Mentoring

The Graduate and Professional School recognizes that there are many drivers and influences on graduate and professional students and their education. Our goal is to ensure that every student is well supported throughout their graduate education journey.

Below is a draft model that was developed by our team to help understand the components of a comprehensive graduate education program. We recognize that there are roles and responsibilities for the institution, the program, mentors, and the student and several foundational areas that may need attention at different times throughout the journey. We are committed to ensuring that our stakeholders have access to mentoring resources and tools and are well equipped to provide high quality mentoring throughout the graduate program.

Graduate Research Mentoring Development (Workshops and Training)

The Graduate and Professional School provides graduate research mentoring development opportunities for faculty and graduate and professional students to improve their mentor and mentee skills. According to the National Academy Report (2019), “one of the most well-studied and well-known approaches to mentorship education in STEMM” is the curriculum developed by Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER). We seek to cultivate an institutional commitment and collaboration with the Graduate and Professional School, the Office of the Dean of Faculties (DOF), the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), the Division of Research (DOR) as well as units, colleges, and departments to promote a culture of mentoring within and across Texas A&M University.

The Graduate and Professional School encourages students and mentors to consider using the following resources to assist in ensuring the right conversations are happening at the right times.

Texas A&M University Compact Between Graduate Students and Their Supervising Faculty

The Grad Student-Supervising Faculty Compact was developed by the Texas A&M University Faculty-Student Agreement Task Force to help students and their supervising faculty define the responsibilities and expectations that should govern their relationship, which is a key component of graduate student success. The document is a fillable form students and their supervising faculty can work together to complete.

View or download the Grad Student-Supervising Faculty Compact

Individual Development Plan (IDP)

The IDP is an essential tool designed to help graduate and professional students 

• Identify professional goals and objectives 
• Assess current skills 
• Communicate with their advisor and mentor to develop an action plan to achieve short- and long-term objectives 

The IDP is a document students can revisit again and again, update and refine as their goals change and/or come into focus, and track their progress and accomplishments. 

View or download the Individual Development Plan (IDP)

Doctoral Profile and Feedback System

The Doctoral Feedback and Profile System (powered by Interfolio) is a flexible, student and faculty-friendly engine for collecting and reviewing doctoral students’ activities related to degree progress, such as research and teaching activities, publications, professional development, awards and more. This easy-to-use and easy-to-maintain system gives students and their faculty committee members an all-in-one platform for conducting annual reviews of students’ progress toward degree in a way that is transparent and instructive.

For more information on the Doctoral Profile and Feedback System, visit our landing page or sign onto the system.