Advising

New Graduate Students

Until they are ready to choose an advisor, new graduate students are assigned to the Graduate Studies Committee, with the committee members sharing the duties of advising. The students in this category will be given the label "Advisor: Undecided" to remind them that they have yet to choose an academic director.

Choosing an advisor

Graduate students should choose their advisors from among the graduate faculty members based on field, disciplinary orientation, research directions, and general compatibility. The Department requires students to choose an advisor by the end of their third quarter of enrollment in the program. This is done by filling out the Declaration of Advisor Form and submitting it, with the consent of the intended advisor, to the Graduate Studies Committee Chair for approval. The following faculty members can serve as advisors in the graduate programs in Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures:

• Literature: Brintlinger, Burry, Hashamova, Masing-Delic, Stephan.
• Linguistics: Collins, Gribble, Joseph, Rugaleva.

All of these faculty members can direct theses and professional papers, serve on M.A. and Ph.D. committees, and advise students on doctoral dissertations. In some cases, a faculty member may not yet be qualified by Graduate School rules to be the sole director of a doctoral dissertation; in these instances, a co-advisor should be appointed in consultation with the advisor and the Graduate Studies Chair.

The advisor's obligations to the student

The advisor-student relation is one of the most important elements in successful graduate study, as it is the duty of the advisor to serve as the student's academic director and mentor. The particular responsibilities of advisors are as follows:

• They meet with their advisees at least once every quarter to discuss the next quarter's classes. Students must meet with their advisors before they can enroll in any classes.
• They serve on all of their advisees' examination and defense committees, and may give the Graduate Studies Committee Chair suggestions as to who the other members of the committees should be.
• They give their advisees suggestions on how to prepare for examinations.
• They give their advisees suggestions and guidance on topics for theses, professional papers, and dissertations. In addition, they serve as the first and most important reader of the theses, professional papers, and dissertations. It is up to the individual advisors to set ground rules for their readership.
• They monitor their advisees' progress and performance in the program and their fulfillment of departmental requirements. In addition, they report on their advisees' progress in the annual faculty meeting in which the graduate students are evaluated. They then write their advisees informing them of the faculty's evaluation. Copies of these annual letters of evaluation are sent to the Graduate Studies Committee Chair and placed in the students' files.
• They give their advisees suggestions and guidance on study abroad, special academic programs, fellowships, associateships, jobs, and career plans.
• They write letters of recommendation on behalf of their advisees for special academic programs, fellowships, associateships, jobs, etc.
• As advisors have responsibility for monitoring their students' progress in the program, their signatures are necessary on various documents relating to course changes and on all petitions that the students write to the Graduate Studies Committee.

The student's obligations to the advisor

• It is essential for students to communicate frequently with their advisors.
• Students should seek their advisors' guidance whenever they are deciding on their academic orientation, areas of specialization, and thesis/professional paper/dissertation topics.
• It is the student's responsibility to arrange the quarterly meeting to discuss the next quarter's classes.
• Students should give their advisors sufficient time to read and comment on drafts of papers and to write letters of recommendation on their behalf. What counts as sufficient time will vary from advisor to advisor, since each of the professors has different time constraints in a given quarter.
• Students should also consult their advisors when they are contemplating such steps as adding or dropping classes, applying for fellowships, going on study abroad programs, taking leaves of absence, etc.
• Students should keep their advisors informed of their whereabouts during the summer, when studying abroad, or in other prolonged absences from the university.

Advising during the absence of the official advisor

If a student's advisor is absent for a prolonged period, it is the responsibility of the Graduate Studies Committee to ensure that the student receives necessary advising. The student may request to be assigned to some particular faculty member on a temporary basis. If the student does not have a particular preference, the Graduate Studies Chair may ask a faculty member to assume advising responsibilities.

Change of advisor

Graduate students may apply to change advisors at any time. As the advisor-student relationship is crucial in graduate study, this is a decision that should only be made after careful consideration. There can be various situations in which such a change is appropriate, including change of disciplinary orientation, pursuing a specific research interest, prolonged absence of an advisor, difficulties in communication, etc. Whatever the reason for changing advisors, it is essential that the situation be discussed and the change arranged through the Graduate Studies Committee Chair, whose responsibility it is to oversee the advising of all graduate students in the Department. The Change of Advisor form requires the signatures of both the intended new advisor and the Graduate Studies Chair. Please note that it is common courtesy to inform the previous advisor of the intended change.

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