Freshwater and Marine Sciences Graduate Program Handbook-Advising and Mentoring
- Changing Your Advisor
- A Graduate Student Guide to Working with Faculty Advisors
- Mentoring Networks
- Giving and Receiving Feedback
- Additional Advising Resources
Advising relationships are a central part of academia, important to both the experience and development of students and faculty members alike.
Your advisor has three main roles:
- To assist you in acquiring the highest possible level of knowledge and competence in the field.
- To provide the resources and logistical support needed to complete the degree program, including helping the student to secure financial support.
- To chair the committee that will determine whether you have performed at an acceptable level in each of your degree milestones (see the “Degree Requirements” section for further information on building your committee).
Advising is central to FMS graduate training. Before applying to the FMS Graduate Program, prospective students must identify and contact potential faculty advisors. Prospective students should contact potential faculty advisors by email early in the application process to discuss mutual interests, funding availability, and to determine if the faculty member is actively recruiting graduate students. Co-advising is also possible. Because of the importance of advising and support provided by an advisor, only in extremely rare cases are students admitted without having an advisor identified and who wants to work with the student. Exceptional cases have occurred when there has been more than one possible faculty member interested in serving as an advisor and funds to support the student are available. In these cases, the advising arrangement can be finalized during the student’s first 1-2 semesters. Faculty advisors must have an anticipated funding plan for each student they wish to admit. The chair or co-chair (in the case of a co-advised student) of the committee must be Graduate Faculty in FMS.
Advisors track the student’s progress toward degree completion, assist with course selection and academic planning, and work with students to identify committee members, and help identify and facilitate diverse professional opportunities.
Each faculty advisor has her/his own distinct approach and style of mentoring, and advisor-advisee interactions naturally change during the course of a graduate student’s career. Since the advisor's role can vary and student expectations change as they progress through graduate school, students and advisors should discuss roles and expectations at least annually.
Research advising, advice on classes and professional development, and general mentoring are done by the student’s major advisor and the members of the student’s advisory committee. Students meet with the primary advisor immediately upon joining the program, and routinely and frequently throughout the graduate program. The advisory committee is assembled in consultation with the primary advisor during the first semester of study for MS students, and before the end of the second semester for PhD students and consists of faculty with expertise in areas relevant to the student’s planned course of study.
Advising related to administrative requirements of the Graduate School and FMS Graduate Program are done by the Graduate Program Manager.
Advising related to other non-research issues, including grievances and conflicts are available from the FMS Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). Both the student and advisor are responsible for making their expectations clear to each other. Be sure to discuss this with your advisor.
Changing Your Advisor
The Graduate School requires a student to have an advisor. The Graduate School: Advisor policy explains the consequences of not having an advisor as well as the possibility of having a co-advisor. The official record of your advisor is located on the Student Center on MyUW under “Academic Progress” and then “Advisors.” Discuss an advisor change with your prospective advisor to seek the change and connect with your graduate program/manager for the appropriate procedures.
A student who later decides that a different faculty advisor would be preferable should discuss this with the current advisor and then feel free to seek the change. However, it is solely the student’s responsibility to contact other potential advisors, and the program cannot guarantee that another advisor will be available. Advising related to such a transition is provided by the Director of Graduate Studies. When a student has selected, or changed, advisors, they must contact the program's graduate program manager to ensure that appropriate forms are completed.
A Graduate Student Guide to Working with Faculty Advisors
Through this interactive, self-paced micro-course, graduate students learn about the characteristics of functional and dysfunctional relationships with advisors, strategies for communicating effectively and aligning expectations, as well as program grievance processes and Hostile and Intimidating Behavior resources. Completing the micro-course takes about 20 minutes and is optional but encouraged for all graduate students.
Mentoring Networks
The Center for Teaching, Learning and Mentoring is one of several centers of excellence for research mentor training on campus. You may wish to add information about your program’s own use of CTLM resources.
In addition to your formal advisor, you are encouraged to develop a broad network of individuals who can provide academic and professional mentorship during and beyond your time as a graduate student.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Graduate students and advisors/mentors have multiple avenues to give and receive feedback to each other about their performance. These include committee meetings, annual student progress reports, and rubrics completed during thesis proposals and student defenses. Forms are available on the FMS web page. Completed copies of feedback forms are kept by the Graduate Program Manager and students may request additional copies as needed
Additional Advising Resources
Students should always reference the FMS web page, the program’s Graduate Handbook, and the Graduate School’s website. However, when students still need clarification on issues there are various faculty and staff resources also available. Generally, faculty and staff are best able to assist students when they have researched a topic. However, when students need further clarification on any of these policies or procedures they should contact the Graduate Program Manager. The Graduate Program Manager may play a role with issues including satisfactory academic progress, academic deadlines, graduation completion, program-related forms, advising/course holds and permissions, and course offerings.