Graduate student in anthropology, winner of 3rd Place in the Social Sciences & Education Division at the 2007 James F. Jakobsen Graduate Conference.  more...

Mentoring for Graduate Students

Broadly defined, a mentor is someone who takes a special interest in helping another person develop professionally. In its 1995 publication "A Conversation About Mentoring: Trends and Models," the Council of Graduate Schools cites Morris Zelditch's summary of a mentor's multiple roles:

"Mentors are advisors, people with career experience willing to share their knowledge; supporters, people who give emotional and moral encouragement; tutors, people who give specific feedback on one's performance; masters, in the sense of employers to whom one is apprenticed; sponsors, sources of information about and aid in obtaining opportunities; models, of identity, of the kind of person one should be to be an academic."

In general, an effective mentoring relationship is characterized by mutual respect, trust, understanding, and empathy.

Mentoring Information for Students
Mentoring Information for Faculty
Graduate College Outstanding Mentor Award
Principles and Good Practices Concerning Research Mentoring