PhD Mentored Experiences
Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)
As part of the university-wide degree requirements, PhD students and students in certain master’s programs (i.e., MFA in Writing and MFA in Dance) at Washington University in St. Louis must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER). The MER is an accomplishment that is noted on the student's academic record when complete. Each program established a Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) in which required MER units and pathways for completion are defined and specified. The MEIP typically consists of Mentored Teaching Experiences (mentored activities designed to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels) and/or Mentored Professional Experiences (mentored activities focused on the development of skills relevant to individual, intended career, and professional outcomes). Students enroll in Mentored Teaching Experience (MTE) courses and/or Mentored Professional Experience (MPE) courses to signify progression toward completing their MERs.
Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP)
An MEIP is a program-defined plan for students to complete their MERs and engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities. MEIPs include the philosophy related to the role of teaching or professional experiences within the discipline, the program's plan for preparatory engagement, the normal sequence of opportunities for a student, and the number of MER units required. Each of these terms are defined within this section.
MEIPs were updated by programs during the 2024-25 academic year, and new plans are available under each program’s "Mentored Experience Implementation Plan" tab in the Bulletin. New plans are effective as of Fall 2025 and apply to all students who have yet to complete their MERs.
Preparatory Engagement
Preparatory Engagement activities represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Preparatory Engagement represents an important foundational component to training in pedagogy. As such, all MEIPs contain required pedagogical preparation before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.
Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)
An MTE represents a collaborative engagement between a student and a faculty mentor wherein the student reflects on and interprets disciplinary knowledge; identifies multiple ways to represent disciplinary content; adapts content to students' abilities and prior knowledge; and develops methods to assess and improve the teaching and learning process in a discipline. A student engaged in an MTE will have an assigned faculty mentor supporting the student's development into an educator able to communicate and/or evaluate disciplinary knowledge.
Two categories of MTE exist at Washington University: Assistantships in Instruction and Mentored Independent Teaching. Each MTE engagement is weighted by MER units to recognize the different levels of effort involved.
Assistant in Instruction (AI)
An AI experience is one in which the student is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. During the AI, the student receives mentorship from the faculty member in best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students receive regular informal feedback or evaluation from the mentor throughout the semester, as well as a final evaluation from the mentor and course evaluations from students enrolled in the course as part of the normal course evaluation process.
The student is formally listed as instructional support via Workday in the course listings. In general, AI assignments connect to undergraduate courses or to lower-level graduate courses that the student has taken previously.
MER units for AI experiences are determined by the program based on the level of activity needed for each assignment:
- 5 MER units are equivalent to an average of 5 hours per week of engagement; students enroll in their program’s course 8005 during the semester of engagement.
- 10 MER units are equivalent to an average of 10 hours per week of engagement; students enroll in their program’s course 8010 during the semester of engagement.
- 15 MER units are equivalent to an average of 15 hours per week of engagement; students enroll in their program’s course 8015 during the semester of engagement.
Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT)
An MIT is a semester-long experience for students who engage as the primary instructor or co-instructor of a course under the mentorship of a faculty member as part of their MER. Throughout the semester, students receive regular feedback from a faculty mentor based on classroom observation conducted a few times per semester or other acceptable review mechanisms. The student should ask for guidance and support from the faculty mentor while navigating the responsibilities of independent teaching. Faculty mentors are also required to complete the final evaluation for the student.
An MIT experience may not be a requirement or option under every program’s MEIP. Each MIT engagement will equate to 20 MER units. The 20 MER unit assignment accounts for the considerable level of preparation and consultation each PhD student needs to engage in as part of this introductory experience toward acquiring the skills required for independent teaching. Students enroll for the semester of engagement under their program’s course 8020.
Mentored Professional Experiences (MPEs)
MPEs are unpaid experiences that allow students to develop skills and experiences relevant to their intended career outcomes. These experiences could include, for example, opportunities in industry, communication and outreach, government or policy, consulting, or higher education administration. The duties and responsibilities of the MPE should be intellectually substantive and offer opportunities for the student to develop new skills and experiences.
An MPE experience may not be a requirement or option under every program’s MEIP. Each MPE engagement will equate to 20 MER units. The 20 MER unit assignment accounts for the considerable level of preparation and time needed for this engagement. An MPE should involve at least 150 hours (and not more than 180 hours) per engagement. Students enroll for the semester of engagement under their program’s course 8120.
