26-27 Applications
Applications to become a CNAS First Year Peer Mentor open every winter/spring. Attendance at one of our winter informational sessions is required. For questions contact your mentor or cnasscholars@ucr.edu. Keep an eye on your email, this page, and our Instagram @cnasscholars for updates!
Previous Events
R'STEM Fair Oct 31st 2025: ~900 student turn out with tabling from various orgs, covering research, mentorship, and career paths!
Highlander Day April 12 2025: Prospective students came to UCR to explore the campus! Advisors, lead faculty mentors, PPAC, and student organizations all tabled, including our peer mentors.
Sophomore Success Workshop May 8th 2025: "We discussed topics like joining a research lab, ARC resources (SI, TAP), and important information regarding registration!" - Mary, Peer Mentor
Tote Bag Painting Social: Our peer mentors and mentees had some bonding time and painted tote bags together!
History
The CNAS Scholars program is the flagship student success program of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) at UC Riverside. We are comprised of CNAS faculty, staff, and undergraduate student staff committed to the retention, graduation, and life-long success of our students.
The disciplines housed within CNAS are intellectually rigorous, and our graduates go on to pursue careers in healthcare, biotechnology, and other STEM fields. This experience is immensely rewarding but sometimes challenging. The CNAS Scholars program was created to address these challenges for our first-year students and since then, we have seen significant differences between participants and the general CNAS population in GPA, retention, and graduation rates.
Our mission is to provide tools and support for our students to graduate from UC Riverside with competitive grades, personal development, and enriched educational experiences. We do this by providing our first-year participants with supplemental instruction, peer support, faculty exposure, research opportunities, a year-long cohort experience, and guaranteed seats in their math and science courses. Following completion of our program, we offer competitive opportunities such as paid summer research and job offerings. Our ultimate goal is for our students to become successful and compassionate leaders who will provide our larger communities with life-changing knowledge and service.