Given how crucial mentoring is to graduate student success, we have made it a core element of the Sloan Scholars’ experience at Duke.
The Duke UCEM creates infrastructure and opportunities for Scholars to connect with multiple mentors (including faculty mentors and peer mentors) and to sustain those relationships throughout their time at Duke. Having multiple mentors is crucial because it helps students integrate into research groups and self-organized student groups–a key to success in graduate school.
UCEM mentoring support is layered over the duration and various dimensions of the graduate student experience:
Faculty Champions
A key figure in the Duke UCEM mentoring infrastructure is the faculty champion. Each Ph.D. program that has a Sloan Scholar has identified faculty champions who will serve as leaders in every stage of the Sloan Scholars’ experience. In years 1-2 of the Scholars’ time at Duke, the faculty champions will focus on coaching them to be effective members of various study groups while taking core courses. After that, the faculty champions will guide the Scholars in becoming effective members of a research group and the leaders on their research project. | More about the faculty champion role
