaged with our programming. We hope to bring more panels and programming into 2026 with more improvements.
Sincerely,
Grace Li and Christiana Marchese
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2025 Panels: