Graduate Faculty Mentoring

This session of the UGA Graduate Mentoring Certificate series focuses on building a rationale and providing tools for mentors to align expectations with mentees, such as mentoring compacts. Participants will learn strategies to engage in proactive communication about research/work expectations and roles of a research mentor. This is a foundational module in the certificate series, and it is recommended that faculty begin with this module if possible.

This session of the UGA Graduate Mentoring Certificate series focuses on the role of mentors in helping mentees plan their career paths and professional goals. Participants will learn about the use of tools such as Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for assessing and communicating goals, and about other professional development resources available to UGA graduate students.

This session of the UGA Graduate Mentoring Certificate series focuses on equipping research mentors with skills for communicating with mentees such as active listening and constructive feedback. Participants will also learn about reasons for lack of understanding between mentors and mentees, and strategies to enhance shared understanding.

This session of the UGA Graduate Mentoring Certificate series focuses on defining goals for scaffolding increasing mentee independence in research and scholarship over time. Participants will also discuss strategies for promoting ethical scholarship, including topics such as academic honesty and research integrity.

This session of the UGA Graduate Mentoring Certificate series focuses on supporting mentee work-life integration and building awareness of how mentoring behaviors can impact well-being. Participants will learn strategies to create a mentoring environment that fosters well-being, including a structured process to initiate and support conversations with mentees about well-being and work-life integration.

This session of the UGA Graduate Mentoring Certificate series focuses on understanding how to effectively engage with mentees across a variety of backgrounds and personal differences. Participants will have opportunities to reflect on practices that can facilitate more inclusive mentoring in the academic context.

This capstone session of the UGA Graduate Mentoring Certificate series will engage participants to complete a mentoring philosophy and action plan, integrating the practices and resources covered in previous certificate sessions. Participants will have the opportunity to receive feedback on their mentoring plans and learn about resources to support continued mentoring excellence. This session is only open to faculty who have completed the other six modules.

Graduate students and faculty members may find it beneficial to use mentorship compacts to communicate goals and expectations for working together. The Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) maintains a list of example mentor-mentee compacts that can be adapted for use in graduate mentoring relationships.

• Examples of Mentor-Mentee Compacts (CIMER)

There are numerous free resources that you can use to facilitate career planning and exploration. Examples include ImaginePhD and MyIDP. These sites will allow students to create an individual development plan (IDP) – a tailored professional development itinerary for your graduate career based on skills, interests, and goals.

Students and faculty interested in structured mentoring conversations may consider using Individual Development Plans (IDPs) as a way of guiding interactions with their mentor/mentee.

Click here to submit the IDP and  here to submit the MMC.

Resources from the Council of Graduate Schools

NRMN focuses implementing and disseminating innovative and evidence-based mentoring practices in research settings. Visit their website for resources for students, faculty, and researchers at all career stages.