QMSS Peer Mentors are leaders in the QMSS Program and have already completed (or are currently completing) their core coursework and electives for the QMSS minor. They come from a wide range of majors and other minors here at U-M, and they are ready and able to answer any questions you may have!
QMSS Peer Mentors are available during QMSS Community Hours (open to all students), and they are now offering both virtual and in-person drop-in hours - no need to make an appointment!
QMSS Peer Mentors are ready and able to offer their advice about:
- QMSS core courses (QMSS 201 and QMSS 301), including what you'll learn, how to manage the workload, how to get extra help, and when to take the courses relative to other degree requirements.
- QMSS electives, including what they know or have heard about elective options, which classes they recommend, and when to take the courses relative to the QMSS core courses or other degree requirements.
- The potential benefits (or drawbacks) of taking QMSS courses and/or pursuing the QMSS minor based on your interests, major(s), other minor(s), and/or future career or graduate school interests.
- So much more!
If you need to schedule a meeting with anyone outside of the hours below (or to meet with someone via Zoom instead of in-person), please reach out to them at qmss-peermentors@umich.edu!
QMSS Peer Mentor Drop-In Hours
QMSS Peer Mentoring has four aims:
1) To engender and support a culture of questions. Students often self-select out of quantitative classes when they perceive or feel they are not progressing as fast as others during lectures or labs or when they come across problems they fear bringing up to a professor or GSI. Peer Mentoring aims to keep the threshold for asking for help as low as possible and to project an openness that encourages inquiries. This will support efforts that aim to lead every student to mastery.
2) To solidify students' knowledge. An often heard complaint is that students have statistical training from other courses and programs, even good grades, but do not know how to apply their knowledge when faced with actual research problems in a thesis seminar or a research lab. Peer Mentoring is multidirectional in that even a third or fourth year student can come back with a question to Peer Mentors about regression or survey methodology that they were introduced to in the first year. Our Peer Mentors are not formal tutors, but they can help to connect students with QMSS faculty and other resources to get the best answers.
3) To offer a safe environment to experiment with openness, leadership, inquisiteveness, and relational problem solving. When students go out onto the job market, their teamwork skills will be important. QMSS Peer Mentors work to bridge the gap between undergraduate students, faculty, and staff so that we can all work better together towards a common goal of student success.
4) To build community. Peer Mentors will incorporate the program’s objective to “Meet students where they R[/are]” by having students take a leadership role in determining QMSS programming. It will provide opportunities for Peer Mentors to use the skills they are learning in QMSS classes to collect and analyze data to evaluate the reach and effectiveness of our program on campus.
