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The purpose of the study was to examine graduate student perspectives on the common and unique roles peer mentors and supervisors play in supporting student success and wellbeing during their program.

A qualitative research design involving semistructured interviews with 62 thesis-based masters and doctoral students from four professional faculties, Education, Medicine, Nursing and Social Work, at a large public research-intensive university in Canada.

Findings transcend the four disciplines of study. Communities of support are described that involve both supervisors and peers in combination, clusters of meaning by supervisory paradigm are identified and original findings presented that expand upon the learning alliance framework by explicitly considering the role of peer mentors in graduate student success.

While supervisors bear primary responsibility for fostering effective research-based relationships, this study’s findings strengthen the argument that mentoring and advising of graduate students is most effective when conducted within a collaborative community of support that involves learning alliances among faculty, peers, program staff and academic leaders across the institution.

A four-pronged approach to graduate education that emphasizes the collective responsibility of institutions, programs, supervisors and students in creating a supportive ecosystem for holistic graduate student academic success and wellbeing is recommended.

Key argument that it is essential to embrace a collaborative and community of support mindset, where multiple stakeholders actively contribute to the wellbeing and academic development of graduate students throughout their programs.

A cross-disciplinary perspective is offered on the importance of both supervisors and peers in assisting thesis-based graduate students to successfully navigate academic, social and personal journeys through graduate school.

Student mental well-being is a matter of increasing concern on university campuses around the world. Social, psychological, academic and career aspects of graduate learning are enriched through peer mentorship. Peer-mentoring experiences and the impacts of these relationships on the mental well-being of graduate students remain underexplored in the scholarship of teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to explore how engagement in formal and informal peer mentorship, as described by students across four academic disciplines, impacts the social connectedness and well-being of graduate students.

A convergent mixed methods research design was used, with quantitative and qualitative data gathered in parallel to gain a comprehensive, corroborated and integrated understanding of graduate students’ perspectives and experiences with peer mentorship. Online survey and interview data were collected from graduate thesis-based master’s EdD and PhD students in education, medicine, nursing and social work. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.

The authors found a commonality of graduate student experiences across disciplines with respect to the diverse psychosocial impacts of graduate peer mentorship. Peer-mentoring relationships offered mentees emotional support, motivation and a sense of community and offered mentors opportunities for self-development and gratification.

This research is unique in its in-depth exploration of the interdisciplinary perspectives and experiences of graduate students from Education, Nursing, Medicine and Social Work. While further research is needed to explore the implementation of structural approaches to support the development of peer-mentoring relationships in graduate education, the multidisciplinary focus and depth and breadth of this inquiry suggest the potential transferability of the study findings to other disciplines and academic settings. The findings from this study further highlight the need for strategic activation of existing program resources to foster greater connectedness and well-being among graduate students.