How to Be a Good Dissertation Adviser: Guidance From Some of Our Field’s Most Successful Mentors

Abstract

The academy has undergone substantial change in the last decade with many new internal and external pressures. Relatively fewer full-time faculty are asked to do much more. Advisers are taking on more roles than previously expected, with little to no training. Graduate student enrollment has increased while the job market has tightened. Graduate students are experiencing worse mental health than any past cohort. The challenges associated with mentoring the Ph.D. students of today require renewed evaluation of what works and what doesn’t. Here we solicited advice from political scientists with a history of outstanding mentorship to share their collective wisdom and experience about how they advise and provide effective mentoring for today’s Ph.D. students.