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.
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