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Advising

The following resources are designed to facilitate productive interactions between current graduate students and faculty members serving as research mentors, academic advisors, or thesis committee members.

Pre-Candidacy Advising

Graduate students in their first 1-3 years are in the pre-candidacy stage before becoming a Ph.D. candidate. For graduate student research credit at this stage, a student would register for ASTR 298 with their research advisor.

Research Advising 

Each quarter, graduate students and their research advisors are required to develop a syllabus outlining research learning objectives, milestones, and deliverables for ASTR 298. This process is an opportune time to outline academic calendar goals and timelines. The syllabus information should be included in the registration process for the ASTR 298 course (due by registration deadline per quarter) by the graduate student and then approved by the research advisor—this is the official enrollment process for ASTR 298. We recommend that this syllabus process is started one week prior to the beginning of the quarter and completed by the registration deadline.

Academic Advising

At the start of the first academic quarter, the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies will assign an academic advisor to each graduate student. The academic advisor is selected from faculty who are unlikely to serve as the graduate student's research advisor, and should be an independent source of mentorship and advice. The Academic Advisor should meet with the graduate students quarterly. The Academic Advisor and mentee should address the academic advisor's quarterly questions, and answers will be solicited via Student Affairs.

Spring Evaluation

Annually, every graduate student undergoes a full review process submitted and approved by GEPA. During the spring evaluation process, the Mentee will develop an annual Individual Development Plan (IDP) to share and discuss with their mentors. The Academic Advisor will also meet directly with the graduate student to review all coursework and discuss relevant professional development activities and pursuits for the IDP. Lastly, the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies will meet with each graduate student in Spring Quarter for final recommendations.

First and second year graduate students are required to meet with the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies at the end of Fall quarter. It is anticipated that the Vice Chair for Graduate Studies meets regularly with all Astronomy Ph.D. graduate students. 

Ph.D. Candidate Advising

Graduate students that have completed their Advance to Candidacy Exam that are considered now “Ph.D. Candidates” will register for ASTR 299 with the research advisor and receive their mentorship from the Thesis Committee Members.

Research Advising 

Each quarter, graduate students and their research advisors are required to develop a syllabus outlining research learning objectives, milestones, and deliverables for ASTR 299. The syllabus information should be included in the registration process for the ASTR 299 course by the graduate student and then approved by the research advisor—this is the official enrollment process for ASTR 299. We recommend that this syllabus process is started one week prior to the beginning of the quarter and completed by the latest the registrations deadline.

Committee Advising

Ph.D. Candidates are required at minimum to send annual updates to their committee members (see Spring Evaluations). However, we still recommend Ph.D. Candidates sending occasional email updates to committee members throughout the year. Often committee members will serve as a reference for letters of recommendations for fellowship and future job applications, and it is in the best interest of the graduate students to keep committee members involved with their thesis work. Each committee member will write an annual review during Spring Evaluations.

Spring Evaluation

Annually, every graduate student undergoes a full review process submitted and approved by GEPA. During the spring evaluation process, the Mentee will develop an annual Individual Development Plan (IDP) to share and discuss with their mentors. Ph.D. Candidates should schedule a meeting with their thesis committee members, including their external members, to review their thesis process and professional development goals. Each Committee Member will need to write a review for the student’s spring evaluation via the GEPA form.