Peer Mentoring in Music

News & Upcoming Events

  • Third round of Peer Mentoring in Music program is starting for the academic year of 2021-2022. The program will run from October 2022 to June 2023. Signups for mentoring matches are open through October 10, 2022.

    Sign up to be a mentee (1st and 2nd year graduate students) here: Mentee signup form
    Sign up to be a mentor (2nd year and higher graduate students) here: Mentor signup form

Summary

This is a voluntary peer-mentorship program for Stanford University Music Department graduate students.

Mentorship and social interactions among students are critical to a successful graduate-school experience. While Stanford has a variety of counseling and mentoring opportunities, the Music Department has no such program for our graduate students.

To meet this unmet need, we organize the Peer Mentoring in Music program, an online initiative for masters and early-stage Ph.D. students, with particular outreach to students from underrepresented groups. Each mentee will be paired with a more senior graduate student in the department, who will serve as their peer mentor. Emphasizing inclusivity and nonjudgmental support in teaching practices, this peer network will share effective pedagogical strategies, provide professional development support, and foster role models for future educators.

In its initial offering, the Peer Mentoring in Music program spaned the four quarters of the 2020-2021 academic year. In 2021-2022 academic year, the program is going back to the three-quarter format. We envision three types of monthly activities for participants.

  • Mentees will meet one-on-one with their mentors to discuss topics of their choosing;
  • Academic-themed programming in group seminar or panel settings, covering such topics as teaching, research, scholarship, and future career paths in academia, industry, and the arts;
  • Through monthly meetings and panels with alumni from underrepresented groups, we will discuss career development, challenges, and coping mechanisms;
  • Unstructured time for the mentees and interested mentors to socialize and discuss mentorship topics in a less formal environment

For Mentees:

  • Mentees are expected to commit the one one-hour monthly meeting with other PMM participants and three one-to-one monthly meetings with their mentors.
  • Mentees are responsible scheduling one-to-one meetings with their mentors.
  • Mentee participation is open to all Masters and early stage Ph.D. students in all track of the Music Department programs.
  • Mentees will be asked to provide preferences on the topics they want to prioritize in their mentor-mentee meetings for a more suitable pairing.

For Mentors:

  • Mentors are expected to commit the one one-hour monthly meeting with other PMM participants and three one-to-one monthly meetings with their mentees.
  • All 3+ year doctoral students are invited to be a mentor.
  • Mentor participation is also open to senior Master students based on the needs of mentees.

Amidst continued COVID social distancing, this program will offer an acclimation opportunity to incoming students in the absence of a physical classroom and lab experience. Future iterations of the project will extend to alumni who can serve as volunteer mentors and could potentially also serve undergraduate mentees. This year, program organization will be headed by Doga Cavdir (PhD Candidate, CCRMA) and Sean O’Dalaigh (DMA student, CCRMA & Music Department) with advisory support from Blair Kaneshiro (Adjunct Professor, CCRMA).

Please reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or comments you might have. For more details, please refer to About Page