Thinking of having a standardized gift to give my doctoral & maybe also thesis-based masters trainees when they graduate. Something small but meaningful; possibly something I make in my wood shop. I only have an average of 2 or 3 such students per year.
Do any of you do this? If so, what do you give your grads? If not, are there policy or ethics reasons you don’t?
Comments
My advisor took the lab out for lunch, dinner, or drinks to celebrate. He’s usually also invite committee members or other faculty in the department. I thought it was nice.
I give students a plant that I’ve propagated from my own collection. It feels like a nice symbol of taking a piece with them.
Yes, a degree.
my advisor commissions a piece of glass art from a local artist. Kinda like stained glass but the glass is layered rather than soldered together. IDK how much it costs, but the art is pretty accurate since the artist is also a retired scientist. If you have a woodshop you could totally make something commemorative. Do you do wood burning?
Another super cool option I saw and have saved is someone made a word cloud out of their dissertation and it’s in the shape of their university logo.
A degree.
Entomologist here. I get my students an antique lithograph or book plate that has their study organism and frame it. The plates are usually $10-20 and a frame is about the same. I usually have one or two students at a time so it doesn’t break the bank.
My postdoc advisor gave me a custom clock he made out of slate roof tiles salvaged from the buikding we worked in and my M.S./Ph.D. advisor gave me a custom travelling microscope slide-making kit.
Maybe learn how to make wood turned ballpoint pens? Relatively inexpensive to get started (compared to other wood work), practical, and a nice personal touch. A nonprofit in my area teaches veterans how to make them for around $20 a kit.
My advisor gave the men who successfully defended a bottle of whatever they most liked to drink – something really nice, quite expensive.
Women – nothing.
A custom mug with their first paper on it?
I’ve seen people gift engraved pens, framed group photos, or even a custom bookend with the student’s name and defense date on it. No ethical issues as long as it’s a token of appreciation and not tied to performance
If it’s coming from a place of genuine mentorship, I think it adds something special to their achievement
I buy my Ph.D.s custom engraved swords.. with Dr. Name, their defense date, and something quirky about them or their work in Latin.
My advisor expected a breakfast pastry assortment from me and then a lunch and champagne bottle paid for by the rest of the group. I wish I had an advisor asking for gift tips like this.