The Career Advantage Program (CAP) is offered through the Marshall Undergraduate Career Services Office and provides Marshall & Leventhal undergraduate sophomore, junior and senior-level majors the opportunity to be paired with Marshall alumni and friends of the university. A CAP mentor will assist their mentees in developing the professional, interpersonal and networking skills critical to their career success for the entire 2025-2026 academic year. Mentors and their groups of 2-4 students connect and grow through professional development and social activities, and are expected to dedicate a minimum of five (5) hours per month to CAP. More than 360+ students and 130+ mentors across all business disciplines participate in CAP every year. CAP is hosted on USC Marshall Connections, our career development and professional networking hub open to Marshall and Leventhal alumni and students. The hub facilitates the CAP mentor-mentee matching process as well as connections throughout the academic year.
Important Notes
FOR STUDENTS:
Students apply in the spring semester to participate for the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year. CAP is a competitive program and eligible students are NOT guaranteed a mentor. Students who have participated in CAP previously must reapply if they would like to return, and no preferential admission treatment is given to returning CAP students.
Below is the CAP 2025-2026 student application timeline:
- Monday, March 24th, 2025: An email will be sent to all current Marshall undergraduate freshmen, sophomore, junior and senior (Dec. 2025) majors with program details and application instructions for CAP 2025-2026.
- Returning CAP students: If you were in CAP during the 2024-2025 academic year, you will need to reapply.
- Friday, May 2nd, 2025: Deadline for students to submit their application for CAP 2025-2026.
- Monday, June 9th, 2025: Students notified of their eligibility to participate in the CAP 2025-2026 mentor-mentee matching process.
- Please note that eligible students are not guaranteed to be matched with a mentor.
FOR MENTORS:
We are seeking mentors with at least three (3) years of professional work experience in the areas of accounting, advertising, consulting, data analytics, entertainment / media, entrepreneurship, finance, general management, hospitality, law, marketing, tech, real estate, and sports management. We require that mentors be located in Southern California. Mentors should be able to mentor at least 2 mentees and commit to a minimum of five (5) hours per month for an entire academic year, and attend two mandatory CAP Events. USC alumni and friends of the University are welcome! Please email CAPmentoring@marshall.usc.edu if you are interested in becoming a CAP mentor. *Note that new mentor spots are limited.