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| Mentoring of Ph.D. Students |
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Faculty members at Columbia University are among the most
productive and distinguished scholars and scientists in the world, and
they have a long history of helping their Ph.D. students achieve
similar success. It is the Graduate School’s hope that this statement
of best mentoring practices will both remind everyone of what
Columbia’s faculty do best and stimulate a conversation about exemplary
mentoring within the GSAS community.
The following points are not designed to be exhaustive or to
establish regulations that would govern mentoring relationships. The
Graduate School understands that there are many ways to mentor and that
the best mentoring often responds in unquantifiable ways to the needs
and personal characteristics of students. Nonetheless, the Graduate
School stresses certain points that seem to provide a crucial
foundation for mentoring relationships.
The best faculty mentors
- Know the proper sequence of courses and requirements that
students must complete to move satisfactorily through a program; remain
current on the department’s course listings
- Keep professional norms and expectations in mind and do
everything possible to introduce their advisees into professional
practice in the discipline
- Direct students to the appropriate research policies and training related to their research (e.g. Responsible Conduct of Research, Human Subjects Protection, Animal Care, Hazardous Materials, etc.)
- Indicate clearly how work will be evaluated; read and return work promptly with appropriate comments
- Help students to develop research skills and methodologies that will enable them to become capable, independent scholars
- Talk with students about preparation for qualifying examinations; help them to create realistic reading lists
- Pay attention to the development of skills such as writing, conceptual analysis, statistics, and oral presentation
- Pay attention to the development of teaching skills; provide
advice and support to their advisees as they begin teaching
undergraduates
- Help students think about the ethical implications of their
research; make sure they receive and understand appropriate
professional, federal, and University guidelines
- Clarify collaborative issues such as ownership and sharing of
data and laboratory notebooks, attribution of contributions to the
research, and policies on patents and copyrights; acknowledge students’
contributions fairly
- Treat students as apprentice researchers, teachers, and colleagues, not as technicians or advanced undergraduates
- Help students think about how to prepare abstracts for conferences and manuscripts for publication
- Work closely with students to define meaningful, up-to-date, and professionally viable dissertation topics
- Create appropriate dissertation committees for their students
- Provide timely, thoughtful, and specific letters of recommendation for students
- Provide encouragement and active support for students seeking positions when they complete their degrees
- Bear in mind that the Ph.D. is a research degree and teach in a
manner that encourages students to undertake rigorous, creative, and
independent projects
- Facilitate networking for their students at conferences and other professional gatherings
- Maintain a positive attitude toward the diverse range of career
opportunities open to new Ph.D.s; learn about nonacademic job
opportunities for students in their disciplines and provide advice for
students interested in these opportunities
- Continue to provide active support beyond graduation
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