Advising Graduate Students

Graduate Faculty Roles

Specific requirements must be met for faculty to serve on graduate committees and advise graduate students. The Department of Psychology's Graduate Faculty Policy documents qualifications and procedures for graduate faculty membership, categories of membership, requirements for continued membership, and exception procedures.

Advising Statements

The Graduate School encourages all UMN faculty who advise graduate students to have a formal advising statement to share with advisees. Sample statements:

• Department of Psychology sample advising statements
• U-wide list of sample advising statements

Advisor Training

New Faculty: Complete steps to become a primary advisor as part of onboarding.

Training and Support Resources: Available to all faculty mentoring graduate students

• Art of Advising video series, UMN Graduate School.
• Mentor training from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Psychology faculty are encouraged to complete the following asynchronous online sessions:
  • Optimizing the Practice of Mentoring 101: For Research Mentors of Graduate Students, Fellows, and Early-Career Faculty
  • Enhancing Motivation Using the CARES Mentoring Model
• Mental Health Training for faculty and staff provided by Boynton Health Services.
• Guide to Advising and Mentoring International Graduate Students.
• Graduate Student Advising Guide and other resources from the Dignity Project, Student Counseling Services (SCS).
• Best and Worst Practices in Graduate Advising, SCS Dignity Project.

Graduate Education Policies

Many UMN policies govern graduate education, the most relevant of which are incorporated into the Department of Psychology's Graduate Student Handbook, which is the primary guide on the Psychology PhD program for both faculty and students. For assistance interpreting policy or identifying the policies to a specific scenario, contact the ADGS.

• Individual Development Plan - encourage doctoral students to set and pursue short and long-term goals.
• Transferrable Skills Checklist - helps doctoral students assess current skills and identify areas for development.
• CLA Graduate Career Services - refer doctoral students for career exploration and job search support.
• Documentation Options for Graduate Students: Explains how students can obtain documentation of enrollment, degree progress, and degree completion, and the office they will work with for each type of formal documentation.

Policies

Graduate students are expected to meet the following progress standards to maintain good standing in their program. Faculty concerned about a student’s progress are encouraged to consult with the Area Director, DGS, and/or ADGS, as appropriate to the situation, to identify appropriate next steps. 

• The Department's Good Standing Policy is provided in the Graduate Student Handbook
• Doctoral: Performance Standards and Academic Progress: Policy and FAQ
• Master’s: Performance Standards and Academic Progress: Policy and FAQ

Progress Standards and Good Academic Standing for Psychology Graduate Students

The Graduate Student Handbook (used in combination with the area's handbook) is the official source of progress evaluation standards and related policies and procedures. It overviews the timing and scope of progress reviews; assessment outcomes; follow-up procedures; and warning, probation, dismissal, and appeals policies.

Annual Progress Report (APR)

The Graduate School requires all doctoral students to receive a formal annual review of their academic progress and standing in the program. This is accomplished with the annual progress report (APR), for which the Department of Psychology uses an online platform. The process for reviews in Spring 2026 was announced by email on April 6, 2026; access the full announcement.  

Consult with the DGS and ADGS if you have questions or concerns about a student's progress and how it should be documented on the APR. Please especially note the following:

• Written comments and feedback should be robust and thorough, summarizing what was discussed when you met with your advisee. Your comments become part of the official record of the student's progress and are consulted by the Grad Studies Office and CLA as needed to address progress concerns and appeals. Incomplete documentation can be grounds for a grievance or appeal by a student in cases of disciplinary action (e.g., DGS warning, probation, dismissal).
  • Focus on actionable feedback that supports students' continued development.  
  • Address any delays to area/department degree progression steps as well as noting which requirements have been successfully completed.
  • List any action steps for addressing performance concerns or areas for improvement and how these are progressing.
• APRs inform whether/how additional disciplinary steps should proceed. Consider the following when assessing whether to issue a satisfactory or unsatisfactory decision on the APR:
  • Students on probation should receive an unsatisfactory determination unless the APR is serving as supporting documentation for a return to good standing.
  • Adhere to program and area deadlines for milestones (e.g., first-year project, prelims, dissertation prospectus) when assessing progress. If delays reflect extenuating circumstances and you support adjusted timelines, addressing this in your comments ensures a focus on support for the student rather than disciplinary action.
  • If a student has received a satisfactory report despite significant concerns, appropriate disciplinary action may be delayed. 
• The DGS determines whether a department warning, performance plan, and/or probation are appropriate responses to unsatisfactory progress.
• Annual Progress Reports can be stressful for students, even when they are making excellent progress. Please watch for, and respond quickly to, red flags such as non-responsiveness and disengagement, which may signal student distress.
• Only students continuing in the program past June are required to submit a report for the departmental APR requirement. However, accredited areas may still require an area-level annual review for graduating students.

Addressing Progress Outside the APR

Assessment of students' progress is intended to be continual, and is not limited to the APR period. Faculty advisors are encouraged to address progress concerns with students as they arise, and to work with their area's director, the DGS, and ADGS to identify appropriate responses and sources of support as needed throughout the year. 

Access

Advisors access GPAS via two paths:

• MyU>Advisor Center (Key Links dropdown menu).
• MyU>My Advisees (left navigation bar).

Once you are in the system, to see the courses from enrollment being applied to degree requirements: 

1. Select the student's record from your advisee list.
2. Select "academic requirements" in the Other Academic Information dropdown menu on the left side of the Student Center tab.
3. Click "expand all" to see fulfilled requirements.

To see the courses from enrollment plus any future coursework the student has planned in GPAS: 

1. Click the GPAS link on the left side of the Student Center tab
2. Click "Plan by My Requirements."
3. Click "expand all" to see fulfilled requirements.

Exceptions

Exceptions are used to modify the requirements and/or the courses meeting specific requirements for an individual student. This creates flexibility within the articulated curriculum (PhD and MA). Detailed instructions for student steps and approval requirements are documented in the Graduate Student Handbook. Student requests and faculty approval steps are handled via email, only the ADGS has access to process exceptions in GPAS. 

Note: Certain courses are always manually applied to requirements. These will be processed by the ADGS without prior approval or notification to align with documented requirements. Example: Requirements to take specific topics in PSY 8960 must be manually processed. 

Planning & Monitoring Coursework Progress

GPAS tracks students’ progress toward coursework requirements but does not automatically support the planning of future courses. Students are expected to review their GPAS each semester to confirm they are on track for timely completion of coursework requirements as communicated by the area and established in consultation with their advisor(s).

We encourage advisors to support this process by reviewing their advisees’ GPAS and discussing plans for unfulfilled coursework requirements using these step-by-step GPAS review instructions.

GPAS Review

The primary advisor is responsible for reviewing and approving the student’s coursework in the Graduate Planning and Audit System (GPAS). This is typically done in the spring of a student’s third year in the program. 

• Step-by-step GPAS approval instructions for advisors in Psychology
• Zoom GPAS walkthroughs are also available upon request; email the ADGS to set up an appointment. 
   

Resources for Faculty

• The Red Folder: Identify and respond to signs of distress in your students.
• Missing or Unresponsive Student: Template language for outreach and guidance on procedures from the Office for Student Affairs.
• Student Affairs Mental Health Resources: Quick access to Boynton Mental Health, Student Counseling Services, and additional resources.
• Curated resources for Psychology PhD students: In the Mental Health section of the Student Support Resources page.
• Mental Health Training: available to faculty and staff, offered by Boynton Health.