ISMP at UW Madison is a group of volunteer mentors who meet international students here on campus. Come to one event, or get matched with a mentor and start from there.
You don't need a mentor. Come and see how it feels.
August 21, 2026
Join us for dinner with other international graduate students and working professionals that serve as mentors. Learn more about our group! We'll provide a free dinner, so please sign up in advance to help us plan the food order. We hope to see you there!
Sign up
August 28, 2026
Come to our Welcome Dinner Event! 🎉 Hear from Bo Zheng, PhD (Stanford + UC Berkeley grad) on how mentors helped him succeed — and why finding a mentor matters for you too. Then get the Madison insight: a longtime Madison resident shares the best grocery stores, restaurants, events, and shopping spots in town.
Sign upThey run the workshops, host the dinners, and stay in touch long after your first semester.
How to email a professor, a roommate problem, a housing question, and what looking for a job in the U.S. is really like. These are the parts of life here that nobody explains. Our mentors are unpaid volunteers who know how hard it is to move to a new country, and they are happy to help.
ISMP is built on Christian values, and all of our mentors are Christians. Their faith is what motivates them to volunteer and invest in the lives of international students. What you do together is practical and personal: studying, working, and building a life here. There is no requirement to be Christian to participate. Every international student is welcome.
You meet your mentor once to start. After that, you decide how often you meet and what you talk about. Some students meet every week. Others only want to talk once, before something important like a big presentation. You can stop at any time.
How to email a professor, a roommate problem, a housing question, and what looking for a job in the U.S. is really like. These are the parts of life here that nobody explains. Our mentors are unpaid volunteers who know how hard it is to move to a new country, and they are happy to help.
ISMP is built on Christian values, and all of our mentors are Christians. Their faith is what motivates them to volunteer and invest in the lives of international students. What you do together is practical and personal: studying, working, and building a life here. There is no requirement to be Christian to participate. Every international student is welcome.
You meet your mentor once to start. After that, you decide how often you meet and what you talk about. Some students meet every week. Others only want to talk once, before something important like a big presentation. You can stop at any time.
“Joining ISMP was one of my best decisions because it gave me a true home away from home.”Eason Cai · Physics and Computer Science · UC Berkeley
Tell us your year and what you want help with. It takes a few minutes.
Apply to get a mentor
