Graduate Students
We are ALWAYS looking for new graduate student mentors to join our team! Mentors can be graduate students (PhD or Masters) in any program or department at the University of Minnesota.
Since our undergrads are typically interested in ecology-related fields, we are particularly looking for grad students that would be able to offer guidance and advice in fields broadly related to ecology, evolution, behavior, animal science, entomology, plant biology, microbiology, computational biology, conservation biology, etc...
Graduate mentors are typically placed with 1-2 undergraduate mentees that share similar research interests and/or personal identities to meet with periodically throughout the semester*.
Meeting frequencies are flexible and determined by each mentoring pair. Many of our undergrads are looking for help finding research positions on campus, applying to graduate school, or just wanting to get to know a graduate student. When possible, our mentors continue to work with the same mentees subsequent semesters. See our mentor expectations in more detail below.
GRADUATE MENTOR SIGN UP: CLICK HERE
* Please note that mentor-mentee pairings occur at the start of each semester. You are welcome to sign-up any time however the mentor-match periods will occur in September and January.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
“I started this semester feeling very unconfident about my ability to prepare for my future. Meeting with [my Field Guides mentor] throughout the semester has seriously helped me understand that I am capable of preparing for careers that interest me and feel much more confident in my own decisions, goals, and abilities.”
- Field Guides Undergraduate (Spring 2021)
EXPECTATIONS OF FIELD GUIDE MENTORS
Field Guides does not have a requirement for number or frequency of meetings and the program is built to be flexible for both you and your mentee's needs. Our mentor - mentee relationships look very different from pair to pair: while some students will just want to meet formally as informational interviews , others will want to meet with you on a regular basis as they work towards specific goals.
Basic Semester Expectations:
Commitment to work with at least 1 student mentee throughout the semester on research/career related goals.
Maintain open and honest lines of communication with the student mentee.
Contact and meet with (zoom or in person) your assigned mentee to go over goals and set expectations for the semester.
Complete (or update) a mentoring agreement at the beginning of each semester
Set a semester meeting schedule for you and your student mentee. This will be largely determined by the mentee schedule and goals. Please aim for at least 2 meetings per semester (beginning and end of the semester).
Check in with your mentee throughout the semester if you will not be meeting on a regular basis.
Share Field Guide seminars as well as other relevant postings/materials with your student mentee.
Attendance at the two Field Guides mentor meetings (mid- and end of semester check-ins)