Research Mentorship

Coming soon! VIRS is developing additional resources and programs to support faculty members who are engaged in mentoring graduate student and postdoc researchers.

Postdoctoral Mentoring Plans

Thoughtful postdoctoral mentorship is critical to ensuring the success of Villanova’s postdoctoral scholars. Villanova faculty are expected to collaborate with their postdoctoral scholars to prepare a detailed mentoring plan. 

Faculty supervisors are asked to formalize their plans by submitting them to VIRS for inclusion in our cross-college repository of postdoc mentoring plans.

Faculty are encouraged to consult the VIRS director with questions or concerns as they develop their plans.

Individual Development Plans

Individual Development Plans (IDPs) are a communication tool that help mentees and mentors identify a mentees career objectives and professional development needs. They can help mentees think through their short- and long-term career plans and create a path to achieve them with their mentor's support. 

Mentors can use IDPs to have conversations about future directions for a mentee's research and career, identify short-term performance improvement needs, and structure timelines and and plans.

An IDP should be considered a dynamic document that is updated and reviewed periodically throughout an individual's training.