Faculty & Staff

Departmental Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring 2006-07

In 2006, three outstanding UCSB departments were chosen for their innovative, thoughtful, and successful work with their graduate students. Last year’s recipients of the Departmental Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring were the Departments of Computer Science, Linguistics, and Mathematics. Each department was awarded a one-year DAEGM fellowship to use either for recruitment or to support a continuing graduate student. The selection committee was comprised of past DAEGM award winners. (DAEGM was formerly known as the Department Graduate Mentorship Award.)

The committee’s decision was based on data provided by the department, results from the Doctoral Exit Survey, and statistics from the Office of Budget and Planning that showed admission, median time-to-degree, and number of degrees conferred.

The 2006-07 DEGMA award recipients recognized for their mentoring accomplishments:

Computer Science:  The committee cited Computer Science for its exemplary efforts to recruit and to retain top candidates, distribute funding resources effectively, and create an environment conducive to student success. Particularly noted were the department’s efforts to increase diversity, placing greater emphasis on attracting women to the discipline. The department fosters an open and collegial community by its accessibility and interaction with faculty, its close advising and monitoring of student progress, and in its hosting of regular research presentations and social activities. Last fall, their graduate students organized the First Annual Graduate Student Research Conference which was a huge success. 

The department developed initiatives to support graduate students in the area of career development, such as summer internships in industries, seminars focusing on presentation and writing skills, providing a quarter-long career development workshop, and faculty coffee hours to provide advice to students applying to academic positions.

Linguistics: The department submitted a solid and comprehensive nomination packet that clearly defined their philosophy on graduate student mentoring. Although a small department, it has been able to recruit top students by actively contacting prospective students throughout the academic year. In 2005, all of their nominees for central fellowships were awarded them by the Graduate Division. The department’s commitment to mentoring begins as soon as the student is accepted into their program and continues throughout every phase of their graduate career. Students noted that the individual attention provided by faculty mentors was a key reason for attending UCSB. The department provides advisory committees at every stage to ensure that students are well supervised and informed. In addition to their annual evaluations, instructors also provide detailed evaluations of the student’s coursework and specific program requirements.

The committee cited the department’s commitment to their students’ professional training and development. Linguistics offers an in-depth professionalism course, required weekly linguistics colloquium series, and a weekly required research orientation course to introduce new students to individual faculty research programs.

Mathematics:  Of all the nominations, Mathematics scored the highest in student satisfaction of overall program, faculty advising, and department climate. The department has been successful in recruiting high quality students and in providing full financial support for up to five years. The Hypatian seminar, offered as a recruitment incentive to incoming students, was seen as a commitment to diversity, specifically to women. The department seminar and colloquium series, and the daily teas that were attended by faculty and students, provides an open climate for discussion on all kinds of professional issues. The “open door” policy fosters a collegial atmosphere between faculty, staff, and students.   

The department was cited for its dedication to students’ professional development and job placement. Professional mentoring is evident in their effective training of students in teaching, research, and presenting research in their newly established “Graduate Student Colloquium.”  Their students’ professional preparedness was evidenced by the high number of graduates receiving post-doctoral appointments in top programs.  

Past Winners