Graduate Study Overview
Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct & Guidelines for Graduate Students and Advisors

Purpose of this Document: Everyone in the Department of Entomology has the right to work in a safe environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying, and violence. This document establishes the UW-Madison Department of Entomology Code of Conduct, which lays out the standards that we expect everyone in the department to uphold, and the Guidelines for graduate students and advisors. A .pdf version of the complete code of conduct document can be found here.

General Departmental Code of Conduct

UW-Madison Department of Entomology visual guide to values and unacceptable behaviors. Click for full-size version.

Our department upholds the following values:

  • Inclusion: the Department of Entomology is a space for everyone, including those who are traditionally underrepresented in entomology and other STEM fields, and we strive to make our department welcoming for all
  • Integrity: we strive to conduct fair, ethical research and hold ourselves to the highest standard of academic honesty in all aspects of our work
  • Honesty: we hold honesty and integrity in interpersonal interactions as core values in our department
  • Collaboration: we aim to create an environment where there are no barriers to interactions, collaborations, and sharing resources and knowledge
  • Community: we strive to cultivate a community where everyone feels welcome and supported in the work they do
  • Enthusiasm: we share a collective enthusiasm for the science of entomology
  • Respect: we treat all individuals with respect and uphold values described in this document in all of our interactions

The following behaviors are not acceptable in our department:

  • Discrimination: “Conduct that adversely affects any aspect of an individual’s employment, education, or participation in an institution’s activities or programs, or has the effect of denying equal privileges or treatment to an individual on the basis of that individual’s protected status or another category” as defined in the campus policy, including, but not limited to, race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, marital or parental status, or any other category protected by law, including physical condition or developmental disability.
  • Harassment: form of discrimination consisting of unwelcome verbal, written, graphic or physical conduct, directed at an individual or group on the basis of actual or perceived protected status, or affiliation/association with person(s) within a protected status and that is sufficiently severe or pervasive enough to interfere with employment, education/academic environment or participation in institution programs or activities and creates a working, learning, or living environment that a reasonable person would find intimidating, offensive, or hostile.
  • Hostile and intimidating behavior: Unwelcome behavior, pervasive or severe enough that a reasonable person would find it hostile and/or intimidating, that makes conditions for work inhospitable, and undermines a person’s ability to carry out their responsibilities to the university.
  • Microaggressions: Brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative indignities toward marginalized groups.
  • Sexual harassment: Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or educational experience or their participation in a University program or activity, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment, academic, or program-related decisions affecting such an individual, or (3) creates a hostile environment.
  • Retaliation: Adverse action taken against an individual in response to, motivated by or in connection with an individual’s complaint of discrimination or discriminatory harassment, participation in an investigation of such complaint and/or opposition to discrimination or discriminatory harassment in the educational or workplace setting.
  • Academic and research misconduct: All work should be conducted according to the highest standards of academic and research integrity. Policies are clearly outlined by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, and should be upheld in all research and educational efforts.

What to do if you experience unacceptable behaviors:

If you experience or witness any of the above behaviors, they can be reported to your supervisor, the Entomology Director of Graduate Studies, the Entomology Department Chair, Russell Labs Student Services Coordinator, Russell Labs Department Administrator, Russell Labs or CALS Human Resources Personnel. The people in these roles will help direct you to the most appropriate offices and resources. If you are not comfortable speaking with the people in these roles, or if you feel that your report was not handled appropriately, you can reach out directly to specific campus offices listed at the end of this document for reporting, guidance, and resources.

The Department of Entomology is committed to continue learning and educating ourselves about racism, ethnic/racial oppression, implicit bias, and inequalities that are pervasive in academia to continuously improve the culture in academia.

We also commit to continued departmental learning and training regarding microaggressions, which are less overt than the other behaviors outlined above. We are all responsible for creating a culture where microaggressions are not tolerated.

