A Tale of Two Mentees: Conceptualizing Academic Mentorship through Critical Systems Thinking

Academic mentorship is a vital step in preparing the next generation, yet little information exists on what successful mentorship looks like—particularly the process by which one ascertains a mentor, builds and maintains mentoring relationships, and achieves success in doctoral programs. Systems thinking is applied here to conceptualize academic mentorship within doctoral education as perceived by three doctoral students in social work programs across two institutions. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the seminal literature on academic mentorship, (b) conceptualize exemplar cases of academic mentorship for doctoral education, (c) center the perspectives of doctoral students and their mentorship experiences, (d) use a systems-thinking lens to map and visualize the important variables related to mentorship processes, and (e) hypothesize potential levers for successful mentorship within doctoral programs.