Attendance at both session dates is required to receive full credit for participation.

Offered by the Center for Mentoring in partnership with the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies
This program introduces graduate faculty to the principles and best practices of mentoring graduate students, one-on–one and within mentoring programs or networks. Topics include:

1. Building student-centered mentoring relationships
2. Establishing clear communication, expectations, and goals
3. Fostering inclusivity and equity in mentoring
4. Focusing on Individual Development Plans (IDP), often required by federal agencies (NSF, NIH)
5. Practicing ongoing self-reflection to strengthen mentoring

Format & Requirements
1. Pre-work: online module + reflective paragraph
2. Two one-hour sessions (Sept. 11 & 18)
3. Capstone: One-page mentoring plan

Connection to Mentoring Academy
This course covers the first of four competencies of Mentoring Academy: Session One, specifically focusing on graduate mentoring. Completing Foundations of Graduate Mentoring may substitute for Session One in the Mentoring Academy series.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 
1. Identify and describe the value of graduate mentoring. 
2. Develop student-centered mentoring practices and relationships 
3. Establish effective communication, shared goals, roles, and expectations between mentors and the mentored. 
4. Identify the characteristics and value of inclusive mentoring and incorporate them into practice. 
5. Use individual development plans as a tool for establishing student goals and progress towards those goals. 
6. Initiate and sustain self-reflection to improve mentoring practices. 
7. Identify university mentoring policies, procedures, research, and best practices at Pitt and other relevant institutions.