Reporting: Faculty and students are to follow campus requirements for reporting any of these behaviors. There are different reporting obligations mandated by the UW-Madison Office of Compliance and every employee is asked to review their responsibilities for mandatory reporting. The Entomology Department Chair, Russell Labs Academic Advising Manager, Russell Labs Department Administrator, Russell Labs or CALS Human Resources Personnel, and all Entomology faculty are mandatory reporters of sexual harassment.

Department-wide issues: If you experience an issue that relates to the whole department, students should discuss the issue with the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) and the president of EGSA should bring the issue to the department chair or the Entomology Director of Graduate Studies to present at the next faculty meeting. Alternatively, the student experiencing the issue could directly contact the Entomology Director of Graduate Studies or the department chair. Faculty and staff experiencing an issue should discuss the issue with the department chair.

Guidelines for Graduate Students and Advisors

Guidelines for Graduate Students:

+What students can expect from advisors

Environment/Participation

  • Advisors will prioritize their students’ emotional and physical well-being and foster an inclusive and safe work environment.
  • Advisors should provide intellectual support, academic mentorship, a professional work environment, and help their students progress in their professional development and career goals.
  • Faculty advisors are here to support graduate students in their scientific development and career, to introduce them to other researchers in the field, to encourage students to present their work at conferences, to write recommendation letters for students, and overall to help students navigate and thrive in their professional development.
  • Advisors should help resolve lab internal conflicts between a student and another lab member in a timely manner. If students are not comfortable discussing the problem with their advisor, they can also report to the Student Services Coordinator or refer to the resources at the end of the document.
  • For Ph.D. students, advisors are responsible for administering the certification, the preliminary exam, and the final dissertation defense. The specifics of these milestones are described in the Entomology PhD Graduate Handbook.
  • For M.S. students, advisors are responsible for administering a final thesis defense. Advisors are strongly encouraged to conduct an initial review of the thesis topic or proposal review with the student and entire thesis committee. This could simply be performed at the time of the student’s certification meeting. The specific of these milestones are described in the Entomology MS Graduate Handbook.

Mentoring in Research

  • Before finalizing a prospective student admission, advisors should discuss academic expectations, their advising style, lab policy, authorship expectations, and the Entomology graduate student handbook with the prospective student.
  • Advisors are expected to maintain consistent communication with their students. They will regularly meet one-on-one with their students and will be accessible via email to discuss student’s research, expectations, issues, concerns, and maintain a reasonable timeline or progression in their program.
  • Advisors will provide timely and substantive feedback on students’ thesis research, project ideas, research design, methods, literature reviews, conference presentations, grants and thesis/dissertation drafts, manuscripts, etc. Feedback will occur in a timely fashion that facilitates student progress.
  • Advisors will meet and communicate with their students on a regular basis to discuss courses, research, timelines, deadlines, professional development, and employment. Advisors will discuss possible career options throughout their program. Advisors are expected to write letters of recommendation for students and to advocate for students in their quest for employment.
  • Advisors will have an understanding of the requirements of graduate programs to better guide their students in their coursework.
  • Yearly performance evaluations by the advisor are required for all graduate students. In these evaluations, the advisor and student will discuss the student’s research and academic progress to achieve their goals. Students and advisors are encouraged to discuss and develop an Individual Development Plan and discuss it yearly.

Work Expectations

  • Advisors and their students should discuss funding opportunities for tuition and stipend, before entering the program as well as any changes occurring during their graduate program. Funding sources may include TAships, RAships, travel grants, fellowship grants, etc. Students and advisors should discuss opportunities and expected roles for grant writing. Advisors should provide timely notification of new opportunities or funding changes, including stipend changes or unexpected funding losses that may affect the student financially.
+What advisors can expect from students

Environment/Participation

  • Students should prioritize their graduate program as their primary occupation during work hours and are responsible for prioritizing time for research. Coursework and TA appointments are important, but ultimately students will obtain their degrees based on their research.
  • Students should foster an inclusive and welcoming environment in both their lab groups and the department.
  • All students are integral parts of their lab and should contribute to the lab functioning by participating in lab meetings, cleaning, interviewing new lab members, contributing to lab websites, and outreach.
  • Students should help mentor undergraduate students in the lab when needed.
  • Students should present their work at lab meetings, departmental events, other labs, and at conferences when appropriate.

