Two years ago, I launched The Advising Project with the aim of improving the advising experience of GSAS students. Over the course of two years, the Project has evaluated what constitutes effective advising, developed best practices, and disseminated information about how students, faculty, and other partners can work together to enhance the advising experience. We’ve launched Advice on TAP, an e-newsletter for students, and audited faculty handbooks to determine where guidance on graduate student advising should be added. And we’ve developed and carried out workshops designed to help faculty with their advising skills and to guide students in “mentoring up” as they learn how to advocate for themselves with advisors and others.
Looking ahead, while continuing to over workshops for faculty and for students and building on the other efforts described above, the Project will also turn to what we are calling “embedded advising,” developing ways for effective advising to become a part of all aspects of the graduate student experience. This approach will highlight the work of offices in GSAS and from across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and in our interfaculty programs, contributing to the message that advising occurs at many stages and in many parts of the graduate student experience.
These offices form part of the Advising Village—multiple mentors who can support students as they work toward their academic and professional goals. As alumni, you, too, can participate in the Advising Village. You can serve as an alumni ambassador, engage in flash mentoring activities through the Firsthand Advisers platform, or share your advice with current GSAS students through the GSAS Virtual Coffee program. These and other opportunities can be found at gsas.harvard.edu/volunteer.
—Emma Dench, Dean of Harvard Griffin GSAS
