Mentor-Student Guide

Introduction

The JDP is a very demanding, but equally rewarding, program for both students and mentors. Students enter the JDP to become scientist-clinicians and research training is a primary focus of the training. Therefore, each student’s research mentor plays a critical role in the student’s doctoral training. This document is intended to outline basic expectations of the JDP for mentors and their students in three main domains: (1) research training, (2) academic progress and professional development, and (3) funding and benefits.

Domain	Mentors	Students
Research Training	-Supervise research training provided in lab and program research requirements -Provide opportunities for research experience in their lab for 20 hours per week -Provide opportunities for students to link course assignments to mentor’s research (when applicable)	-Actively engage in research training with mentor -Spend 20 hours per week in lab activities -Complete course and program research requirements
Academic Progress and Professional Development	-Provide guidance on individual development plan to complete program requirements and support general professional development as Chair of student’s guidance committee -Complete annual evaluation of research competencies and academic progress	-Engage with research mentor and guidance committee on individual development plan -Provide annual overview of progress and plan for upcoming year
Funding and benefits	-Provide funding for five years per university policies of minimum funding packages (including support, tuition, fees, and health insurance) -Coordinate with program coordinators to ensure that student receives appropriate university appointment based on funding source -Communicate work expectations linked to funding and overlap with other research training activities	-Complete all onboarding requirements -Adhere to conditions of employment (when student is employed as a graduate student researcher or teaching assistant)

(1) Research Training

Regardless of the type of employment and funding, students are expected to actively engage in lab activities for training purposes for 20 hours per week during the 12-month training year. Students receive academic credit for this level of research involvement, independent of any funding considerations. Funding may also be tied to lab activities. As students advance in their research training and experience, it is expected that students will increase in the independence of their research competencies. Furthermore, it is expected that mentors and students have at least weekly contact. The following activities are typically included for research training purposes.

• One-on-one meetings. The purpose of these individual meetings is to review research progress and products and overall professional development.
• Research team meetings. Ideally, students will actively participate in research team meetings. This provides students with exposure to the current research being conducted in the lab.
• Involvement in research activities throughout the student’s JDP enrollment. The length of the doctoral program facilitates a student’s involvement through many phases of research including study development/grant applications, data collection, data analysis, and dissemination.In many cases, students have specific research duties tied to their employment. It is expected that students will increase in their independence and leadership in research activities as they progress through the program towards becoming independent researchers.
• Research products (e.g. publications, conference abstracts, grant applications). Mentors are encouraged to provide their student opportunities for authorship on publications from the lab as key products of research training. Mentors are also encouraged to support opportunities for students to present their work at appropriate professional meetings. Many students also write NIH or other fellowships linked to their mentor’s research.
• Second year project (program requirement). See Second Year Project page under Student Handbook.
• Dissertation (program requirement). See Dissertation page under Student Handbook.

As important as the lab experience is, the research training needs to be coordinated with other essential and demanding components of the JDP—especially, intensive coursework during the first two years and substantial clinical activities after the first year. To succeed in all training components of the JDP, students and mentors need to have close, ongoing communication as to schedules and requirements within and outside of the lab.

• Coursework. First- and second-year students are uniquely burdened by coursework. To facilitate blocks of time to engage in lab activities, most courses are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays. We encourage mentors to be as flexible as possible when scheduling lab activities that occur while classes are in session (mid-August to mid-December and end of January to mid-May), while ensuring that the overall average in lab activities is 20 hours per week. See Classes / Sample Curriculum page.
• Clinical Practicum. Starting on July 1 of the second year, students begin their clinical practica. They are required to engage in a practicum during years 2 through 4. Although not required, most students also complete a practicum during their 5^th year. The second-year initial practicum in the Psychology Clinic requires approximately 15 hours per week; advanced practica are approximately 10 hours per week. Often, the transition to clinical work in the second year takes more time than expected. We encourage mentors to provide guidance to their students on arranging their clinical and lab schedules to efficiently engage in these training activities simultaneously. Refer to Practicum Placements page.

(2) Academic Progress Progress and Professional Development

As Chair of the student’s guidance committee, the mentor works with the student to become familiar with the student’s academic goals and needs to help the student tailor their experiences accordingly. Additionally, the mentor monitors and facilitates the student’s progress through the program, including promptly identifying any areas of difficulty the student may be having, and helping the student design a remedy to address any problematic areas. The mentor submits an annual formal evaluation that is given to both the student and the program co-directors. Completion and submission of an evaluation form from every student’s Guidance Committee is required each year the student is in the program, excluding the year a student is on internship.

Students are responsible for forming their guidance committee. Students are responsible for providing an annual update on their progress with plans for following year for discussion and refinement during guidance committee meetings.

It is recommended that students develop an annual Individual Development Plan (IDP) if they have not already done so as part of an NIH training program. An example IDP is provided on the page linked above. Note that students who wish to engage in academic opportunities beyond the core JDP curriculum (e.g., completing emphases, obtaining a Master’s in Public Health, taking additional coursework) will need to carefully coordinate with their mentors, guidance committee, and the JDP program coordinators to ensure that required academic progress continues to occur on schedule and unforeseen additional costs are not borne by students or mentors.

