Over two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies provide a formal mentorship program to their employees. Mentorship programs in any organization have been identified with increased retention, improvement of human capital formation and leader development. Mentoring, whether formal or informal, has been shown to be equally important in institutions of higher learning through the development of self-efficacy, increased social and cultural capital, and are closely associated with academic achievement and graduation rates, especially in underrepresented minority populations. Many studies have addressed the challenges with underrepresented minorities in higher institutions of education and the need for mentorship programs to facilitate success. Developing social and cultural capital through mentorship programs is one element of this success. Leadership development is another attribute that has been associated with underrepresented minority retention and success, but there is a dearth of literature pertaining to academic mentorship programs and their association with quantifiable leadership growth in college. Studies suggest that mentoring programs can positively influence not only academic outcomes and persistence in college students but can also increase social and cultural capital in underrepresented minority students in predominantly white colleges. One such program is the Excel Scholars Program (ESP) at the United States Military Academy. Initiated in 2011 to promote personal and professional growth in high-performing cadets from underrepresented minority groups, the ESP uses mentoring to encourage these students to strive for higher achievement and be an instrument for change by competing for post graduate scholarships. The ESP provides targeted enrichment through its mentoring program aimed at improving the technical expertise of the students, research opportunities, communication skills and leader development. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the ESP mentorship influences not only the academic achievement and retention of underrepresented students, but also their leadership development as well.To address these questions, the researcher used retrospective data from the West Point classes of 2018 and 2019. Chi-square tests of independence, ANOVA, independent samples t-tests and regression analyses were used to test the extent to which the participants in the ESP had increased retention, increased academic achievement and increased leadership development. Evidence from this study suggests that mentorship through the ESP at the United States Military Academy at West Point is positively correlated with academic achievement, as measured by Academic Program Score. Some evidence is found of a correlation between participation in the ESP and improved graduation rates. The results show no evidence of a relationship between this mentoring program and leadership development, as measured by the Cadet Military Program Score. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]