The success of every graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences depends in part upon the role of the student’s advisor. Whether they work together in a lab or a research team, meet in a seminar, or consult periodically in office hours or online, the advisor and the student together establish a plan for the graduate student’s research, work to identify and remove obstacles to success, and ensure that the student has opportunities to develop professional experience. Most of these interactions take place outside the classroom, often in informal interactions. To ensure that these interactions are as productive as possible, the College offers these guidelines.
These guidelines embody many of the best practices used by other institutions and professional societies. They are intended to provide principles for establishing an effective and productive advisor-student relationship that relies on trust, courtesy, clear communications, and shared expectations. These College guidelines provide a general framework for interactions; departments and programs are expected to establish and document more detailed implementation in departmental handbooks and procedures. These guidelines supplement the IU Student Code, which addresses primarily formal academic matters, by attending to the faculty’s role in the student’s research process.