Become a mentor

There are two opportunities for you to get involved with mentoring.

  • ARMS Mentoring: Mentor a late-stage undergraduate or taught postgraduate student who is interested in continuing on to a research degree.
  • Transition to Research Mentoring: This programme will pair you with a PhD student who is about to arrive at the University of Surrey.

How to get involved

You can be involved in one or both of these opportunities – your level of commitment is entirely up to you, the mentoring should take about an hour a month. To express an interest in being a mentor:

You will be asked in the form to specify which scheme(s) you are interested in.

NB: It is preferable that at the time of signing up you have at least six months remaining on your doctoral studies

What is a mentor?

Mentors act as a source of information, provide coaching in specific skills, give feedback, coach activities that add to experience and serve as a confidant in times of crisis and problems.

How does it work?

The researcher development programme will offer training and support to get you going as a mentor. We will pair you with a member of the ARMS programme or a new PGR and will be there for you along the way. We will give you the skills you need through a short training sessions and then let you take it from there. Once you are paired with your mentee you should expect to volunteer about an hour a month to sit and chat with them.

ARMS Mentoring

We are working together with the Academic Skills and Development team to pair together postgraduate researchers and undergraduate / PGT students interested in continuing on to a research degree. You’ll be invited to share your experience in applying for and beginning a doctorate, as well as act as a mentor to help them navigate the challenges of completing their undergraduate or masters study – such as managing stress and planning for the future.

Mentees can apply through our ‘Aspiring Researchers’ programme, including workshops for anyone wanting to know more about doing a doctorate. The programme is open to all disciplines and students from all backgrounds; we positively encourage international students and students from under-represented backgrounds to take part.

Mentees report that having a mentor builds their confidence, helps them to plan for their future, and makes it more likely that they will apply to do a PhD; the programme is therefore an important contribution to our diverse and collaborative research community. Mentors report that they also feel more confident because of the programme, as they communicate their expertise and reflect on the value of their own experience. Being a mentor develops important skills and can be enormously satisfying.

You can apply to be an ARMS mentor at any time. We usually pair together mentors and mentees in January, with the mentoring relationship continuing for around six months, depending on the needs of the individual mentee.

Transition to Research Mentoring

You may start mentoring over email before the new PGR arrives at Surrey and then you will get the chance to meet when they arrive. We will give you the skills and information you need and then let you take it from there. We hope that you find this a rewarding process.

How much time will it take?

  • The programme runs all year
  • Training will take three hours
  • You may be in email contact with your mentee before they arrive
  • You will meet your mentee when they arrive in Surrey
  • The time you spend with your mentee after they arrive is up to you but we would suggest meeting once a month
  • We would suggest that the relationship should last between three and six months