professional development for phd students

Graduate Student Professional Development Guide

This guide assists Berkeley graduate students in developing six core competencies that are essential for preparing for future careers, including careers in academia and beyond. Click on each of the six competencies below to learn about the key steps graduate students can take to develop these competencies, prepare for future careers, and learn about resources and opportunities available to support the process.

Core Competencies

Professional Development Workshops & Events

This guide was created by gradpro: the graduate student professional development resource hub. visit our website to learn more about what resources, service, and programs are offered by gradpro and other campus partners..

Center for Career Exploration

Professional development for ph.d. students.

• Information For...
• Information for Graduate Students

Important Tips for Professional Development

No matter if you are  planning to pursue an academic research or tenure track position within academia or considering choosing a career beyond academia, these simple steps below represent good practices that will focus and enhance your career development efforts in ways that are beneficial for academic and non-academic job search candidates alike.

Stay open to possibilities and avoid career blind spots. It is completely OK and normal for Ph.D. students to change their mind about career choices at any stage. Stay open to the realities and possibilities of potential career paths by allowing yourself to consider what you want. The career exploration resources listed below can help you maintain a perspective on your skills, interests, and priorities.

• Think of yourself as a professional and treat your time at Brown accordingly. In the eyes of a potential employer, your graduate position is a job, and your education and graduate activities are job experience . Through every course, committee, and project you are developing and demonstrating important career skills. Trying to understand what these skills are in terms that are broadly applicable can pay enormous dividends in the long run. Ask yourself where your strengths and interests lie – you may lean more toward teaching/instruction, writing, research, service and community building, or any combination of interests and skills. This sense of self-awareness can guide and enhance your career development during your graduate studies.  
• Invest some time in service, and in developing skills, interests, and professional relationships beyond your courses and, if possible, beyond your department. Committee and service work shows that you are an engaged and active member of your community, and that demonstrates experience as a leader and/or team member – desirable assets on the job market . Hosting conferences, events or symposia develops skills in communication, planning, organization, and marketing. Whatever your interests are – management, writing, mentorship, community engagement, advocacy, the list goes on and on –  you will find countless opportunities to expand your professional experience throughout your studies; be open to them and pursue them strategically.

On-Campus Resources for Professional Development

Graduate school professional development programs, center for digital scholarship's doctoral certificate program in digital humanities, center for language studies (cls), 21st century phd series, initiative to maximize student development (imsd), brown innovation fellows, nelson technology fellows program, sheridan center, swearer center, off-campus resources for professional development, massachusetts biotechnology council.

• Professional and Career Development

Approach your professional and career development as an integral part of your time in graduate school. Alongside your research and teaching, develop leadership skills that will prepare you for success, whether you pursue a career inside or outside the academy.

Yale supports your professional and career development through two complementary offices: the GSAS Assistant Dean for Professional Development and the Office of Career Strategy . Together, we offer one-on-one advising, a range of workshops, online resources, and varied experiential learning opportunities that will make you more successful during graduate school and better prepared for the job search. Professional and career training can help you clarify your career thinking, find ways to develop professional skills, build professional networks, understand the world of work, and prepare for a successful job search.

Jump-start your career and professional development in years 1-3 

• Learn about professional and career development and make a one-on-one appointment with an advisor. 
• Plan for success:  Outline your goals and develop a strategy to achieve them 
• Hone your professional skill set through workshops and resources. 
• Gain professional experience on campus and beyond to develop skills and learn about careers. 
• Learn how to build a supportive mentoring team 
• Explore diverse career options that fit with your priorities, interests and skills 

Solidify career options and identify opportunities in years 4+ 

• Explore careers through online resources and networking 
• Continue to network with professionals in careers/companies of interest 
• Continue to build professional skills and experience 
• Meet with an adviser to clarify how to communicate your professional identity and highlight your strengths to employers 
• Prepare for job applications, interviewing and job talks, and negotiation 

Learn more about GSAS Professional Development

Learn more about Office of Career Strategy

Additional Resources

Poorvu center: teaching development and initiatives.

https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/graduate-students/about-teaching-development-graduate-and-professional-school-students

The Teaching Development and Initiatives team provides opportunities for you to develop your pedagogical skills while you're here at Yale and as you prepare to teach at other institutions. You can earn a certificate that affirms your expertise, join in community with other graduate teachers, and compete for an opportunity to develop your own course alongside a faculty member. PhD students are also eligible to become McDougal Graduate Teaching Fellows, in which position you can further develop your teaching by facilitating workshops for your fellow graduate students and postdocs.

Digital Humanities (DH) Lab

https://dhlab.yale.edu/

The Digital Humanities Lab (DHLab) is uniquely positioned to support graduate student professional development through its programs. The DH Certificate allows you to complete coursework, training, and project work to demonstrate digital humanities competencies. The DH Dissertation Fellowship provides a stipend, space, community, mentorship, and mini-grant funding for students building a digital dissertation component.

Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

The 3-Minute Thesis competition challenges Yale PhD students to describe their thesis clearly and persuasively to a broad audience – in 3 minutes! Create a professional asset that is just as critical for academic conferences and job talks as it is for a job search outside of the academy.

Poorvu Center: Graduate Writing Lab

https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/writing/graduate

The Poorvu Center’s Graduate Writing Lab supports Yale graduate students in all aspects of written, oral, and visual communication. You can discuss a draft with a GWL Fellow in a 1–1 writing consultation; write with other graduate students at an All Write or Retreat; or join a peer-review group to give and receive support as you make progress on your dissertation, prospectus, or fellowship application. The GWL also offers over 100 workshops per year and a suite of public speaking programs. Alongside these resources, the GWL strives to promote a culture among graduate students that centers writing as a process of developing, refining, and disseminating knowledge, nurtured within a supportive community of scholars.

Yale Library Workshops

https://schedule.yale.edu/calendar/instruction?cid=4960&t=d&d=0000-00-00&cal=4960&inc=0

Yale Library offers workshops and events on a range of subjects that allow you to familiarize yourself with the library's resources and support your use of scholarly tools and online platforms. Workshop topics include: getting started with Zotero; syncing your online bibliography; cleaning messy data using Excel; literature searching; using LaTex; and curating your online scholarly profile. Workshops are sequenced to support every level of familiarity with scholarly tools, from beginner to proficient.

Featured Resource

Office of Career Strategy (OCS)

https://ocs.yale.edu/channels/phds-postdocs/

The Office of Career Strategy (OCS) supports GSAS students from every discipline and at every stage of their time at Yale through career advising, programming and resources aimed at the specific career interests and needs of PhD and Master’s students. At OCS, graduate students can explore diverse career paths; build professional skills and experience; identify opportunities; and get help with job search strategies, application materials, and interviewing in preparation for a successful job search within and beyond the academy. Services offered by OCS for Master’s and PhD students are part of a suite of resources supported by the Graduate School to foster professional and career development.

Suzanne Young

Assistant Dean for Professional Development

• [email protected]
• 203-432-8895
• Founders Hall 185

Professional Development

Start your professional development today.

No matter what your career plans are, your graduate school experience must encompass more than just coursework, research, presentations, and publications. The Graduate School provides  programs , resources, and  events  to help you with every step along the way—from identifying potential career paths, to developing skills to compete for them, to managing your career. These opportunities will help prepare you for success in academia, business, entrepreneurship, government, and nonprofits. Professional development is not one workshop or one course; it is something you do throughout your time at Duke. So get started now.

See why professional development is crucial for graduate students, and what professional development opportunities are available at The Graduate School.

Professional Development at The Graduate School ...

Comes in many forms.

One-time events, workshop series, semester-long deep dives, peer-to-peer mentoring, formal coursework, or certificate programs — pick the opportunities and resources that suit your schedule and needs.

Builds Core Competencies

We help you develop in six key areas: teaching and mentoring, communication, leadership, self-awareness, professional adaptability, and professionalism and scholarly integrity.

Starts Early, Doesn't Stop

Like research, professional development should occur throughout your time at Duke, so we plan our opportunities in two-year cycles to address your needs throughout graduate school.

Professional Development Offerings

For: Ph.D. students

The Bass Instructional Fellowship program supports high-quality teaching experiences for Ph.D. students where normal means of funding are unavailable. It also helps students become more knowledgeable in digital teaching and learning. | More Info

The Certificate in College Teaching program prepares you to teach in college and formally documents this professional development to make you more competitive when applying for positions. | More Info

For: Master's and Ph.D. students, postdocs

This intensive eight-week program for Graduate School students and postdocs is designed to prepare you to be a competent, confident, and effective leader at Duke and beyond. | More Info

For: Master's students

Each semester, The Graduate School offers several workshops specifically designed for students in the school’s research master’s programs as part of the Professional Development Series. | More Info

For: All Graduate School students, faculty, and staff

Mentoring is vital to graduate students’ success, and The Graduate School is committed to cultivating a culture of mentoring in graduate education at Duke. Check out our collection of mentoring advice, resources, and toolkit. | More Info

For: Ph.D. students and postdocs

This yearlong experience for Ph.D. students and postdocs prepares you for the multiple roles you may be asked to assume as future faculty members in a variety of academic institutions. | More Info

For: Master's and Ph.D. students

Events in this series are designed to broaden Ph.D. and master's students’ career perspectives and develop competencies in communication, self-awareness, professional adaptability, leadership, and professionalism. | More Info

