Graduate School

Resources on Mentoring for Advisees and Mentees

Guides and Advice

Inclusive Mentoring: Effective Graduate Student Mentoring Practices, Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning
Highlights critical strategies and resources for effective mentor-mentee relationships: providing advice, focusing on communication, mentoring across difference, and setting goals and expectations.

A Guide on Mentoring for Graduate Students, Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan
Guides graduate students on finding a mentor, what to do if problems arise, changing advisors and more. 

Mentoring Guide for Students, University of Washington Graduate School
Offers guidance on building a mentoring team, selecting mentors, meeting with advisors (including a checklist for planning initial meetings), understanding influences that affect mentor choice, the mentoring experience and much more.

Graduate Students: Working with your faculty adviser, University of Washington, College of Education
Gives a good overview of meetings with advisors, how to prepare, what to expect and how to summarize

iThinkWell
Provides resources on setting agendas for advisory meetings, documenting writing goals, and charting progress.

Career Planning and Guidance

Individual Development plan model, Brown University
The IDP helps students outline previous accomplishments, short-term and long-term training plans and career goals, as well as identify strengths and areas for improvement. The IDP is a communication tool for advisors and their advisees and is a good starting point to discuss academic plans and trajectories and future careers.

Center for Career Exploration, Brown University 
Center for Career Exploration offers support to graduate students on interviewing, job search, résumés, and cover letter writing, as well as some programming on careers outside of the academy. The office offers regular graduate student walk-in office hours and sessions by appointment.

myIDP, ScienceCareers.org  (Life and Physical Sciences) 
Online, free individual development plan for students in the life and physical sciences. The self-assessment highlights a student’s strengths and interests and suggests career pathways that may best suit the student.

ImaginePhD, Imagine PhD (Humanities and Social Sciences)
Online, free career exploration and planning tool tailored for the humanities and social sciences.

Connected Academies, Preparing Doctoral Students of Language and Literature for a Variety of Careers
Online resources for career diversity for language and literature students, guides for PhD programs and faculty advisers for doctoral student career planning, and much more. This online project is a Mellon Foundation funded project of the Modern Language Association. 

The Versatile PhD 
Online resource for career exploration for PhD students. 

Resources and Contacts in the Graduate School

Graduate Student Resources - Where to Start, Brown Graduate School
Provides a starting point for graduate student questions and resources on campus that can assist.

Who to ask: Graduate School and other contacts for graduate students, Brown Graduate School
Offers contacts list for common questions from graduate students.

Deans and staff, Brown Graduate School

How to meet with a dean, Brown Graduate School