The Framework for Accountability in Academic Research and Mentoring (FAARM) Project is a student-led independent effort to improve the teaching, training, and mentorship offered to research trainees in the United States. We are motivated by the well-documented nationwide mental health crisis among graduate students, and our goal is to establish better incentives for federally-funded primary investigators (PIs) who mentor graduate students to improve the general quality of mentorship and professional relationships.

Share our latest summary slides with your organization.

The quality of a research trainee’s relationship with their academic research mentor has an enormous effect on their academic and technical training, their career success after graduation, and their wellbeing and mental health during their time as a trainee. 40% or more of PhD students across all fields of study in the United States do not complete their degree, emphasizing the pervasiveness and scale of the problem.

Here, you will find several resources, including our Core Policy Memo, a document outlining the policies that can be implemented at the federal, state, and university level; several one-pagers, including those outlining the Immediate Needs at Research Institutions and the Immediate Needs at Federal Funding Agencies that can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively; and various Data Collection Tools that have been used at different institutions to assess graduate student well-being. Our most recent overview presentation is also a quick and easy way to learn more about FAARM proposals.

For questions, contact us at FAARMteam@gmail.com.