Responsible Conduct of Research training is a formal requirement for every master’s and Ph.D. student enrolled in The Graduate School. It ensures that every graduate student is aware of academic standards and well-qualified to address ethical challenges in teaching or scholarly research. | More Info

For: All Duke community members

This series of 30-minute virtual conversations features alumni reflecting on the role that their Duke education played in their careers, facilitated by faculty and current students. | More Info

The Graduate School collaborates closely with Duke Learning Innovation and other units across campus to offer workshops, consulting, and support for TA training across the university to complement the training that graduate student TAs receive from their departments and programs. | More Info

For: Master's and Ph.D. students, postdocs, faculty, staff

I nstructional D evelopment for E xcellence A nd S uccess is an annual workshop series for Duke graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. Invited speakers will discuss topics relevant to classroom teaching, dealing with students, or faculty life and career paths. | More Info

The Graduate School offers writing support for students in partnership with the Thompson Writing Program and English for International Students. Resources include academic courses, a dedicated writing space, individual writing consultations, and additional support for international students. There are also online resources. | More Info

Professional Development Overview

A quick look at The Graduate School's professional development offerings.

Professional Development Grant

Graduate departments/programs and students may apply for up to $2,000 to develop programming and resources.

Duke OPTIONS

This online tool helps Duke Ph.D. students create a professional development roadmap for their time in graduate school.

Explore Career Paths

Career statistics.

Annually updated data on the career paths of alumni, their employers, and their locations for each of The Graduate School's degree programs.

Alumni Profiles

Check out our 100-plus (and growing) interviews with Graduate School alumni about their jobs, their career paths, and how graduate school helped them prepare.

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Stay Up to Date

See the professional development calendar .

Subscribing to the professional development listserv (gradprofdev).

Follow @dukegradschool on social media

Some of Our Partners

• Duke Career Center
• Office of Postdoctoral Services
• Thompson Writing Program
• Duke Libraries
• Duke Learning Innovation
• Office of Research Support
• Graduate and Professional Student Government (GPSG)

• DACA/Undocumented
• First Generation, Low Income
• International Students
• Students of Color
• Students with disabilities
• Undergraduate Students
• Master’s Students

PhD Students

• Faculty/Staff
• Family/Supporters
• Career Fairs
• Post jobs, internships, and fellowships
• Build your brand at MIT
• Recruiting Guidelines and Resources
• Connect with Us
• Career Advising
• Distinguished Fellowships
• Employer Relations
• Graduate Student Professional Development
• Prehealth Advising
• Academia & Education
• Architecture, Planning, & Design
• Arts, Communications, & Media
• Business, Finance, & Fintech
• Computing & Computer Technology
• Data Science
• Energy, Environment, & Sustainability
• Life Sciences, Biotech, & Pharma
• Manufacturing & Transportation
• Health & Medical Professions
• Social Impact, Policy, & Law
• Getting Started & Handshake 101
• Exploring careers
• Networking & Informational Interviews
• Connecting with employers
• Resumes, cover letters, portfolios, & CVs
• Finding a Job or Internship
• Post-Graduate and Summer Outcomes
• Professional Development Competencies
• Preparing for Graduate & Professional Schools
• Preparing for Medical / Health Profession Schools
• Interviewing
• New jobs & career transitions
• Career Prep and Development Programs
• Fall Career Fair
• Employer Events
• Outside Events for Career and Professional Development
• Events Calendar
• Career Services Workshop Requests
• Early Career Advisory Board
• Peer Career Advisors
• Student Staff

If you’re in a PhD program at MIT, you are an exceptional researcher and scholar. With your deep knowledge and skills set, there are no limits to what you can achieve. When you can do so much, narrowing your options and making decisions about what you want to do and where you want to go can be daunting. We’re here to help. Visit CAPD for a one-on-one conversation and address your questions with an advisor, use our resources to learn new skills like networking, and join our workshops to help you refine your job documents and search strategies. Whether you decide to pursue a career in academe, government, non-profit, or industry CAPD is ready to support you.

Career Appointments

Schedule a one-on-one career advising appointment to discuss any career questions you might have. All of our advisors are trained and experienced in working with PhDs. We can help you with exploration and planning, job/internship searches, application materials, interviews, salary negotiations, and any other questions or concerns. Have questions about PhD career advising? Contact Alexis Boyer .

Set up an appointment

Application materials for PhDs and Postdocs: Examples and how-to guides

These resources are designed for MIT PhDs and postdocs to serve as guides through the process of career document preparation. Whether you’re converting your CV into a resume for an industry role, refining your CV for an academic job search, or creating other documents, you’ll find examples, how-to guides, and strategies here.

Find resources

Graduate Professional Development

MIT’s comprehensive collection of professional development opportunities are designed to help graduate students develop skills and knowledge valuable for any career path you decide to follow, within and beyond academe.

