Skip to main content

Ohio State Mentoring Initiative

Professor and students talking around drone

About the Ohio State Mentoring Initiative

Housed in the Graduate School at The Ohio State University, the Ohio State Mentoring Initiative (OSMI) aims to centralize professional development, programming and resources to enhance mentoring relationships and support academic and career success of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars across the university. 

We define mentoring as a “a professional, working alliance in which individuals work together over time to support the personal and professional growth, development, and success of the relational partners through the provision of career and psychosocial support” (Byars-Winston, A. & Dahlberg, M.L., 2019). 

OSMI has compiled key resources for mentors and mentees toward the goal of mentors providing strong, consistent and effective mentoring and mentees knowing how to show up as thoughtful mentees and understanding what to expect from their mentors. OSMI has tools, workshops and other resources to support faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and staff in building effective mentoring relationships.

Doctor speaking with students and pointing to images on computer screen

For Mentors

Strengthen your mentoring skills through workshops and resources. 

Researcher and student working in science lab

For Mentees

Learn more about effective mentoring and your role as a mentee through workshops and resources. 

Mentor meets with students around table

For DGSs and Program Leaders

Access resources to help strengthen the mentoring culture in your department or program. 

Facilitators presenting at workshop with faculty

Mentoring Workshops

Check out the workshop schedule, register for an upcoming event, and request a workshop for your unit or group. 

Featured Events

Templates and Tools

Ohio State Resources

Mentoring Essentials

Mentoring is a foundational component of the academic and professional development experiences of graduate students, professional students and postdoctoral scholars who come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines and have different needs and experiences. Effective mentorship is essential for their success. 

Researchers have documented how mentoring relationships are linked to enhanced research identity, sense of belonging and self-efficacy (e.g., Byars-Winston et al., 2015), persistence (e.g., William et al., 2015), research productivity (Wingard et al., 2004) and high career satisfaction (e.g., Beech et al., 2013). In essence, better mentoring leads to better research.

Effective mentoring is a cooperative relationship requiring active engagement from both mentor and mentee.

Mentor Responsibilities 
  • Develop a Mentoring Plan to provide structure for your mentee during their training
  • Onboarding, planning, and training
  • Practice open and clear communication
  • Review your mentee’s goals and provide feedback
  • Assign realistic deadlines for projects
  • Meet regularly with your mentee to review their progress towards milestones and goals, offer feedback and discuss their career development
  • Provide mentees dedicated time to explore new opportunities, methods and intersectional research areas
  • Advocate for your mentee’s career and provide networking and experiential learning opportunities (e.g., introduce them to your professional network; let them help recruit and train new group members; allow them time to apply for small grants, develop a symposium series or guest lecture, or lead a course)
Mentee Responsibilities
  • Develop an Individual Development Plan to provide structure for your training
  • Practice open and clear communication
  • Seek regular feedback on your performance
    • Meet regularly with your mentor and use your Individual Development Plan – alongside their Mentoring Plan – to structure performance discussions and revise plans
  • Work toward progressively more responsibility and management of your research project as it matures
  • Take charge of your own professional development
    • Actively seek opportunities outside your research group and department (e.g., professional development seminars and workshops in oral communication, writing and teaching)

Mentorship Awards

Mentorship is supported through recognizing achievements by the Graduate School and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. Read more about the various awards and support given to those at Ohio State that exemplify quality  mentorship.

Graduate School Awards

Graduate Faculty Mentorship Award

Postdoctoral Affairs Awards

Postdoc Faculty Mentor of the Year

Postdoc Scholar Mentor of the Year

Other Mentorship Awards

Faculty-to-Faculty Mentorship Award in the Office of Academic Affairs

Still Have Questions?

Contact the Mentoring and Strategic Initiatives Team

mentoring@osu.edu