The International Peer Navigator (IPN) Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is designed to support new international students at UW-Madison by matching them with a volunteer student navigator. Navigators offer personalized one-on-one mentoring, social engagement, and connections with campus resources to a small group of incoming students.
IPN sign-up for Fall 2026 is now open! All new international students are invited to be assigned an International Peer Navigator. Priority deadline: Thursday, August 27th at 12pm (noon).
Questions? Please email issprograms@iss.wisc.edu
This program was formerly known as the International Peer Mentor Program.
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What kinds of questions can my navigator answer?
Your navigator has training in campus resources and how to access them. They can help you with the transition to life in Madison.
- How can I get help with my academic writing?
- Where can I shop for inexpensive food?
- Where can I buy a winter jacket?
- Do you have any tips for navigating culture shock and the U.S. university school system?
- Where do I go if I get sick?
- What are your favorite things to do in Madison?
- How can I improve my English?
What kinds of activities can I do with IPN?
Small group activities
Your navigator will reach out to you to invite you to meet individually or in small groups. Some examples of activities new students and mentors participate in together include:
- Going for a walk on Lakeshore path
- Sit in the ISS office with free coffee or tea from the beverage bar
- Study together at the library or at a cafe
- Attend campus events like Global Café and PEACE
- Visit the Saturday farmer’s market near the capitol
- Take a bus ride together
Large group activities
IPN staff also organize monthly activities for all IPN participants. A few examples of large group activities include:
- Bonfire at Picnic Point
- Halloween Party
- Friendsgiving
- Ice Skating
- Bowling at the Sett
- Trivia
New Students
All new international, degree seeking, undergraduate or graduate students in their first semester at UW-Madison are invited to sign up and be paired with a student navigator.
Timeline: Applications open for a few weeks before the semester begins or until space in the program is full.
Expectations: As a program participant, you are expected to respond to messages from your navigator and to attend group events are you are able. Communicate with your navigator if you are not able to attend an event. Your navigator can answer questions about life in Madison and campus resources.
Application procedure: This is a first come, first served program. Navigator matches are made according to academic level (graduate or undergraduate). The application takes about 10 minutes to complete.
IPN sign-up for Fall 2026 is now open! All new international students are invited to be assigned an International Peer Navigator. Priority deadline: Thursday, August 27th at 12pm (noon).
Questions? Please email issprograms@iss.wisc.edu
Navigators
Navigators include international students, domestic students, grad and undergrad who have students at UW-Madison for at least one academic year. Each navigator supports up to 10 new-students.
Timeline: Applications open during the fall semester. Navigators are selected by December and trained throughout the spring semester.
Time commitment: About 2-5 hours per week. This is a 1-year commitment (January – December).
Training: In person, 2:30-4:30pm, Fridays, from mid-February through the end of April. All training is required – to be selected as a navigator, you must commit to attending all training sessions. Fall kick off training will take place at the end of August and ongoing training takes place once per month during the Fall semester.
Applications for Fall 2026 navigators are now closed. Please complete the form below if you would like be be notified when applications reopen for the next cycle!
Quotes from Program Participants
“Thank you so so much for always being there for me. I am incredibly grateful to have you as [my navigator] and hope to stay in touch with you throughout my journey at UW–Madison. You feel like an elder sister that I never had and I wish you achieve your dreams and become successful.”
“You’ve been the best [navigator] I could have asked for. You’re easy and fun to talk too. Keep up the good work.”
“From a graduate student perspective, this is amazing. It gives me perfect sense of socializing, detoxing from studying too much, and meeting new people without requiring much commitment. I bet this is one of the best experiences you could have at UW–Madison.”
“My [navigator] has been supportive and caring. Through our meetings I got to know them and other new students and developed long-lasting friendships. Especially for graduate students, making connections can sometimes be less straightforward than in undergraduate. Also, as an international student there is the additional sense of being very far away from home and maybe navigating a very different culture for the first time. The IPM program and my [navigator] helped to break the ice and get to know other international graduate students in a similar position as mine. This connection made the first few months of settling in much easier and more enjoyable.”
Fall 2026 Mentors
Lilian Abunga,
Graduate student
Kenya
Second Language Acquisition (Ph.D)
Hitesh Agrawal,
Undergraduate student
India
Math & Economics
Hadil Al Maawali,
Undergraduate student
Oman
Computer Science
Sarah Altabakha,
Undergraduate student
Palestine
Genetics and Genomics
Zahra Alyani Nezhad,
Graduate student
Iran
Medical Physics (Ph.D)
Afif Arifuddin,
Undergraduate student
Malaysia
Computer Science & Data Science
Diana Caballero,
Graduate student
Paraguay
Economics
Hemant Chandak,
Graduate student
India
Computer Science – Data Engineering
Jennifer Chen,
Undergraduate student
China
Economics
Yu Chen,
Undergraduate student
China
Biology
Yesang Cho,
Graduate student
South Korea
Social Work (Ph.D)
Sal Chun,
Graduate student
China
Spanish Linguistics (Ph.D)
Jan Diaz Hernandez,
Graduate student
Costa Rica
Spanish Literature (Ph.D)
Foram Gathia,
Graduate student
India
Curriculum and Instruction (Ph.D)
Tony Jing,
Undergraduate student
United States
Political Science & International Studies & History & East Asian Studies & Russian, Eastern Europe, Central Asian Studies
Sarah Lin,
Undergraduate student
China
Psychology
Yizhou Mao,
Graduate student
Hong Kong and China
Plant Genetics (Ph.D)
Gabriela Martinez Motta,
Graduate student
Uruguay
Environment and Resources (Ph.D)
Angeline Morgado,
Undergraduate student
Venezuela and Chile
Political Science & International Studies & Latin American and Iberian Studies, certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies
Sympathy Mwenyeheri,
Graduate student
Malawi
Curriculum and Instruction – Research
Lucas Parana,
Graduate student
United States
Education Leadership and Policy Analysis
Bridget Patten,
Undergraduate student
United States
Economics
Yulia Semiglazova,
Undergraduate student
Russia
Sociology & Economics
Bengisu Simsek,
Graduate student
Turkey
Communication Arts (Ph.D)
Suparit Suwanik,
Graduate student
Thailand
Consumer Behavior and Family Economics (Ph.D)
Blessing Tarfa,
Graduate student
Nigeria
Education (Ph.D)
Iris Xu,
Undergraduate student
China
Computer Science & Data Science
Zijian Zou,
Graduate student
China
Data Science
