Professional Development

When you participate in professional development, you build skills needed to succeed academically and thrive in your career.

Start here: DiscoverPD

DiscoverPD helps master’s and doctoral students at UW–Madison advance their academic and professional goals.

You’ll read more about the facets of professional development.
Our 5-minute self-assessment provides you a report of your strengths and weaknesses.
You’ll explore customized recommendations within each facet, and add these to your Individual Development Plan.

Behind DiscoverPD is a curated database of professional development activities on campus and beyond. Your recommendations will draw from this database, or you’ll have the option to search the database if you know what you’re looking for.

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Watch the 3-minute video.

INQUIRY, DISCOVERY, AND CREATION

DISCIPLINARY EXPERTISE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS

LEADERSHIP

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

MANAGING PROJECTS AND PEOPLE

COMMUNICATION

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

INTERPERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS

Individual Development Plan

The Individual Development Plan (IDP) helps you reflect, plan, and discuss in order to achieve your academic and professional goals.

What is the IDP?

It’s a process in which you will:

assess your skills, interests, and strengths;
define a written plan for developing skills; and
communicate with your mentor(s).

The product of this process will be a written, ever-evolving IDP document.

You’ll revisit your IDP at least once per year, to update and refine as goals change or come into focus, and to record progress and accomplishments.

How it works:

To create your IDP, you can start with one of the IDP resources listed below, or attend an IDP workshop hosted by the Graduate School. Your graduate program coordinator or faculty mentor may also be able to help you get started.

UW–Madison IDP policy:

IDPs are required for graduate students and postdocs with NIH funding, and recommended for all graduate students and postdocs regardless of funding source.

Related resources >>

IDP for HUMANITIES and SOCIAL SCIENCES

ImaginePhD is a free online career exploration and planning tool for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences.

IDP for BIOLOGICAL and PHYSICAL SCIENCES

myIDP is a web-based career planning tool, hosted by the AAAS, tailored to meet the needs of graduate students and postdocs in the sciences.

Professional development programming

Each semester the Graduate School, together with campus partners, hosts nearly 400 professional development events, which can be found through DiscoverPD and our events calendar.

Beyond the Tenure Track

A series that covers career exploration and job search strategy for non-academic employment.

Project Management

A one-day workshop, as well as materials from past workshops, about project management.

Programming grant

Funding for graduate student organizations to host professional development events.

Networking

Tips and resources for graduate students to improve networking experience and effectiveness.

More programming >>

For Future Faculty

A series aimed at preparing graduate students for careers as research and teaching faculty.

Advocacy

Communication and advocacy training hosted each spring in Washington, D.C.

Communicating your research

Three Minute Thesis® is a competition in which students explain their research to a lay audience.

Events

August
- August 26
  
  Data Wrangling in R 9:00AM, 5206 Sewell Social Sciences
- August 26
  
  Starting Strong and Staying on Track: Strategic Goals and Planning for Productivity 11:00AM, 1310 Sterling Hall
- August 27
  
  Data Wrangling in Stata 9:00AM, 5208 Sewell Social Sciences
- August 27
  
  Data Wrangling in R 9:00AM, 5206 Sewell Social Sciences
- August 27
  
  Flourishing in Graduate School: How to Manage Stress and Maintain Your Mental Health 1:00PM, Union South, Check TITU
- August 27
  
  Time Management for Graduate Students 3:00PM, 1310 Sterling Hall
- August 27
  
  Wisconsin CleanTech Network Forum – Clean Energy Policy in Wisconsin: Advocacy View 4:00PM, Orchard View Room, Discovery Building
- August 28
  
  Data Wrangling in Stata 9:00AM, 5208 Sewell Social Sciences
- August 28
  
  Data Wrangling in R 9:00AM, 5206 Sewell Social Sciences
- August 28
  
  Active Teaching Lab - Supporting Student Success in Canvas – Learn from the experience of others! 1:00PM, 120 Middleton Building
- August 29
  
  College of Letters and Science Teaching Assistant Training 8:30AM, 3650 Mosse Humanities Building
- August 29
  
  Data Wrangling in Stata 9:00AM, 5208 Sewell Social Sciences
More events

Career Exploration

Career advising for graduate students is usually offered within your school/college, department, or program, supplemented by career exploration programming offered through the Graduate School.

Alumni Success Stories

Alejandra Huerta
USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture Postdoctoral Fellow in Plant Pathology, Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management at Colorado State University
Alejandra Huerta earned a PhD in Plant Pathology from UW–Madison in fall 2015. As a student, she worked in Caitilyn Allen’s laboratory studying intraspecies competition in plant pathogenic bacteria. Huerta is now a postdoctoral fellow investigating bacterial-rice interactions.
Adam K. Schneider
Nurse Practitioner for UW Organ and Tissue Donation
As a DNP student who was also working at UW Organ and Tissue Donation as an organ procurement coordinator, Adam Schneider leveraged evidence-based strategies on organ donation to inform his team’s protocols, resulting in more viable organs from donors. He earned his DNP in 2017.
Andrea Bernstein
Hours Against Hate program coordinator for Milwaukee Jewish Federation
Andrea Bernstein earned her master’s degree in social work from UW–Madison in 2003, specializing in school social work. After graduation, she worked as a treatment foster care therapist before having her first child. She then stayed home for 12 years, but got involved in volunteer work in her community that directly led her to the job she has now.
More alumni career profiles and employment sectors

The National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

The National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) is an independent professional development, training, and mentoring community for faculty members, postdocs, and graduate students. It provides online career development and mentoring resources in a ready-to-access format that you can view anytime.

Starting with a core curriculum, NCFDD offers insight into foundational skills such as planning each semester, developing a daily writing practice, cultivating a network of mentors and collaborators, and managing stress and rejection.

Members can sign up to participate in online events including webinars, bootcamps, multi-week courses, and structured writing challenges. Plus, the NCFDD Discussion Forums offer a place to connect with others to seek or share advice.

Create an account to take advantage of expert webinars, writing challenges, the “Monday Motivator” e-newsletter and more.

Once you sign up through UW–Madison's institutional membership, you will have access to the full range of resources, trainings, and courses available through NCFDD.

Sign up now through UW–Madison's institutional membership >>