Graduate Education Resources for New Faculty

Graduate vs. Professional Programs

• The University of Minnesota makes a formal administrative distinction between the research masters and PhD programs (graduate programs) and all other post-baccalaureate degree programs (professional programs).
• The Graduate School is responsible for oversight of the research degree (graduate) programs.
• The academic colleges have primary oversight of their own professional programs.
• You can refer to this chart to see which programs are categorized as graduate versus professional.

Collegiate Structure

• The University of Minnesota has more than 130 research-based masters and doctoral degrees in the sciences, arts, engineering, agriculture, medicine, humanities, and many interdisciplinary programs.

Explore the colleges (or schools) that contain graduate degrees and programs

Every graduate program has dedicated staff members who are trained and equipped to help students understand the requirements of their individual program and provide support throughout the academic process.

Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC)

• A GPC is a staff member within each graduate or professional program who provides graduate students with information about the program and its requirements, and identifies ways to help the program be more successful.
• Find your program's GPC. 

Director of Graduate Studies (DGS)

• A DGS serves as the coordinator of graduate studies within a program. Together with the graduate program faculty and department and collegiate leadership, the DGS shares responsibility for guiding and improving graduate education within the program(s) under the DGS's jurisdiction.
• Find your program's DGS. 

Decentralized Model for Graduate Education

• The Graduate School want to make sure that that you have access to data about the students in your program. The Graduate Data Portal includes program data facts and figures, alumni placement data, results from gradSERU, and more.

Explore the Graduate Data Portal

Student Academic and Professional Development

• GEAR (Graduate Education Resources) is a series of online tools that help your students through every phase of their academic and professional development, whether they aspire for a career in academia or an industry beyond campus. 
• Workshops and events: The Graduate School helps connect your students with programs, resources, and events to help them identify potential career paths both inside and outside of academia, compete for in-demand positions, and manage their career.

Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO)

The Graduate School Diversity Office (GSDO) leads and coordinates the University’s initiatives in the recruitment, funding, retention, and graduation of a diverse graduate student body. Additionally, our office works closely with other organizations connected to diversity, underrepresented populations, and multiculturalism. The GSDO provides services and support for underrepresented graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. This support includes:

• Community of Scholars Program (COSP), which provides Native American graduate students and domestic graduate students of color with opportunities to realize their academic and professional goals.
• Summer Institute, a seven week research opportunity for newly-admitted underrepresented graduate students.
• Diversity of Views and Experience (DOVE) Fellowship, which seeks to assist graduate programs to promote a diversity of views, experiences, and ideas in the pursuit of research, scholarship, and creative excellence by recruiting and supporting academically excellent students with diverse ethnic, racial, economic, and educational backgrounds and experiences.

Resources for Graduate Faculty and Advisors

• Positive advising and mentoring relationships are one of the most important features of leading to the success of graduate and professional students. The Graduate School offers resources to help support your development as a mentor and advisor of graduate students.

Explore Faculty Advising Resources

Fellowships

• Fellowships, grants, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and loans provide the most common forms of support for graduate students. Explore and stay up to date on fellowship opportunities for available for your prospective, incoming, and current students.

Go to the Graduate School Funding page for more

The Red Folder

• It can be challenging for faculty members to know how to respond to students who may be having a mental health issue or crisis. The Red Folder is a comprehensive guide designed to help you recognize indicators of student distress, how to respond to students in distress, and where you can refer your students for appropriate support.

Download the Red Folder

Additional Resources to Help Students in Distress

• UMN Student Mental Health resources will help you better assist students in distress, including where you can get a consultation and written guidelines to help you determine how to respond to your students.
• The Student Conflict Resolution Center works with students to resolve university-based problems and concerns. The services are free and confidential.
• Student Counseling Services offer a variety of personal, academic, and career services for students. 

gradSERU COVID-19 Mental Health Survey Results

• 10,531 graduate and professional students were invited to take the gradSERU COVID-19 survey between June 15, 2020 and July 15, 2020. The purpose of this survey is to help us learn about the experiences of graduate and professional students during this incredibly challenging time so that we can provide them with the resources and support they need. 

Explore gradSERU results

Diversity Community of Practice (DCoP)

• The Diversity Community of Practice (DCoP) is a grassroots community of faculty and staff from collegiate and administrative units that started on the Twin Cities Campus. The DCoP meets monthly via Zoom with the goal of helping to develop and leverage personal, professional, and technical expertise of community members, and creating innovative strategies to meet the equity and diversity goals at the University of Minnesota.

Explore DCoP

Equity and Diversity Certificate

• The Office for Equity and Diversity (OED) Certificate program helps participants develop tools necessary for advancing equity and diversity in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. The program:
  • Offers participants a theoretical framework for understanding equity and diversity work.
  • Helps participants develop necessary skills for equity and diversity work.
  • Gives participants direct experience working and communicating across differences.

Explore the OED Certificate program

UMN Racial Justice Resources

• Created by the Race, Indigeneity, Gender & Sexuality Studies (RIGS) Initiative, UMN Racial Justice Resources is for students, staff, faculty, and community partners who are activists and are looking for support for their work, models from similar organizing efforts, and potential collaborators and coalition partners.

Explore the UMN Racial Justice Resources page

Mentoring Best Practices

• In addition to their advisor and committee members, graduate students benefit from mentors who address a variety of needs. The Mentoring Map from the National Center for Faculty development and Diversity (NCFDD) is a great tool for both mentors and mentees to identify what the student needs, and what support individuals mentors can provide. As a faculty member, you have institutional access to NCFDD. 
  • Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring 101: For Research Mentors of Graduate Students, Fellows, and Early-Career Faculty
  • How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty
  • Mutual roles and responsibilities of graduate faculty and graduate students
  • Tips for professional conduct in graduate education (for mentors and students)

Advising Statements

• Developing an advising statement is a great way to reflect on your personal advising philosophy and share this with prospective and current students.
• Reflect on these advising philosophy prompts as a first step.
• You can review guidelines and common components of advising statements, use an advising statement template, or draw inspiration from examples of other faculty statements.

Explore advising statements from current UMN faculty

Engaging with Your Students 

• A collection of resources to help support the development of your teaching, whether in-person, hybrid, or online.
  • Resources for Faculty Instructor Development
  • Online Learning Tips for Your Students
  • Supporting Learning Online: Building Community and Maintaining Motivation (important content for faculty and graduate student TAs)

Creating Accessible Spaces

• Resources to help you make sure you're paying attention to the needs of students with disabilities when transitioning to alternative learning formats.
  • Keep Teaching Online
  • Keep Teaching Accessible
  • Cultivate Inclusion

Online Civility

• Building Civility is a resource to help you identify offensive, hostile or intimidating behavior and tips on building a healthy departmental culture.
  • Guidance on Creating Respectful and Healthy Virtual Spaces
  • Student Conflict Resolution Center (SCRC)