Mentoring

Many programs have mentoring opportunities housed in their departments. Reach out to your professors and unit heads to ask about these opportunities and express your interest in mentorship! 

Embarking on your first year of graduate school can be challenging, especially without a strong support system. That's why the Graduate College is launching the PeerLead Initiative – a program designed to connect first year UC graduate students with experienced graduate students who understand the journey. Apply to be a mentor or mentee today! Visit the PeerLead webpage to fill out a mentor/mentee interest form.

The mission of the Graduate College is to promote a student-centered graduate education by fostering partnerships that: enhance the success of students, staff, and faculty; support professional development for students and mentors; and prepare scholars and practitioners to innovate in research and creative endeavors 

A pivotal aspect of this mission is the crucial role of mentorship. Effective mentorship forms the foundation of successful graduate education and training, shaping both the academic and professional paths for students.

Visit the Graduate College Mentoring Statement of Best Practices webpage to view the statement and learn about mentoring resources.   

Graduate school provides you with the professional training to learn the knowledge and skills you need to be successful in your chosen discipline. You come to graduate school with your own unique research and career interests, and multiple individuals will need to support you in achieving your scholarly goals. Faculty play a critical role in your graduate education, and they will serve in a range of roles to support you along the way. 

This Mentoring Guide (pdf) from the University of Michigan will provide you with tips on finding multiple mentors, developing clear expectations, selecting and working with a dissertation chair, and more. 

In this free course, scientists from different backgrounds give concrete steps to building a mentoring network so you can be a more confident researcher and feel supported by your graduate school research community. You'll develop a detailed plan to complete your degree and meet your career goals. You’ll also learn evidence-based techniques and strategies for finding and building productive relationships with your primary research advisor(s), thesis committee, and other mentors during graduate school. By the time you're finished, you'll have completed a plan to build a research home to help you succeed in graduate school and beyond.

For more information, visit the iBiology: Build Your Research Community Course.

Effective mentors are critical in the development of undergraduate and graduate students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). The Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM committee systematically compiled and analyzed current research on the characteristics, competencies, and behaviors of effective mentors and mentees in STEMM and developed a practical resource guide for mentoring practitioners to create and support viable, sustainable mentoring support systems.

CIMER provides resources for mentors and mentees to foster meaningful mentoring relationships through a variety of resources and trainings. Explore the CIMER website for more information such as online toolkits, Individual Development Plans (IDPs), Mentorship Agreements and more! 

There are so many aspects to graduate school to successfully navigate and going through them in isolation only compounds the stress. For students who are interested, GradResources.org offers coach connections.

How It Works:

• Register. By filling out the Coach Request form.
• Partner. They partner you with a trained coach.
• Connect. You are invited to participate in speaker events and EQ skills seminars.
• Reach out if you want to connect with a local community group.