Graduate School

Mentoring and individual development plans

Faculty role in supporting your success

A critical part of the graduate student experience is the relationship you have with your major professor—your primary point of contact and supporter for your academic journey. Developing a mentoring plan and an individual development plan (IDP) with your faculty mentor will help foster an effective mentor-mentee relationship and will facilitate your academic progress and career preparation.

Mentoring Plan Individual Development Plan (IDP)

Building on best practices for graduate student mentoring

Considering the national trend in incorporating mentoring and individual development plans (IDP) in the experience of grant-funded assistantships (NSF and NIH), we believe that this is a best practice that all graduate students should benefit from. Regardless of your funding status, you are encouraged to work with your major professor to develop a mentoring plan and an IDP.

Developing a mentoring plan

A mentoring plan addresses how you and your faculty mentor work together. It is a framework for clarifying expectations of how your mentor will support you in your degree progress and professional growth, as well as what you will do to facilitate your own progress and success.

Benefits of a mentoring plan

  • Sets a foundation and serves as a guide for your relationship with your mentor
  • Clarifies roles and expectations of the mentor and mentee
  • Creates strong communication practices
  • Helps you and your mentor work through challenges

How to develop a plan and what to include;

Work with your faculty mentor to develop a mentoring plan together. Use the K-State Graduate School mentoring plan template as a guide for what to include. Modify and add elements to the template as needed to help you and your mentor develop a plan that aligns with the structure of your academic program and that you both understand and agree to.

Mentoring plan template (.docx)
Additional resources to guide the development of a mentoring plan

These postdoctoral mentoring plans can be adapted for graduate students.

Creating an individual development plan (IDP)

Earning a graduate degree is a step toward launching or advancing your professional career. Your major professor’s role is to both guide you through completion of degree requirements and to support your career-readiness. Your success also depends on the investment you make in developing goals, assessing your strengths, and pursuing opportunities for advancing your skillset.

An IDP will help you and your faculty mentor work together to:

  • Identify your strengths and areas for growth
  • Develop short and long-term goals for career preparedness
  • Create an action plan for working toward goals
  • Track your progress and accomplishments

How to create your IDP

Work with your faculty mentor to create your IDP using the K-State Graduate School IDP template. You may modify the template and add elements to the plan as needed to help you make a plan that best supports your goals and helps you make progress.

IDP template (.docx)

Additional resources for creating your IDP

Frequently asked questions

When to develop your mentoring plan and IDP

  • As early as possible at the beginning of your graduate career.
  • If you did not create a mentoring plan and IDP in your first semester, that is OK! Making these plans now is better than not having them at all.

When to revisit and revise your mentoring plan and IDP

  • Review your mentoring plan and IDP with your mentor at least once each semester.
  • Should your interests and career goals change, revise your IDP as needed.
  • If you learn about new opportunities that will support your development and progress toward your goals, discuss with your mentor and incorporate these opportunities into your IDP as they arise.
  • If you encounter challenges or if there are times when expectations are not clear, refer to your mentoring plan or IDP for guidance. If you do not find clarification in these plans, discuss with your mentor and work together to revise the plan.


Questions about the mentoring and IDP templates may be directed to Dr. Megan Miller, mmmiller@ksu.edu, Graduate School assistant director of student success.