Optional MER Activities
Some programs allow for students to participate in additional, optional MTE or MPE engagements. If allowed, the program’s MEIP will list the requirements for a Teaching Intensive Pathway (TIP) or a Professional Intensive Pathway (PIP).
Teaching Intensive Pathway (TIP)
The TIP is an optional pathway for those students whose career interests lie in academia or another field that would benefit from extended MTEs. This immersive experience allows students to further explore the breadth and depth of teaching best practices and pedagogy related to their respective field. Students who are interested in participating in this elective experience must formally request to participate, which is subject to program approval. Due to this experience being an elective, unpaid experience, students who participate in the TIP will not receive compensation.
Professional Intensive Pathway (PIP)
The PIP is an optional pathway for those students whose career interests lie outside of academia or want to benefit from MPEs. An MPE is an unpaid professional experience for PhD students that allows students to develop skills and experiences relevant to their intended career outcomes. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MPE. Students who are interested in participating in this elective experience must formally request to participate, which is subject to program approval. Similar to normal MPE experiences, students who participate in the PIP do not receive compensation associated with their MPE.
Post-MER Completion Teaching Activities
To be eligible to participate in an additional teaching activity at WashU, students must have completed their entire MER as defined by their Program’s MEIP prior to undertaking elective instructional activity.
Instructional Support
At the completion of the student’s MER as defined in the MEIP, students may elect to pursue additional instructional opportunities at WashU as a non-MTE AI or a similarly situated role. These additional opportunities are subject to the approval of their primary advisor and their department/program as well as the existence of such a position. These students will be paid an hourly rate.
Instructor or Co-Instructor of Record
At the completion of a student’s MER requirements as defined in the MEIP, the student may elect to pursue instructor opportunities at WashU as an independent instructor. These opportunities are subject to the approval of the student's primary advisor and their department/program as well as the existence of such a position. Students who have completed their MERs must demonstrate the requisite experience and training in pedagogy to engage in teaching at the fully independent level. These students are eligible for compensation in accordance with the adjunct professor collective bargaining agreement.
Current MEIPs
Arts & Sciences
(see Cross-Interdisciplinary Programs below for DBBS)
- Anthropology, PhD, Archeology Concentration
- Anthropology, PhD, Biological Anthropology Concentration
- Anthropology, PhD, Sociocultural Anthropology Concentration
- Art History & Archaeology, PhD
- Chemistry, PhD
- Classics, PhD
- Comparative Literature, PhD
- Dance, MFA
- Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, PhD
- East Asian Languages and Cultures, PhD
- Economics, PhD
- Education, PhD
- English and American Literature, PhD
- English and Comparative Literature, PhD
- French and Comparative Literature, PhD
- French Language and Literature, PhD
- German and Comparative Literature, PhD
- Germanic Languages and Literatures, PhD
- Hispanic Studies and Comparative Literature, PhD
- Hispanic Studies, PhD
- History, PhD
- Mathematics, PhD
- Music, PhD, Music Theory Concentration
- Music, PhD, Musicology Concentration
- Philosophy, PhD
- Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology, PhD
- Physics, PhD
- Political Science, PhD
- Psychological & Brain Sciences, PhD
- Sociology, PhD
- Statistics and Data Sciences, PhD
- Writing, MFA
Business
Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering PhD
- Biomedical Engineering PhD-MD
- Computational & Data Sciences, PhD
- Computer Engineering, PhD
- Computer Science, PhD
- Electrical Engineering, PhD
- Energy, Environmental, & Chemical Engineering, PhD
- Imaging Science, PhD
- Materials Science & Engineering, Interdisciplinary PhD
- Mechanical Engineering, PhD
- Systems Science & Mathematics, PhD
Medicine
- Medical Physics, PhD
- Movement Science, PhD
- Nursing Science, PhD
- Rehabilitation and Participation Science, PhD
- Speech and Hearing Sciences, PhD
Public Health
Brown School
Cross-School Interdisciplinary Programs
Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences
- Biochemistry, Biophysics & Structural Biology, PhD
- Biomedical Informatics & Data Science, PhD
- Cancer Biology, PhD
- Computational & Data Sciences, PhD
- Developmental, Regenerative, & Stem Cell Biology, PhD
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, PhD
- Immunology, PhD
- Molecular Cell Biology, PhD
- Molecular Genetics & Genomics, PhD
- Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis, PhD
- Neurosciences, PhD
- Plant & Microbial Biosciences, PhD
Additional information including forms, resources, and FAQs are available on the Mentored Experiences page of the Office of the Provost website.