College of Graduate Studies

To provide intellectual guidance and rigor on students’ educational programs and specific research projects
To provide students with knowledge of the current frontiers and opportunities in disciplinary and inter- or cross-disciplinary research
To provide appropriate guidelines, including expected timetables, for completion of research projects, and to respect students’ research interests/goals and to assist students in pursuing/achieving them

To encourage and assist students in developing teaching and presentation skills, including course development, lecture preparation, classroom communication, examining and grading
To provide sound intellectual guidance on disciplinary research methods and the historical knowledge bases of the discipline or the profession
To evaluate student progress and performance in a timely, regular, and constructive fashion
To serve, when requested, as an informed academic adviser and a nurturing professional mentor to graduate students in training, and, where appropriate and desirable, in students’ post-Ph.D. careers

To encourage student participation in scholarly activities, including conference presentations, publications, professional networking, grant writing, and applying for copyrights and patents
To prepare students to enter the job market with requisite professional skills, with an appropriate range of professional contacts, and with a realistic view of the current state of that market, both within and outside of the academy
To assist students, where appropriate, in joining collaborative projects in accordance with the accepted norms of the discipline, and to provide TA’s and RA’s with meaningful professional experiences
To avoid assignment of any duty or activity that is outside the graduate student’s academic responsibility or harmful to his or her timely completion of the degree

To be fair, impartial, and professional in all dealings with graduate students in accordance with university policies governing nondiscrimination, harassment of all sorts, and normative standards of confidentiality
To create, in the classroom or the laboratory, an ethos of collegiality so that learning takes place within a community of scholars
To create an environment that openly discusses laboratory or departmental authorship policies and that prizes and acknowledges the individual contributions of all members of a research team in the publications or presentations of its research
To avoid all situations that could put them or their students in positions of any conflicts of interest

Expectations of Graduate Faculty