Mentoring Guidelines | Department of English

Mentoring Guidelines: Graduate Program in English

(updated Spring 2024)

The English Department believes that mentoring should not happen only one time, in one way, or with a single advisor and must be conducted according to clear and transparent guidelines, responsibilities, expectations, and record-keeping on each side. Mentoring must address each aspect of the graduate student’s academic and professional training and reflect the requirements for each benchmark and changing intellectual goals. For this reason, the Graduate Office, faculty, and students will engage in an ongoing consultative process throughout the degree.

Incoming MA and PhD students are assigned a faculty advisor by the Graduate Chair and a peer mentor by the Graduate English Association (GEA). Students also meet individually with the Graduate Chair in the fall to plan for the first year and in the spring to discuss the 50-book exam and upcoming second-year responsibilities. For the field and dissertation committees, students select their own committees, and there is no expectation that committees remain the same from one benchmark to another or as scholarly and/or professional interests change. Peer mentoring continues throughout the degree and is critical at the Work-in-Progress presentation to a relevant Working Group in the fourth year. In addition to serving as a hub of intellectual and scholarly exchange, the Working Groups are mentoring opportunities for professional development in terms of administration, interactions with possible future employers and colleagues, and effective management of collegial collaborations.

The Graduate Office provides orientations for incoming graduate students and workshops for continuing students on academic and professional matters, as well as opportunities for faculty to discuss mentoring and advising. The English department has two placement officers who work closely together to support students who seek a career in academia, outside of academia, or a combination of both.

Expectations of the advisor:

Establish a shared set of expectations with your advisee regarding how frequently you will meet and how to manage communication between formal meetings. Per university policy, you are expected to meet at least once each semester. The advisee has the primary responsibility for scheduling meetings with you. Let your advisee know if your availability changes as a result of frequent travel, administrative duties, or personal leave.

Ensure that your advisee meets with their dissertation committee each year or at time intervals indicated by the dissertation committee once the prospectus has been approved. The primary advisor/dissertation supervisor is expected to attend those meetings. As in the above, scheduling of dissertation committee meetings is the responsibility of the dissertator.

In your meetings, discuss your advisee’s plans to achieve programmatic milestones and short- and long-term goals. Help the advisee to establish priorities with regard to programmatic requirements, independent research, and writing. Students may neither undertake benchmarks (such as exams) nor serve in leadership positions in the GEA or Working Groups while they have incompletes on their records. Students also risk funding opportunities that require good standing. Please discuss time-management strategies to avoid the need to request incompletes, except in cases of illness or other emergencies.

Although it is not the advisor's responsibility nor within their professional capacity to provide counseling with regard to health and well-being, advisors should make sure that their advisees are well aware of relevant resources available to them at Penn. These are listed in the Graduate Handbook or may be obtained from the Graduate Office.

Support your advisee’s efforts to build professional networks and to develop professional skills, including academic writing, public engagement, conference presentation, application to fellowship and grant programs, and participation in working groups. Help the advisee to assess the relative utility, with regard to academic work and professionalization, of various activities and forms of publication.

Provide timely feedback on your advisee’s research projects and dissertation chapter drafts. This feedback should ideally be expressed in written form and should provide detailed constructive criticism, especially if substantial issues emerge. Committees, where relevant, should decide with the student when or if feedback will be shared with the committee as a whole. In-person meetings are also recommended. If, for some reason, there will be a delay in providing feedback, discuss the timing of your response with your advisee.

As advanced advisees prepare for the job-search process, devote attention in your meetings and communications to the specificities of your discipline(s). Also alert your advisees to the job-placement meetings and resources of the English Department. Provide advice about preparation of letters and other application materials and submit your own letters of recommendation in a timely manner.

The advisor/advisee relationship should be characterized at all times by mutual respect, shared trust, and transparency. In the event that interpersonal issues arise that cannot be resolved between the advisor and advisee, the advisor should speak with the Graduate Chair of the program. In some instances, a faculty member may decide that working with an advisee is impossible. In that event, the faculty member should first notify the Graduate Chair of English and then the student. The Graduate Chair will provide guidance to the student.

Expectations of the advisee:

As an advisee, you should schedule regular individual meetings with your advisor / dissertation supervisor. At a minimum, you should meet once each semester. Use these meetings to discuss your progress towards programmatic milestones, independent research and writing, professional development, dissertation progress, and preparations for the job market. Discuss and establish your priorities and plans to achieve short- and long-term goals. Keep your advisor informed as your plans and projects change. Never be reluctant to ask questions. It is your responsibility to schedule these meetings. Leave your meetings with written notes on a shared understanding of what was covered and a plan with dates, if appropriate.

Once your prospectus has been approved, schedule meetings with your dissertation committee annually or at time intervals indicated by the committee. As with the above, it is your responsibility to schedule these meetings.

Establish a timeframe for communications with your advisor, including how long it generally takes you to provide a response to their communications. Let your advisor know how you will ensure they will hear from you within the specified time.

If you encounter roadblocks to your progress or significant complications in your personal life, inform your advisor and/or the Graduate Chair of this delay as early as possible. Efforts will then be made to develop and implement a strategy to address the academic issues. Again, an advisor will not require details and cannot serve as a counselor, but they may be a trusted presence who can refer you to relevant university resources. The Graduate Office can also provide referrals.

Occasionally, a student may wish to change their primary advisor. This may happen for any number of reasons. In that event, seek the advice of the Graduate Chair and other trusted faculty members to discuss whether a change is in your best interest. When you identify an alternative advisor, approach them to determine whether they are available and well-matched to help you achieve your educational and scholarly goals. Any change should be preceded by a meeting with the Graduate Chair and respectful communication with the current advisor. Any changes to other members of the committee should first be addressed with the chair.