Mentors

Your mentor provides support through all stages of the thesis project, from drafting the proposal to evaluating the final product.

The mentor has three primary roles:

• as an experienced advisor during the early stages of defining and structuring a thesis topic;
• as a scholarly guide to the main literature on the thesis topic and to appropriate resources; and
• as an intellectual partner and constructive critic during the research and writing phases of the project.

Mentoring a thesis demands serious commitment from faculty members. Accordingly, you should choose your mentor carefully and with confidence that he or she has the time and inclination to serve. You will need to meet with your mentor regularly throughout the year, especially during the spring semester, as you prepare drafts of the thesis. Be candid about your needs when you approach a mentor ? make sure that both of you have similar ideas about how often to meet, how to structure your work, and when various stages of the thesis will be completed. At the same time, remember that it is YOUR responsibility, not the mentor's, to make sure that work on your thesis progresses in a timely manner.

Remember also that faculty members are not obligated to supervise theses. Their teaching, research, and other responsibilities may prevent their serving as a mentor. For this reason, you should initiate contact with a potential mentor early in the application process, and discuss ideas for research well in advance of the deadline. You should also make sure that your mentor will be on campus for your entire senior year; it is not possible for a professor to mentor a thesis while on leave.

To find an appropriate mentor for your project,

• Talk to professors you know who work in the field and ask for their recommendations;
• During your preliminary research for your proposal, check bibliographies for articles or books written by GU professors;
• Utilize the Faculty Research directory to find professors' research interests.
• Ask the chair of the RCST field committee or the curricular dean for suggestions;

Although your mentor does not have to be an expert, be sure that he or she is familiar with the field your thesis will address. If the professor you want says he or she does not feel confident advising your thesis, be prepared to modify your approach or your question to take advantage of the expertise he or she can offer. You would hate to get halfway through your thesis and find a book that covers your question in more depth than you ever could ? and clearly is known to every scholar in the field.