The Polaris Mentorship Class: A year-long course (1 credit for each semester) which pairs 1st & 2nd year students with upper-level mentors. PHYSICS 2050.01 (Autumn) and PHYSICS 2050.02 (Spring). New for the 2022-23 school year, we will be offering two sections of the course.
The Polaris Mentorship Class is a year-long course for students in their first two years in OSU physics, math, and astronomy. The goal of the program is threefold: firstly, students will come to understand the status of diversity and
inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and the benefits and challenges that people from various backgrounds bring to STEM as students. Secondly, students will understand how to successfully maintain a mentor-mentee relationship, including developing goals, communicating effectively, and harnessing mentorship as a step to research or academic success. Finally, students will be given time with mentors during each class period to work effectively on achieving the goals they have established. Some class days will be devoted to career development, skill building, and planning. As part of the course, students will be paired with mentors who are upper-level undergraduates and graduate students.
Course # PHYSICS 2050.01
See the Fall 2022 Syllabus Here
The fall semester of the course will focus on OSU resources, diversity and inclusion in STEM, and issues faced by underrepresented groups. Each class period will consist of a presentation or activity on some topic followed by small/large group discussions. Examples of past classes include:
- Study Skills and Academic Resources
- Mental Health and Work/Life Balance
- How to Talk about Diversity and Inclusion in STEM
- Imposter Syndrome and Stereotype Threat
- Implicit Bias
Course # PHYSICS 2050.02
The Spring semester of the course will devote more time to career development and student projects. We will discuss summer research/internships, graduate school, and careers pursued by people with Physics and/or Astronomy degrees. Students will be introduced to research at OSU by completing a small research project with their mentor during the second half of the semester. The Polaris course will culminate with a poster presentation about the students’ work.