Mentorship Information

Each year, the department offers a handful of graduate research and graduate teaching mentorships, contingent upon Graduate School funding and applications from sponsoring faculty members. These mentorships allow interested English MA and Creative Writing MFA students to work closely on a research project with a faculty member or to team-teach with a faculty member an undergraduate course in literature, rhetoric, or creative writing while receiving training in course design, pedagogy, and assessment. Interested students should contact the graduate program manager for details about specific mentorships and their application deadlines.

Mentorships: Fall 2025

Jarron Slater

Teaching Mentorship, 10 hours per week
ENGL 212: The student would benefit from teaching experience and solidifying principles of rhetoric that we discuss. This mentorship may provide an important stepping stone to additional teaching that the student will do.

Johnny Allred

Research Mentorship, 5 hours per week

English Teaching & Artificial Intelligence Research Internship: The graduate student will collaborate on research exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in secondary English classrooms. The student will assist in collecting and analyzing data from local classrooms and will coauthor an academic article based on our findings. This internship offers hands-on experience with academic research, opportunities for English classroom observation, and close mentorship focused on developing research and academic writing skills. Additionally, the graduate student will gain valuable insights into effective (and ineffective) uses of AI in English education.

Paul Westover

Teaching Mentorship, 8 hours per week

ENGL 292: Work closely with the professor in delivering this core class in British literary history. Meet with the professor weekly to discuss plans and student progress. Ideally, teach part of a lesson at least once per week.