A faculty mentor is a project advisor. He or she will contribute
varying degrees of guidance to the project that a student presents.
When establishing this relationship it is important to
remember:
- A faculty mentor or a project advisor can be a professor or an
administrator at St. John’s University.
- The student should approach a professor about being their
faculty mentor, either in person, in a phone conversation or in a
formally worded email. This should be followed up with an office
visit. The student should state as specifically as possible, how
they would like help with their research, and what their topic is
about. Oral explanations should be followed with an email listing
the information in writing.
- A faculty mentor does not need to be an instructor of one of
the student’s current courses.
- The faculty mentor does not need to be in the same department
as the student’s major.
- The student’s research topic does not need to fall into the
category of their major.
- The student and professor decide how much communication the
mentor and student will have in the process of gathering research,
finishing a project or developing the actual presentation.
- The frequency of communication will vary by the research
program. Some science research projects require faculty supervision
in a lab, while others do not require such controlled settings to
obtain direction or feedback.
- When registering for an event, along with the information for
the student, the student will also input information for the
advisor in the “Online Registration Form.”