Guidelines for Advisor-Advisee Relations
Departmental Advisers (formerly known as Academic Adviser)
Departmental Advisers are appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. There are usually three departmental advisers: one for Europe, one for the United States and one for non-West.
The primary role of the departmental adviser is to provide accurate and up-to-date information on program requirements. He/she should also guide students in selecting courses, help them locate and interact with their main advisers, and provide general counsel for dealing with the various problems and concerns that arise for graduate students. The departmental advisers play a particularly important role for first year students, some of whom have not yet identified a main adviser or even a major field. First year students must see the appropriate departmental adviser before registering for courses in the first and second semesters. (Advisers should make a bloc of times available for these meetings before the first semester begins and should e-mail students before registration begins for the second semester to remind them to make appointments). Departmental advisers should take an active role in encouraging students to form a relationship with a potential adviser as soon as possible.
Once a student has identified a main adviser, the departmental adviser defers to that individual for decisions regarding courses and other intellectual issues. The departmental advisers can continue to play an important role even after a student has selected an adviser, however. This may take the form of offering programmatic information, ancillary advice on intellectual matters, or, indeed, in helping to negotiate any complications that arise in the adviser-advisee relationship.
In addition to disseminating information to students, departmental advisers should also play the role of giving feedback to the department about graduate student concerns. Departmental advisers serve on the Graduate Studies Committee and should remain in close contact with the DGS.
Main Advisers
I. Timing for Acquiring an Adviser
Incoming students should have an idea of which faculty they would be interested in working with most closely. Within the first semester (if not earlier), students should at least have initiated conversations with a potential adviser. Departmental advisers should ensure that this conversation takes place.
Students do not acquire formal advisers until the time that the Ph.D. program plan is filed. In most cases, the faculty member who chairs the prelim. committee will continue on as dissertation adviser. Even before they formally select a prelim. chair, students should have reached an informal agreement with a faculty member that he or she will serve as the main adviser. Students should not finish their second year (or ideally their first year) without reaching such an agreement. Departmental advisers should remain apprised of progress on this front and inform the DGS if a student has not found an adviser.
II. Changing Advisers
Students should be free to change advisers if they choose to do so. Before doing so, they should be made aware of the potential consequences of changing advisers, including the possible need to take additional courses to meet the new adviser's expectations or field requirements. (The consequences obviously differ depending on the timing of the decision).
No faculty member can be obliged to take on a new graduate student, so before abandoning one adviser a student should have reached an agreement with a new adviser. If a student cannot find an adviser, the DGS may intervene to try to help the student find one. The ultimate responsibility for locating an adviser, however, rests with the student.
Before accepting a student who has chosen to switch advisers, faculty should acquaint themselves with the student's background and progress in the program and judge carefully whether he or she is suited to direct the proposed dissertation. Consultation with the DGS may be appropriate before a decision is reached.
III. Responsibilities of the Adviser
The success of the department rests to a very large degree on the training we provide to our graduate students. Directing graduate students is thus one of the most important functions faculty perform. It is expected that faculty will bring the highest standards of professionalism and integrity to this relationship. This is also an area where direct departmental intervention is constrained by the tenets of academic freedom, so it is crucial that individual faculty act responsibly and
follow the spirit as well as the letter of our guidelines (even during periods of leave).
Specific responsibilities of the adviser include:
- regular meetings with students
- advice about minor fields and specific courses
- responding to written work and communications with reasonable promptness and attention
- guidance in selecting an appropriate dissertation topic and input on the dissertation proposal
- professional mentoring, including providing information about relevant funding opportunities, archival sources, conferences, contacts and advice on job interviews, job talks etc.
- letters of recommendation for fellowships and job opportunities (delivered in a timely fashion and containing appropriate information, i.e. without inappropriate comment on dress, age, family status, etc.)
- written comments on dissertation chapters
- advice on publishing beyond the dissertation, i.e. how to turn the dissertation into a book, how and where to publish articles
- treatment that is respectful, honest, and intellectually challenging. Personal relationships between adviser and advisee can enrich the intellectual and professional exchange; however, caution should be exercised to ensure that inappropriate demands are not placed on either side.
- familiarizing him/herself with campus guidelines on sexual harassment (the Ethical Conduct officer can be a source of help for this)
- reasonable discretion about communications from students. There are some instances where the DGS or other individuals need to be informed; if that is the case the faculty should warn the student information will be shared
- respect for students' privacy and private life
- information on alternate sources of support. Advisers should be open to students' obtaining advice from other faculty members. They should also try to ascertain when problems go beyond intellectual ones and require some form of outside assistance
- acting as a liaison with the department when necessary
NB: Faculty continue to bear these responsibilities when they are on academic leave
Advisers are not responsible for:
- emotional or psychological counseling
- meeting student deadlines when information/materials are not provided in a timely matter
- information that cannot be shared without violating professional ethics
IV. Responsibilities of the Advisee
The unequal power relationship between adviser and advisee puts the burden of responsibility on the adviser's shoulders. Nevertheless, students also bear a share of the responsibility in the relationship.
The student's specific responsibilities include:
- giving the adviser fair warning about deadlines for letters of recommendation or other requests
- treatment that is respectful, honest, and intellectually challenging
- regular communication with the adviser to inform her/him of progress in the program. It is not the sole responsibility of the adviser to initiate contact; students must take an active role in initiating meetings and communication
- communicating with the adviser regarding personal problems that may impede or hinder progress. Students are clearly entitled to privacy about their personal lives, but they should inform their advisers if unusually disruptive personal matters arise
- respect for the adviser's privacy and private life
Students responsibilities do not include:
- performing any service for advisers beyond the regular requirements of course-work, preliminary exams, etc. This includes bibliographic research, photocopying, writing, running errands, etc.
updated: April 2003