Mentoring in Research

  • Students should be intellectually engaged and professional in their research projects, academic setting, and when interacting with peers in the workplace.
  • Students should behave professionally and respectfully with their advisor.
  • Students are advised to develop an Individual Development Plan to help them think about their future career path and make sure they get the most appropriate training.
  • Communication is critical for a good relationship between students and advisors. Students are expected to practice frequent, clear, and open communication with their advisor and collaborators throughout their graduate career. Students are expected to meet one-on-one with their advisor regularly to update them on their progress, ask questions, and discuss any issues that may arise. Students should plan ahead and have a list of discussion points for meetings with their advisor.
  • Familiarity with the graduate student handbooks. Students are the primary party responsible for their degree progress, and should take ownership over tracking requirements, deadlines, and criteria for satisfactory progress as outlined in the handbooks.
  • Students should provide documents needing feedback and requests for letters of recommendation at least one week before the due date. As stated in the graduate student handbooks, students should send their thesis or dissertation to their mentoring committee at least two weeks prior to the defense and at least two weeks to their advisor for review prior to sending to the full mentoring committee.

Work Expectations

  • Students should discuss funding opportunities with their advisors and apply for grants (e.g., GRFP grants) when available and appropriate.
  • Students are expected to be responsible for financial tasks such as submitting receipts and working within a budget as discussed with their advisor.
  • Work hours are outlined in the Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures. Most RA appointments are 50% FTE, but given the unique nature of RA appointments, work hours per week will vary depending on a student’s research project and coursework demands. As a general rule, students on RA appointments are expected to work on average 40 hours per week on their studies and research combined, and mandated work on weekends should be the exception rather than an expectation.  The needs of individual labs and research projects may vary and evolve during a student’s time in the program, so students and advisors should create a written agreement on work expectations.  Students are expected to get their work done in a schedule that works for them and their advisor, and these expectations should be communicated early at the outset of the academic journey.
  • Leave policies are outlined in the Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures. Regardless of appointment type, the Department of Entomology grants all graduate students a minimum of 96 hours (12 days) of sick leave per year and 90 hours (11.25 days) of vacation time per year, plus 9 Federal holidays. Graduate students and advisors should discuss leave policies to be agreed upon mutually at the beginning of their program. Students are expected to consult their advisor before scheduling any planned absences.
+What advisors should not expect from students
  • Working on projects unrelated to their thesis, funding sources, or professional development goals should be discussed between the student and advisor and agreed upon before taking on extra work to ensure that it is beneficial to the student.
  • For letters of recommendations, students should not be required to draft the entire letter themselves, but may provide a list of points to include in the letter.
  • Students should not be expected to do extracurricular activities for their advisors that are unrelated to their research or lab group responsibilities unless discussed and mutually agreed upon. If the student is uncomfortable with requests from their advisor (such as chores or services), reach out to the Student Services Coordinator.

Guidelines for Faculty Advisors:

+What advisors can expect from students

Environment/Participation

  • Students should prioritize their graduate program as their primary occupation during work hours and are responsible for prioritizing time for research. Coursework and TA appointments are important, but ultimately students will obtain their degrees based on their research.
  • Students should foster an inclusive and welcoming environment in both their lab groups and the department. All students are integral parts of their lab and should contribute to the lab functions by participating in lab meetings, cleaning, interviewing new lab members, contributing to lab websites, overall lab functioning, and outreach. Students are also integral parts of the department and should contribute to departmental committees when appropriate.
  • Students should help mentor undergraduate students in the lab when needed.
  • Students should present their work at lab meetings, departmental events, other labs, and at conferences when appropriate.

