Advising and Mentorship

Each student is assigned a faculty advisor at the time of admissions into the HILS PhD program. This faculty member advises the student on the selection of courses, reviews department requirements, and discusses with the student various approaches for achieving their goals within the framework of the HILS’s PhD requirements.

Students are required to meet with their advisor at least once each term, but preferably more often, to discuss their progress and to keep abreast of any changes in plans. It is essential that students seek advice from their advisor during all phases of the graduate program.

In addition, each student completes an annual progress report followed by a progress review meeting with their advisor, the program director, the program associate director and the student affairs program manager.

The faculty advisor/student advisee relationship extends beyond simple course selection and progress monitoring. Mentoring is a two-way street and requires the active participation of the mentor (i.e. the faculty advisor) and the mentee (i.e. the student). Mentors support students by helping them to develop personal and professional goals, guiding them through the intricacies of the doctoral and dissertation processes, and identifying and referring students to additional resources. Mentees, in turn, actively seek advice, communicate clearly and regularly, and with the mentor, establish clear expectations for the relationship. Students may seek out additional mentors based on mutual interests and research and career goals.

We recommend each student create a mentoring plan with their faculty advisor. To help you get the most out of your mentoring relationship with your advisor Rackham created the brochure How to Get the Mentoring You Want: A Guide for Graduate Students. Rackham also offers regular mentoring plan workshops through MORE, Mentoring Others in Results in Excellence. In addition, the Medical School Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies provides a number of mentoring resources on their website. You may also want to review the National Research Mentoring Network’s (NRMN) materials.