Responsibilities of the Assistant Director of Graduate Studies (ADGS)

  1. Ensure that students know how to access policies and procedures and are informed of any updates. Distribute information to individual student cohorts regarding relevant milestones and opportunities. Ensure student cohorts and their advisers understand expectations and process for completing these milestones.
     
  2. Schedule appointments with first- and second-year students for the beginning of the semester and include at least one other faculty member in these meetings. Meet with students in the higher years in regular intervals (at least once per year, with the possibility of greater frequency as needed and desired).
     
  3. Schedule a group meeting for graduate students in your field of study once or twice a year. This can be an informal meeting at the beginning of the academic year, for instance.
     
  4. In collaboration with other relevant faculty and the adviser, advise on the job market and career paths, including participation in conferences and professional meetings.
     
  5. Offer guidance to students about the process of identifying a new adviser if the adviser and the student have irreconcilable differences, the student’s focus has changed, the adviser leaves Yale, etc.
     
  6. Provide formal or informal exit interviews with graduating students for feedback on department guidelines/practices. For example, were the responsibilities of student, adviser, DGS, and thesis committee met? Were timelines reasonable? How could the program improve the advising/mentoring experience?