Mentoring in Research

  • Students should be intellectually engaged and professional in their research projects, academic setting, and when interacting with peers in the workplace.
  • Students should behave professionally and respectfully with their advisor.
  • Communication is critical for a good relationship between students and advisors. Students are expected to practice frequent, clear, and open communication with their advisor and collaborators throughout their graduate career. Students are expected to meet one-on-one with their advisor regularly to update them on their progress, ask questions, and discuss any issues that may arise. Students should plan ahead and have a list of discussion points for their meetings with their advisor.
  • Students should provide documents needing feedback and requests for letters of recommendation at least one week before the due date. As stated in the graduate student handbooks, students should send their thesis or dissertation to their mentoring committee at least two weeks prior to the defense and at least two weeks to their advisor for review prior to sending to the full mentoring committee.
  • Familiarity with the graduate student handbooks. Students are the primary party responsible for their degree progress and should take ownership over tracking requirements, deadlines, and criteria for satisfactory progress as outlined in the handbooks. The Student Coordinator is available for consultation on anything included in the handbook.
  • Students are advised to develop an Individual Development Plan to help them think about their future career path and make sure they get the most appropriate training.

Work Expectations

  • Students should discuss funding opportunities with their advisors and apply for grants (e.g., GRFP grants) when available and appropriate.
  • Students are expected to be responsible for financial tasks such as submitting receipts and working within a budget as discussed with their advisor.
  • Work hours are outlined in the Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures. Most RA appointments are 50% FTE, but given the unique nature of RA appointments, work hours per week will vary depending on a student’s research project and coursework demands. As a general rule, students on RA appointments are expected to work on average 40 hours per week on their studies and research combined, and mandated work on weekends should be the exception rather than an expectation.  The needs of individual labs and research projects may vary and evolve during a student’s time in the program, so students and advisors should create a written agreement on work expectations.  Students are expected to get their work done in a schedule that works for them and their advisor, and these expectations should be communicated early at the outset of the academic journey.
  • Leave policies are outlined in the Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures. Regardless of appointment type, the Department of Entomology grants all graduate students a minimum of 96 hours (12 days) of sick leave per year and 90 hours (11.25 days) of vacation time per year, plus 9 Federal holidays. Graduate students and advisors should discuss leave policies to be agreed upon mutually at the beginning of their program. Students are expected to consult their advisor before scheduling any planned absences.
+What advisors should NOT expect from students
  • Working on projects unrelated to their thesis, funding sources, or professional development goals should be discussed between the student and advisor and agreed upon before taking on extra work to ensure that it is beneficial to the student.
  • For letters of recommendations, students should not be required to draft the entire letter themselves, but may provide a list of points to include in the letter.
  • Students should not be expected to do extracurricular activities for their advisors that are unrelated to their research or lab group responsibilities unless discussed and mutually agreed upon. If the student is uncomfortable with requests from their advisor (such as chores or services), reach out to the Student Services Coordinator.
+What students can expect from advisors

Environment/Participation

  • Advisors will prioritize their students’ emotional and physical well-being and foster an inclusive and safe work environment.
  • Advisors should provide intellectual support, academic mentorship, a professional work environment, and help their students progress in their professional development and career goals.
  • Faculty advisors are here to support graduate students in their scientific development and career, to introduce them to other researchers in the field, to encourage students to present their work at conferences, to write recommendation letters for students, and overall to help students navigate and thrive in their professional development.
  • Advisors should help resolve lab internal conflicts between a student and another lab member in a timely manner. If students are not comfortable discussing the problem with their advisor, they can also report to the Student Services Coordinator or refer to the resources at the end of the document.
  • For Ph.D. students, advisors are responsible for administering the certification, the preliminary exam, and the final dissertation defense. The specifics of these milestones are described in the Entomology PhD Graduate Handbook.
  • For M.S. students, advisors are responsible for administering a final thesis defense. Advisors are strongly encouraged to conduct an initial review of the thesis topic or proposal review with the student and entire thesis committee. This could simply be performed at the time of the student’s certification meeting. The specific of these milestones are described in the Entomology MS Graduate Handbook.

