Free Career- and Skill-Building Memberships
UW–Madison graduate students and postdocs have access to a variety of free memberships and online tools to build their skills, explore career options, and more.
Whether you want on-demand information, live webinars, or both, these platforms are a great way to take charge of your professional and career development. They also complement the career services for graduate students as well as the in-person and online professional development programming for graduate students and postdocs offered on campus.
Browse the Tools
Many of these resources are available to anyone with a UW–Madison NetID.
Beyond Graduate School
Beyond Graduate School provides on-demand learning modules and live webinars that help master’s students explore career options and learn proven job search strategies. There’s also a video library where you can hear from master’s degree holders working in all career sectors.
Best for:
- master’s students
- recent master’s alumni
- all disciplines
Sponsored by the Graduate School Office of Professional Development.
Handshake
Use Handshake to browse and register for career events on campus, explore jobs and internships from employers nationwide, and sign up for personalized job recommendations based on your degree program, interests, and more. When you first sign up, your profile’s default setting is “hidden.” Employers, alumni, and other students won’t be able to see anything until you choose to unhide it.
Best for:
- master’s and PhD students
- all disciplines
Big Interview
Big Interview helps you learn, practice, and improve your interviewing skills and provides tips for everything from the job search process to writing a resume to negotiations. It combines training and practice to help you improve your interview technique and build confidence.
Best for:
- master’s and PhD students
- recent alumni
- all disciplines
ImaginePhD
ImaginePhD is an online career exploration and planning tool for the humanities and social sciences. It helps you assess your skills, values, and interests related to careers so you can create goals and explore career paths that align with your discipline.
Best for:
- PhD students
- postdocs
- non-academic careers
- humanities and social sciences
Developed by the Graduate Career Consortium, including support from UW–Madison.
Beyond the Professoriate PhD Career Training Platform
Beyond the Professoriate’s Career Training Platform helps graduate students, postdocs, and PhDs successfully transition into academic or nonacademic careers. Through two programs of study on Academic Careers and Professional Careers, graduate students and postdocs can explore career options and learn job search strategies to secure employment in academia and beyond.
Best for:
- PhD students
- postdocs
- recent PhD alumni
- academic and non-academic careers
- all disciplines
Sponsored by the Graduate School Office of Professional Development.
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning
The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) seeks to enhance excellence in STEM undergraduate education through the development of a national faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices for diverse learners. UW–Madison was one of six founding members of the CIRTL network, which now includes more than 40 research universities across the U.S. and Canada.
Best for:
- master’s and PhD students
- future faculty positions
- all disciplines
National Postdoctoral Association
The National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) supports postdoc professional development and collaboration among the postdoc community. NPA resources and events, such as the SmartSkills series, are available for graduate students and postdocs alike to leverage.
Best for:
- PhD students
- postdocs
Sponsored by the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.
NCFDD
NCFDD helps you build foundational academic skills such as planning each semester, developing a daily writing practice, cultivating a network of mentors and collaborators, and managing stress and rejection. In addition to one-time webinars, you can sign up for structured writing challenges, boot camps, and multi-week courses.
Best for:
- master’s and PhD students
- postdocs
- academic careers
- all disciplines
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers a full library of self-study courses available anytime, covering topics such as software, programming, productivity, design, project management, public speaking, and more. Different courses are geared toward all levels of experience from beginner to expert and can be completed at each learner’s own pace.
Best for:
- master’s and PhD students
- postdocs
- all disciplines
Looking for more?
The Graduate School’s professional and career development programming supports graduate students to learn skills that benefit them academically and support them to pursue a wide variety of career paths, from academic to non-academic careers.
The Graduate School
217 Bascom Hall
500 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Front Desk Hours:
Fall and Spring Hours
(September – April):
Monday – Friday
10 am – 3 pm
Summer Hours (May – August):
Monday – Friday
10 am – noon
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