(3) Funding and Benefits

As of Fall 2021, all students are guaranteed five years of funding covering tuition, fees, insurance, and a minimum compensation amount determined annually. The faculty mentor has primary responsibility for assuring that the student’s tuition and fees, annual compensation, and health insurance are covered each year.

Financial support and associated benefits for students typically come from their mentors’ research grants, with the students employed to perform lab duties required by the funded research project(s). Students may also be funded as trainees or fellows through institutional training grants or individual fellowships.

Mentors are responsible for providing funding for five years per university policies of minimum funding packages (including support, tuition, fees, and health insurance). Faculty should only try to solicit a student if they have a five-year funding plan and have at least three and preferably four to five years of support “in hand” for that student at the time the student matriculates. Faculty will be asked to provide this plan before an offer to a new student may be made, and faculty will be asked to update this funding information as a student progresses through the program. A faculty member should not ask to recruit a new student if they have been or are unable to support any current student.

Students and their mentors should discuss the type of funding each year as well as work expectations linked to the student’s funding and appointment. Mentors are expected to coordinate with program coordinators to ensure that the student receives an appropriate university appointment based on funding source.

• Incoming student funding. For incoming first-year students, the discussion about funding will be part of the admissions offer package, typically concluded by mid-April. Be aware that incoming students often erroneously expect that their support will start fairly soon after they get here (i.e. that they will receive their first check around September 1st after the August start of fall semester), and many may have planned their finances with that expectation. It is rare that new students will get their first check as early as September 1st, and it may be as late as October 1st. For each incoming student, the expected timeline for when their funding will start should be discussed before August 1st so that students can plan accordingly.
• Returning student funding. For those students already matriculated in the program, discussion of the following year’s funding should occur on or before the end of the spring semester, if possible. We are required to provide funding information to both graduate offices before the end of the SDSU academic year, and we need final dollar amounts to do that. Our expectation is that faculty will discuss the next academic year funding amount with each student before this information is given to the graduate and program coordinators.
• Funding concerns. The faculty mentor is responsible for making sure the student is funded. Should mentors begin to have funding problems, and should it begin to look as if the faculty member is going to have a problem supporting a student, the mentor should immediately notify the program co-directors to discuss options. The mentor should not require that the student find his/her own funding. Students may elect to apply for their own funding if they desire and if it is consistent with their career goals; however, students should not be “made” to apply for funding because a faculty mentor is running out of support and has told the student they must find their own funding. There are a few alternative funding options available on a limited basis, including teaching, that could be used to support students beyond the third year. Again, this would need to be discussed with the co-directors as early as possible to determine whether other options are available.
• Health insurance. All students must have health insurance during their residence in the program (health insurance is typically provided by the internship site during the internship year). Students are required to show proof of insurance each year. In general, mentors provide health insurance to students as part of their funding package. Health insurance options can be provided via employment/fellowship support through SDSU, UC San Diego, SDSU Research Foundation, VA, VMRF, or another well-established mechanism. Insurance may be automatically provided as part of a package of funding, or funds may be provided to cover the cost of purchasing such insurance. Students may be covered by GSHIP (SDSU), UC SHIP (UC San Diego), insurance offered through their place of employment, or insurance purchased via Covered California. Students who have major medical coverage elsewhere (e.g., through a parent, spouse, or partner) can elect to decline health insurance options offered through the program. The subgroup of students each year whose primary funding is at UC San Diego, will automatically receive UC SHIP for their health insurance. The subgroup of students each year whose primary funding is at SDSU or VMRF, will be provided with additional funding that they can use to purchase insurance. The funding will be at least sufficient to purchase SDSU GSHIP. Students also have the option to use these funds for other insurance plans (e.g., UC SHIP, Covered California). Although we understand the importance of consistency of source of health insurance, it is not possible to guarantee that students will have the same health insurance plan each year, because health insurance options depend on funding source. Our goal as a program is that students will have continuous, comprehensive, health insurance throughout their residence in the program
• Student Health Services. All JDP students are eligible for health services at SDSU with a valid student ID card. Student Health Services on the SDSU campus provides medical services for any health problems listed on their website. When presenting a student ID card at SDSU Health Services, if Health Services staff raise a question about whether one is indeed a student, please ask the staff person to contact the SDSU program coordinator for verification of student status. JDP students whose tuition and fees are paid at UC San Diego are eligible for health services at UC San Diego with a valid student ID card. We anticipate that students may experience academic or personal challenges during their time in the program. In addition to the student’s mentor, there are many resources available to students listed on the program website. For a full list of resources available to JDP students, please visit our Student Health and Well-Being page.
• Vacation and Sick Leave. Part-time employee benefits (including vacation and sick leave) are governed by the agency that serves as the employer (e.g., SDSU Research Foundation, UC San Diego, VMRF). These issues should be discussed in advance so both the student and the mentor are aware and understand how much time is allowed and what restrictions and authorizations there may be on the use of benefits. Please contact Human Resources or refer to employment appointment letters for details on these and any other benefits.

Where Do You Go When You Have a Problem, Question, Concern, or Complaint?

Please reference the Where Do You Go When You Have a Problem, Question, Concern, or Complaint? page for specific contact information regarding concerns, questions, or complaints.

Updated 8/22/2024