Graduate student professional development is skills-based training complementary to your discipline-based coursework, focusing on seven competency areas: career advancement, communication, interpersonal development, leadership and mentoring, personal development, social responsibility, and teaching.

Explore the competencies

Career Exploration for PhDs

Have you ever wondered what’s out there for someone with your advanced skills and training? How do you find out what all the options are for PhDs? How did your mentors and advisors start their careers? Apply your researcher’s mind to career exploration and find answers to your most pressing questions about PhD careers. CAPD has what you need to start exploring career possibilities and forge your own path.

• Check out these resources to get you started.
• Make an appointment to work with a career advisor to review and refine your plan.

Explore careers for PhDs

Workshops and Events

Take advantage of all MIT has to offer by participating in Institute career fairs and CAPD workshops and events tailored for PhDs. Refine your job documents, discover ways to develop your professional skills before you hit the job market, or learn how to leverage the power of your MIT network.

• Hear about upcoming CAPD events through the Graduate Career Newsletter. Not getting the newsletter? Check your spam filters to make sure it gets through from Handshake!
• Is your organization or academic department interested in specialized graduate career programming? Contact Alexis Boyer .

View all events

Fall Events at the MIT Libraries

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MIT Reads: A Conversation with Davarian L. Baldwin

Join Dr. Davarian L. Baldwin, the author of this semester’s MIT Reads selection  In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities are Plundering Our Cities , in dialogue with MIT Barton L. …

Connect with employers at the Engineering Career Fair Collaborative event!

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Friday, November 8, 2024, 2:00 – 5:00pm ET Sheraton Commander Hotel – 16 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 ( map )

The Engineering Career Fair Collaborative connects companies in innovative fields including robotics, energy, medical devices, transportation, and design with undergraduate and graduate students …

My experience with MIT’s Career Exploration Fellowship: Machine learning with biomedical applications at Ourobionics

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Have you ever discovered an intriguing internship that perfectly aligns with your career goals and offers new growth opportunities, but you weren’t sure you could participate due to financial or logistic reasons?

Last year, I found myself in that exact …

Explore Careers at the 2024 Salata Institute Climate and Sustainability Career Expo

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Interested in climate and sustainability? The Salata Institute Climate and Sustainability Career Expo on Friday, November 1, 2024 , is your chance to explore opportunities in this growing field. Held at Harvard’s Gutman Conference Center from 12:30–4:30 PM ET, the expo …

Develop Your Writing Skills with the WCC

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This fall, the Writing and Communications Center (WCC) is holding a number of workshops to help you grow as a writer! Check out the following events:

WriteWise: Effective Research and Writing Strategies

When:  Oct 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 5-6:30pm

Location:  …

Upcoming Events

Infinite careers profiles.

Sample Opportunities

• Spring 2025 Private Equity Analyst Friedom Partners

• Fall 2025 Private Equity Analyst Friedom Partners
• Summer 2025 Private Equity Analyst Friedom Partners

Here you will find a sample of relevant jobs & internships. Visit  Handshake  to see all opportunities.

Featured Profiles

David Aaker

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• Vice Chairman Prophet

Dr. Rebeccah Brown

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• MIMEDX Group, Inc.

Tahmeena Godin

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Journee Harris, Grad Student Career Exploration Grant Recipient

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• Degree: Master's in City Planning Evaluation Intern, Downtown Vision, Inc.

Natalija Jovanovic

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• Co-Founder TNG Company

Breanna Lam, Grad Student Career Exploration Grant Recipient

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• Degree: PhD in Biology Lab Design Consultant, Lee CMI

Sivananda Reddy

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• Intellectual Property Counsel ZOLL Medical Corporation

Hannah Shay, Grad Student Career Exploration Grant Recipient

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• Degree: PhD in Chemistry Cosmic Ice Chemistry with SubLIME, NASAGoddard Space Flight Center

Marcio von Muhlen

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• Co-founder and COO Turboprop

Featured Resources

Academia & education job/internship search sites.

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Comprehensive job sites that list academic positions (higher education) at all different levels and for all fields (mostly focused within …

Application Materials for a Faculty Job Search

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The following materials are commonly requested.  We encourage you to schedule an appointment with a career advisor to review your …

Academic Interviews (Faculty Positions)

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Interviews for faculty positions often include two rounds:

First round – Phone or Video  (20-40 minutes)

This is an initial …

Choosing between job offers (worksheet)

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Receiving two or more job offers can be both an exciting and stressful time. Whether you are waiting to hear …

Academic Job Offers

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If you receive an academic job offer, express interest, and then take the time to carefully assess whether the offer …

Tips for virtual career fairs

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Virtual career fairs offer the opportunity for students and employers to connect in ways that transcend physical distances, at greater …