The Adultspan Journal Fellowship Program: A Structured Mentorship Experience

This qualitative study used reflexive thematic analysis (Braun (2) Building Confidence and Professional Identity, reflecting growth in scholarly voice, self-efficacy, and faculty readiness; (3) Developing Scholarly and Editorial Expertise, showing gains in peer review, editorial decision-making, and publication workflows that enhanced research and writing practices; and (4) Refining the Fellowship Experience, emphasizing fellows’ calls for clearer onboarding, extended duration, and expanded professional development. Findings suggest that structured, cohort-based mentorship can address gaps in doctoral training by blending authentic editorial tasks with identity-affirming support, offering a replicable model for counselor education programs and editorial boards seeking to build inclusive pipelines of emerging scholars.