Carve out your path for success with help from a mentor.
As a member of the Professional Development Institute, you'll receive one-on-one mentoring and a tailored plan to advance your career. Apply to be matched with a mentor now.
Program Requirements
Your certificate is made up of three components that you'll complete in consultation with your mentor.
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Essentials
You'll attend our kickoff; meet your mentor; explore career planning tools; update your resume, portfolio and/or LinkedIn profiles; and more.
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FundamentalsYou'll address these four areas of focus through workshops, activities or experiences:
- Global Awareness
Learning Goal: Connect knowledge with choices and actions that engage others in diverse local and global communities. - Communication
Learning Goal: Communicate effectively in various media. - Ethics and Leadership
Learning Goal: Acquire knowledge about models of ethical behavior and understand its implications in the development of personal and professional relationships. - Personal and Professional Competence
Learning Goal: Apply strategies that enhance professional and personal competence.
For examples of ways to complete these requirements, you can review our suggested workshops, activities and experiences by focus area.
- Global Awareness
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Practical Experience
You'll complete one or more experiences that are connected to your career goals, such as:
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- academic or professional research
- internship/cooperative education
- officer role in a student organization, student government or sport club
- becoming a peer network adviser or Achievement and Learning Center tutor
- presenting at a conference or workshop
- substantial volunteer or service experience
- studying abroad
- work experience related to your career goals
- other (with mentor's approval).
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Frequently Asked Questions
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What does one-on-one mentoring mean?
A mentor is a more experienced person who has volunteered to build a trusting relationship with a less experienced person for the purpose of providing guidance and support toward collaboratively established goals.
Through the Professional Development Institute, mentoring is an interactive process between a mentor and a student that is centrally focused on the career and professional development of the student. Through discovery and strategic action, effective one-on-one mentoring provides both the student and the mentor with overall personal growth and opportunities for career and professional development. -
Who can request a mentor?Any actively enrolled UB student may request a mentor.
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Why should I request a mentor?
Students should request a mentor to discover ways to:
- interact with an objective source of encouragement, support and challenge
- boost your self-confidence and self-awareness
- identify meaningful, achievable goals
- develop a plan to achieve your academic and career development goals
- balance work, school and life
- think from a different perspective
- build a social and career network.
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When can I request a mentor?
We have open application periods at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.
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How are mentors assigned to students?
The match will be based on the best fit between:
- the student's personal development
- the mentor’s educational background and professional expertise
- personality strengths
- time availability (schedules).
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What's the time commitment?
A minimum of one hour of contact time per month during the semester is required for fostering a successful, productive partnership. More time may be necessary depending on your particular goals. Mentoring relationships are generally expected to last at least six months or until graduation.
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How do mentors and students communicate?
Mentors and students may vary communication modes for mentoring sessions. A combination of face-to-face, phone and email communication can produce meaningful results.
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How do I apply?If you are interested in applying, please complete the application form.
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