Skip to Content
Skip to Navigation
Share |
The Graduate School

G-1 Communications Building
Box 353770
Seattle, Washington 98195-3770

Phone: 206.543.5900
Fax: 206.685.3234

Mentoring

Professor Bob Crutchfield mentoring two graduate students

A mentor is more than an adviser. A mentor provides a student with wisdom, technical knowledge, assistance, support, empathy and respect throughout, and often beyond, his or her graduate career. Mentoring helps students understand how their ambitions fit into graduate education, department life and career choices.

Effective mentoring begins with the faculty. From the UW Graduate School’s work with a range of departments, we have learned that mentoring is best when graduate students and faculty share responsibility for ensuring the quality of such support. A working relationship between mentor and mentee is an essential part of academic success. A growing body of research shows that a good mentoring relationship also is conducive to the mentor’s own success.

To address mentoring from the student perspective and the faculty member’s point of view, the Graduate School has created two mentoring guides. Each guide describes effective mentoring, how to find a good mentor or mentee, how to resolve conflicts, how to be a peer mentor and how to build a professional, supportive mentoring relationship. We also present workshops and events throughout the academic year.

Mentoring Guides

Mentoring: A Guide for Students

Mentoring: A Guide for Faculty

Mentor Memos