Mentored Research Residency

Requirement:  Each student will engage in a 120-hour mentored research residency under the supervision of one or more faculty members who are PhD-advising eligible within the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing. A supervised residency under the supervision of a postdoctoral fellow or faculty member with an appropriate terminal degree and scholarly preparation outside of the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing may be acceptable, but this must be approved by both the student’s advisor and PhD Program Director in advance.

Timing: These residencies are typically undertaken after completion of the written comprehensive exam, and prior to submission of the dissertation prospectus. The 120 hours can be done during intersessions (winter or summer) and/or spread out across multiple semester if necessary and conducive to a good learning experience.

Contract: The student will contract with one or more approved supervisors, such as their advisor(s), to participate in a mentored research residency. This experience could involve working as a paid graduate research assistant on a faculty member’s research team or conducting pre-prospectus work for the student’s own research. It is expected that this experience will lead to scholarly products and dissemination activities such as peer-reviewed publications and presentations. A timeline for the residency with measurable goals and deliverables (such as submission of an original manuscript or approval of an IRB protocol) should be clearly outlined in the contract.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The research residency should involve application through activities such as grant- and/or study protocol writing, IRB submission, data generation and cleaning, data analysis and interpretation, dissemination and/or community-engaged research collaboration, AND must consist of more than a literature review and/or synthesis of existing knowledge from peer-reviewed

A copy of the Mentored Research Residency contract template is included in the Appendix.

Synchronous Distance Education: A blend of in-class and distance technologies are typically used in the PhD program. Most courses will involve a combination of live, synchronous learning during scheduled class hours and lecture materials/experiences that can be accessed asynchronously via Canvas, Blackboard, or other online platforms. We’ve endeavored to develop a course schedule and set of supports that will meet the needs of students across diverse contexts to the best of our ability, including students navigating on-going challenges related to the global pandemic.

If you anticipate any challenges connecting to course platforms or required materials due to a lack of adequate equipment or internet issues, we encourage you to contact the PhD Program Director (r [dot] walker [at] umass [dot] edu (r[dot]walker[at]umass[dot]edu)) and/or our IT support team (itservicedesk [at] umass [dot] edu) to arrange for assistance.

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