Faculty Mentors
Faculty mentors play a central role in CUNY Baccalaureate. They guide students in planning their areas of concentration and ensure that these specializations are coherent and academically valid. Sometimes, faculty mentors supervise and evaluate independent study or fieldwork projects, and they often advise students about graduate study. Close to 400 full-time CUNY faculty members are serving as CUNY Baccalaureate mentors.
Each student selects and works with a CUNY faculty member who agrees to help design and then supervise their area of concentration (AOC). The faculty mentor must be a full-time CUNY professor in a discipline related to the student's area of concentration.
Adjunct faculty cannot serve as official mentors, although they often continue to work with CUNY Baccalaureate students as secondary/unofficial mentors. Students planning to complete two areas of concentration must have two faculty mentors or a mentor who has expertise in both fields.
Mentors and their students work together in developing the area of concentration. The basic criteria for designing an area of concentration are in the Faculty Mentor Handbook.
Once you and your student have worked out a series of courses for the concentration, sign your student's area of concentration form and send it to the program office. You must approve (in writing) any future changes that your student wishes to make to the concentration.
After your initial meeting(s) to settle on the area of concentration, we suggest to students that they touch base with their mentors at least once a semester. The program office monitors each student's overall progress and makes sure that all CUNY Baccalaureate degree requirements are satisfied. Some mentors choose to work with their students on independent research or internships; that involvement is also welcomed.