Advising

Advising

Students are advised by: 

The program chair, program director, academic coordinator, and faculty advisors all work with students to assess career aspirations and develop plans for professional development. The Comprehensive Exam Committee evaluates student proposals as well as reports from clinic and practicum work. 

Program Coordinator

The Graduate Program Coordinator is responsible for helping you with nearly all logistical issues associated with being a graduate student. They are the keeper of all forms that dictate your progress towards your degree, including Advance to Candidacy and all graduation paperwork. The Program Coordinator will generally be your first point of contact for your questions.

Program Director

The Program Director is responsible for assisting students develop their career objectives and Practicums. The Director can also assist with connecting students with alumni, members of the External Advisory Committee and other programmatic contacts. If the Program Coordinator is unavailable to answer questions, the Director may assist you.

Faculty Advisor

Your faculty advisor will be assigned to you based on your interests and their area of specialty before the start of the Fall quarter. Your Faculty Advisor serves as the program's representative to the Office of Graduate Studies. All forms pertaining to your graduate career are signed by your Faculty Advisor. Your Faculty Advisor will advise you on coursework, specializations, practicums, and elements of your Comprehensive Exam. You're encouraged to use the Advising Templates to guide conversation with your Faculty Advisor and discuss major tasks for each quarter.

Requesting a change of advisor: We understand that you might find a better advising fit with a faculty member other than the one that you are assigned. To request a new advisor assignment, please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator and include the name of your current advisor and the name of your preferred advisor. We will do our best to accommodate your request.

For more information on advising, see our Student Handbook.

Mentoring Guidelines (Adapted from UC Davis Graduate Council)

UC Davis faculty recognize that the mentoring of graduate students by faculty is an integral part of the graduate experience. Faculty mentoring is broader than advising a student to fulfill coursework requirements and is distinct from formal instruction in a given discipline. Mentoring encompasses more than serving as a role model. Faculty and graduate students must realize that many of the mentoring "functions" defined below may be performed by any faculty. An important corollary to this recognition is that faculty members must realize that much of their interaction with all students has an important mentoring component. Graduate students also have responsibilities to ensure successful mentoring and these are also indicated below.

Faculty have a responsibility to mentor graduate students. Mentoring has been defined as:

Guiding students through degree requirements, scholarly work and professional development. This means:

  1. Providing a clear map of program requirements from the beginning; making clear the nature of the coursework requirements; and defining a timeline for their completion.
  2. Evaluating clearly the strengths and weaknesses of the student’s projects.
  3. Encouraging an open exchange of ideas, including pursuit of the student’s ideas.
  4. Checking regularly on progress.
  5. Critiquing written work.
  6. Providing and discussing clear criteria for authorship of collaborative scholarship.
  7. Providing guidance and serving as a role model for upholding the highest ethical standards.
  8. Treating students respectfully.
  9. Encouraging and critiquing oral and written presentations.
  10. Encouraging participation in professional meetings and conferences.
  11. Facilitating interactions with other scholars, on campus and in the wider professional community.
  12. Assisting with applications for internships and professional development opportunities.
  13. Being the student’s advocate in academic and professional communities.
  14. Providing career guidance, and guidance in preparation of CV and for job interviews, and when appropriate writing letters of recommendation in a timely manner.
  15. Recognizing and giving value to the idea that there are a variety of career options available to students and accepting that a student's reasoned choice of career options is worthy of support.
  16. Refer mentees to relevant resources to support their well-being.
  17. Encouraging and giving feedback on written work and oral presentations in a timely manner with a mutually agreed upon time frame, consistent with Graduate Council policies.

As partners in the mentoring relationship, graduate students have responsibilities. As mentees, students should:

  1. Be aware of their own mentoring needs and how they change through their graduate tenure. Graduate students should discuss mentoring needs with their mentors.
  2. Recognize that one faculty member may not be able to satisfy all of a student’s mentoring needs. Seek assistance from multiple individuals/organizations to fulfill the mentoring roles described above.
  3. Recognize that their mentoring needs must respect their mentor’s other responsibilities and time commitments.
  4. Maintain and seek regular communication with their mentors, especially their Major Advisor.
  5. Establish concrete and transparent expectations, preferences and goals with your mentor.
  6. Maintain open-mindedness, even when confronted with difficult conversations. 
  7. Seeking constructive feedback on academic work in a timely manner with a mutually agreed upon time frame.
Mentor(s)

You will choose a program mentor to help you develop professional objectives and design a program to help you achieve your ultimate career objectives. A mentor could be another faculty member, but also could a staff member or researcher with relevant experience. If you have opted into the External Advisory Committee Mentorship program, you will be paired with a member in September of your first year. You can see more information about the EPM Mentorship Program here.