Graduate Student Mentorship Program

Supporting Graduate Students' Academic and Professional Success

Peer Mentors

The primary role of the peer mentor is to provide both proactive and responsive mentoring for their first-year mentees. This means that peer mentors should make an effort to anticipate the needs of their mentees, but also remain open to engaging in conversations about topics the mentees feel are important to them at the time. Particular concerns of mentees should take precedence over what peer mentors had planned to discuss. Peer mentors should be well aware of campus resources to which they can direct their mentees. We expect this experience to be as valuable for the peer mentors as it is for the mentees.

Peer mentors must:

maintain good academic standing

meet with their mentoring family once per week

submit bi-weekly mentoring reports

meet with faculty mentors once per quarter

attend one peer mentor meeting per quarter

attend one group meeting per quarter

attend one GSMP event (mixer, workshop, etc) per quarter

submit a quarterly reflection each quarter

If at any time a peer mentor feels that their mentee is struggling with issues with which the peer mentor has no experience, we suggest that they:

  1. contact other peer mentors who may have valuable advice concerning the particular situation,
  2. contact the faculty mentor of the team for help responding to the situation, or
  3. contact the GSMP Coordinators, or the GradSuccess Director, for help with the situation.