In their report "The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM", The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine defined Mentorship as the following:
Mentorship is a professional, working alliance in which individuals work together over time
to support the personal and professional growth, development, and success of the relational
partners through the provision of career and psychosocial support.
This report emphasized the importance of mentorship in the positive development of graduate students, and how that term goes far beyond the traditional idea of `advising' provided by a research supervisor. The School of Physics encourages all members of our community who advise students to embrace the role of a mentor and to use the resources below to enhance their mentorship. This information will also be helpful to graduate students who may also be in advising roles (such as with undergraduate research assistants).
Resources for Faculty
- The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Education maintains a page on Advising and Mentoring Students that contains many resources and best practices for mentoring students and postdocs. The page also provides help for developing mentoring plans for grant proposals.
- The Georgia Tech Catalog describes the Institute's Expectations of Advisors and Advisees. This is official Georgia Tech policy and should be followed in every advisor-advisee relationship. Having clear and consistent mutual expectations reduces conflict with the supervisor and improves the productivity and satisfaction of the advisee.
- Recommendations from the Council of Graduate Schools' report on Supporting Graduate Student Mental Health and Well-Being:
- Be transparent and clear about expectations, including expectations that students will take the time needed to rest and care of their health and well-being.
- Model the importance of work/life balance and self-care.
- Recognize and support student agency in making decisions about careers, including careers outside of the academy.
- Express concern and care for students who appear to be struggling, and be prepared to connect them to appropriate campus resources.
- Consider these tips from other Georgia Tech faculty.
- The Georgia Tech Office of the Vice Provost for the Faculty offers workshops and resources on mentorship.
- The National Academies produced a podcast series on The Science of Effective Mentorship.
Resources for Graduate Students
- How to Get the Mentoring You Want: A Guide for Graduate Students (from Univ. of Michigan)
- Annual completion of an Individual Development Plan has been shown to catalyze mentor-mentee discussions on career and skill development.
- The Georgia Tech Catalog describes the Institute's Expectations of Advisors and Advisees. This is official Georgia Tech policy and should be followed in every advisor-advisee relationship.
- Recommendations from the National Academies Report:
- Inquire about a potential mentor’s approach to working with students and expectations for students, and reflect on how approaches and expectations align with the student's own working style and expectations.
- Adopting general guidelines that include establishing learning objectives and responding in a timely and productive fashion to dissertation, requests for letters of recommendation, and other key career development milestones.
- Seek multiple mentors to provide diverse forms of support and encourage other students to do so.
- Seek advice from trusted faculty and peers on how to respond to negative mentoring experiences, including when it may be necessary to change mentors.
- Ask for opportunities to report honestly and confidentially on mentorship experiences, perhaps through ombudspersons.
