A mentor is more than an adviser. A mentor provides you with wisdom, technical knowledge, assistance, support, empathy and respect throughout, and often beyond, your graduate career. Mentoring helps students understand how their ambitions fit into graduate education, department life and career choices. An effective mentoring relationship develops over time. The student benefits from the mentor’s support, skills, wisdom and coaching. Later, both people deepen their working relationship, perhaps collaborating on projects in which the student develops into a junior…
Throughout your training, but especially in the postdoc experience, your faculty supervisor plays a significant role with you and your future. We know there is a full spectrum of what faculty have to offer and how this matches with what you need. From what we have learned, it can take “managing up” and being proactive in your relationship with your faculty advisor to make it work for you. The National Postdoc Association recently posted a blog with exceptional tips for…
Each year, thousands of PhD students across the University of Washington push the boundaries of knowledge and innovation. Their research shapes our communities, advances public good and prepares the next generation of leaders to tackle the challenges ahead. Now, a new university-wide initiative is setting out to ensure that the UW’s PhD programs continue to thrive in a rapidly changing world. The Ph.D. Task Force, a joint initiative of the Provost’s Office and the Graduate School, has officially launched. Its…
University of Washington Professor Hannah C. Wiley, a longtime faculty member in the Department of Dance within the College of Arts & Sciences, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award. Professor Wiley has been a cornerstone of the UW dance community since joining the faculty in 1987. In 1991, she founded the Chamber Dance Company, a vital initiative dedicated to producing, preserving, and sharing modern and contemporary dance repertoire with audiences across the region. The Landolt Award is one…
The GSEE Graduate Excellence Award (GEA) is a three-quarter merit-based research assistantship that will be awarded to individual departments based on departmental efforts around inclusion and belonging (see details below). This award aims to assist departments in recruiting, developing and supporting a unique community of graduate scholars across graduate programs at the University of Washington with emphasis on promoting rich, culturally responsive educational opportunities. This award is not open for student applications. If you are a student and have questions about this award,…
The DoD, through the Office of the Under Secretary for Research and Engineering and the military services, promotes education in science and engineering disciplines relevant to the Defense mission. One means of promoting science and engineering education is through awarding fellowships to encourage promising U.S. scientists to pursue doctoral degrees in designated research disciplines. The DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship Program is a competitive fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and U.S. dual…
The Hertz Fellowship provides financial and lifelong professional support for the nation’s most promising graduate students in science and technology. The fellowship includes up to five years of funding, valued at up to $250,000, and the freedom to pursue innovative projects wherever they may lead. In addition, fellows take part in ongoing mentoring, symposia, and workshops with our vibrant community of more than 1200 fellows, a set of peers who span disciplines, generations, and geography. Before applying, we encourage you…
We understand postdoctoral fellows have needs that are different from graduate students. To help serve UW-affiliated post-docs, we’ve created an Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA) to help navigate challenges, provide opportunities, and offer mentoring. Advice Knowledge Base Over the years, the Graduate School has created hundreds of articles aimed at helping students and post-docs get the most our of their experience at the UW. For the first time, we’ve collected all of these articles in one searchable database, from stories…