Am I taking on new students?

I take on students on a case-by-case basis.  Come chat with me if you'd like to work with me. Before you do, however, please do the following:

1. Read this entire page. Although I think mentoring is relationship-specific in many ways and that these relationships evolve over time, my personality and general approach to mentoring are likely not going to change substantially in the near future. 

2. Read some of my published work and read about my current projects so you have a sense of the type of work I do. 

3. Think about what you are looking for in a mentor. I will ask you in what areas you think I could be helpful in aiding your research. This could be social support and cheerleading, substantive expertise, methodological expertise, and/or something else. 

4.  Think about the things you bring to the table. Mentoring should be mutually rewarding. All of my students bring something to the partnership, whether that be enthusiasm, management skills, stats skills, a unique perspective on a topic, specialized content knowledge, etc. 

What can you expect from me as a mentor?

In general, you can expect the following things from me as a mentor:

1. Weekly meetings. In general, I take a hands-on approach to mentoring. I try to do this much more so early in students' graduate careers and much less so later on as they develop research independence. No matter the stage, however, I think weekly check-ins, even if brief, are helpful. 

2. Direct feedback and communication.  My feedback on your work will be pretty direct. Because my assumption about you is that you do good work and are my colleague-in-training, I tend not to do a lot of sandwiching critique in praise. I will, of course, offer praise and positive feedback, but I am often more focused on how to make your work better. I will never tell you something is not good enough or offer criticism without also being willing to help you think through alternatives and solutions. 

3. Interest in your life. I will check in on you as a human. Your student status is not your only identity, and I do not see a lot of value in assuming it is. That said, students may be as forthcoming as they prefer, and professional boundaries are still important. I do not, for instance, become social media friends with my students until after they graduate. I will, however, take you out for coffee and ask you how you are doing (in school and in life). 

4. Guidance on meeting short- and long-term professional goals. The goal of a PhD program is to train you as a researcher. Some students may wish to use their research training in a faculty position, and others may wish to work for government, a policy institute, a research center, or something else. Although I know most about preparing you for a faculty position, I will work with students to achieve whatever their long-term goals are. I will also work with students on setting short-term goals in the program and with specific works. Together, we will set up semesterly or annual goals and a game plan to meet them. I also understand that sometimes goals change. Just because you start the program doesn't mean you have to finish it. I will help you consider alternatives if you decide the PhD is not for you. 

5. Connection to resources. I cannot offer everything you need in a PhD program. I will, however, help connect you to appropriate resources on or off campus. Those could be other mentors, other centers on campus (e.g., the Office of Statistics for Doctoral Research, the Career Design Center, the Center for Excellence in Writing, Counseling Services, etc.), or external supports. 

6. Lots of balls being juggled at the same time. My current and former mentees can tell you that, given the number of students I work with and my administrative duties, I have a lot of projects going on at once. I try to prioritize based on need, but you can expect for one or two balls to be dropped every now and again if I end up driving a project that is not really mine. As I note below, I expect you to prioritize your projects and not wait for me to drive them. I am not bothered by student initiative; it is helpful and desired with so many projects and students. 

How do I like to communicate?

I primarily like to communicate via weekly in-person meetings.  As DGS, my email is often overloaded. If you need quick advice in between our regular meetings, a text message, phone call, or quick conversation in my office will likely get you a faster response than email. I have been developing shared Microsoft Loop workspaces for all of my students to communicate through that channel. So far, this seems helpful. This also helps with goal setting and project management. 

I communicate very directly. I prefer you do the same. If you do not understand something, say so. If there is something you need to aid your work that I can provide, please let me know.  If there is a problem with your work, with my direction, or with something interfering with your work, let me know that, too. With respect to the latter, you can say as little or as much as you prefer, but I need to know broad brush strokes if I am to help you figure out how best to keep you moving forward with your research and/or teaching (or if another option may be most appropriate).

What do I expect from you as a mentee?

Although all students are different, I expect a few things from all students with whom I work. These include: 

1. Honesty, accountability, and good communication. I expect students to be honest with me about their needs, goals, and challenges. If something is not working, it s interfering with your work, or you are confused, let me know. If you mess up, let me know, and make a plan to address the problem.  If something is working great and you'd like more of that, let me know that, too. If someone else is a better fit for your primary research advisor, simply communicate that clearly. As much as I like working with students, I want what is best for you and your work. That may not be me, and that is certainly okay. 

2. Your input. Students have opinions and a different perspective and/or set of skills than I do. I want you to share your thoughts, to make suggestions, to take initiative, and to push back when warranted and rational. 

3. Curiosity. I expect students to be curious about sociology, to read widely, to have questions, and to want to find out the answers to their questions. That said, I do not expect sociology to be a passion for everyone. I think you can do good research and be a good academic without the passion element. Find something to be curious about, however. Maybe that is a big social problem, maybe it is a methodological approach, maybe it is something else. 

4. Openness to feedback. I expect students to seek out feedback and be responsive to it. That does not mean you cannot disagree with me. Rather, it means listening to and being thoughtful about the feedback I offer.  If you disagree, do not be afraid to push back and to put forth an argument as to why I'm wrong and you're right.

5. Hard work and commitment. The PhD program is not a side project. I cannot work harder on your PhD than you do.

6. Willingness to seek out and making use of available resources. The University has a ton of resources for graduate students. They aren't always easy to find or as helpful as one might like, but making use of what is available is important. If I recommend a resource, I expect you to give it ample thought and, in most cases, try it.

7. A willingness to show up for your peers. I study social relationships, and the quality of our social relationships matters for many areas of well-being. I expect my students to show up for each other professionally and to, in many cases, function as a team.