Students seeking to complete a minor or certificate in the Program on Justice and Peace (PJP) are informed that they should make every effort to secure a faculty mentor as early as possible in the second semester of their junior year. We have prepared these guidelines so that students can more easily provide possible mentors with the requirements of the program. If you are reading these suggestions, then you have no doubt been approached by a student in our program who wishes your assistance. You should expect that the student has come prepared with a listing of relevant courses taken in preparation for the project, a draft of a proposal for a thesis, a tentative working bibliography, and confidence that you can be most helpful to his or her efforts. We have prepared these guidelines in the hope of clarifying for students the role of a faculty mentor and also in the desire to provide some uniformity to the experience of students in the program.

Faculty mentors for participants in the Justice and Peace program are asked to assist their students in the following ways:

1. The Program on Justice and Peace asks you to accept the mentor role only if you are familiar and comfortable with the proposed topic. In general, the mentor's initial task is to provide information regarding research sources, particularly current books, articles and journals that are relevant to the project. It is not necessary for you to be an expert in this particular topic or field, only that you are able to guide and provide structure for the student's efforts.

2. Spring Semester of Student's Junior Year. During this semester, the student will be developing a thesis proposal. You are asked to review, comment on it, and sign it before it is submitted on April 22, 2007. These comments should help to focus and clarify the student's argument, detect difficulties and/or ambiguities in the proposal, and suggest strategies for undertaking the necessary research.

3. Fall Semester of Student's Senior Year. During the fall semester, the student will be enrolled in a thesis seminar (JUPS 303) designed to help him/her do the work required and to receive comments from both the seminar instructor and other students. Students will be asked to speak with you about their progress on a regular basis; it would certainly be most helpful if you could read their work-in-progress and offer comments.

4. Spring Semester of Student's Senior Year.

A. It is expected that students will complete their work on the thesis during this semester; it is due on April 1, 2007. Students have been advised to prepare themselves to address and seek your assistance in the following areas during regular meetings:

i. Difficulties encountered finding and incorporating relevant and useful sources.
ii. Focusing, clarifying, and augmenting the specific question and thesis of the paper.

iii. Assessing the logic of arguments developed as pertaining to the research and data presented.

iv. Discussing possible counter-arguments and developing ways to address and respond to those counter-arguments.

B. You are asked to assess and comment on the thesis before it is submitted on April 1, 2007. You should let your student know how soon in advance of that deadline you expect to receive the thesis. Your evaluation (which should be sent to the Director of PJP by April 15, 2007) along with the evaluation of the seminar instructor (who worked with the student in the fall semester) will form the basis for the student's final grade for this project.

C. PJP hopes that all mentors will be able to attend the seminar session (scheduled for late April or early May) in which the student's project is summarized, presented, and discussed by other faculty and students in the program.

We at the Peace and Justice Program are grateful for your generosity towards the students and for the invaluable contribution you make to helping them undertake this project.

If you have any further questions about the Peace and Justice Program or the role of the mentor, please contact:

Henry Schwarz, Director
202-687-7647