Mentoring in Research

  • Before finalizing a prospective student admission, advisors should discuss academic expectations, their advising style, lab policy, authorship expectations, and the Entomology graduate student handbook with the prospective student.
  • Advisors are expected to maintain consistent communication with their students. They will regularly meet one-on-one with their students and will be accessible via email to discuss student’s research, expectations, issues, concerns, and maintain a reasonable timeline or progression in their program.
  • Advisors will provide timely and substantive feedback on students’ thesis research, project ideas, research design, methods, literature reviews, conference presentations, grants and thesis/dissertation drafts, manuscripts, etc. Feedback will occur in a timely fashion that facilitates student progress.
  • Advisors will meet and communicate with their students on a regular basis to discuss courses, research, timelines, deadlines, professional development, and employment. Advisors will discuss possible career options throughout their program. Advisors are expected to write letters of recommendation for students and to advocate for students in their quest for employment.
  • Advisors will have an understanding of the requirements of graduate programs to better guide their students in their coursework.
  • Yearly performance evaluations by the advisor are required for all graduate students. In these evaluations, the advisor and student will discuss the student’s research and academic progress to achieve their goals. Students and advisors are encouraged to discuss and develop an Individual Development Plan and discuss it yearly.

Work Expectations

  • Advisors and their students should discuss funding opportunities for tuition and stipend, before entering the program as well as any changes occurring during their graduate program. Funding sources may include TAships, RAships, travel grants, fellowship grants, etc. Students and advisors should discuss opportunities and expected roles for grant writing. Advisors should provide timely notification of new opportunities or funding changes, including stipend changes or unexpected funding losses that may affect the student financially.

Additional Resources

Campus Resources

  • Office of Compliance: promotes compliance with University laws, regulations, and policies including , Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy, Title IX, public records, and discrimination. An Equal Opportunity Complaint can be filed with the Office of Compliance to address discrimination.
  • Title IX Office: investigates issues of sexual harassment, sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, stalking, and discrimination on the basis of sex. Reports of these instances can be made directly to the Title IX office.
  • Ombuds Office: provides confidential guidance for employees (graduate students, post-docs, faculty, staff) regarding workplace concerns, and can assist in mediating resolution processes.
  • Office of Workforce Relations: addresses conflict resolution and grievances for employment issues. If a supervisor has broken a policy specific to the terms of employment, employees can contact the Office of Workforce Relations for assistance. Instances of sexual harassment can also be reported here.
  • Dean of Students Office: provides support for students and connects them with appropriate resources on campus. Students can report instances of hate, bias, sexual harassment and other concerns to this office.
  • Graduate School Grievances & Appeals: this process can be used by graduate students to address unfair treatment by faculty, staff, or other students.
  • TAA Labor Union: labor union representing and protecting graduate students. TAA can provide confidential support to students to discuss options for employment concerns including hostile and intimidating behavior.
  • Divisional Disability Representative: receives accommodation requests from employees to assist in responding to disability matters and complying with ADA
  • ADA Coordinator: responsible for campus-wide compliance with ADA, appeals can be filed with the ADA Coordinator.
  • McBurney Disability Resource Center: works to design accessible environments and provide academic accommodations for students with disabilities.
  • Office of Employee Assistance: provides solutions to personal challenges for employees, including life transitions, physical or emotional health issues, and relationship challenges. Offers free counseling and consultation to faculty, staff, graduate student employees, significant others, and family members.
  • Mental health resources: University Health Services provides many resources for mental health, including a 24 hour crisis line, free counseling, survivor services, and more.

Additional Links