Graduate Student Professional Development

Discover resources, connect with mentors, dive deeper into MIT’s 7 professional development competencies, and find out about upcoming events and opportunities.

Graduate professional development is skills-based training complementary to your academic coursework that will augment any career path you decide to follow, within and beyond academe.

MIT provides professional development resources to help you deepen your skills and knowledge in seven areas: career advancement, communication, interpersonal skills, leadership and mentoring, personal development, social responsibility, and teaching. Honing these competencies will give you the confidence to thrive and contribute as a researcher, educator, industry leader, and citizen.

 

Individual Development Plans (IDPs)

Individual Development Plans, or IDPs, are a key professional development tool used within both academia and industry to establish priorities, set goals, and track progress. You can create your own tailored Individual Development Plan to guide you in self-assessment, exploration, goal setting, implementation, recording milestones, and reflection.

By creating and using an IDP,  you can optimize your PhD years by planning experiences that will help you build the competencies and skills you need not only to finish your degree but to keep rising throughout your career.

Flagship Programs

Graduate Students of Color Mentoring Circles

The Graduate Students of Color Mentoring Circles connect students with alumni who provide culturally relevant perspectives on academic and industry careers. The next program will run in Spring 2023.  Interested graduate students, email Elsie Otero at eotero@mit.edu.

The Path of Professorship

This exceptional 3-day event for MIT graduate and post-doctoral women provides information about academic scientific careers and the application process.


MIT Alumni Advisors Hub

Think of the worldwide community of MIT alumni as a vast and renewable resource that you, as an MIT graduate student, are invited to tap and leverage.  Using the Alumni Advisors Hub is one of the most powerful ways there is to augment your technical training. There’s no better source of information and wisdom to inform your journey than the scholars and professionals who have been where you are now, and gone on to discover, teach, influence, and lead with excellence in the world beyond the Infinite Corridor.

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Resource Library

Ready to dive in? The Graduate Professional Development Resource Library is a curated collection of articles, web resources, podcasts, books, and more.

Click to view the resource library


Faculty Job Search Series (FJSS)

The Faculty Job Search Series (FJSS) supports graduate students and postdocs who are preparing for the faculty job market.  The program brings together expertise from around the Institute, including faculty, CAPD, the Writing and Communication Center, the Teaching and Learning Lab, the OGE, and the Engineering Communication Labs. 

Build a strong application informed by experts across the Institute via overviews, faculty panels, deep dives, and hands-on-workshops aligned with the timeline of the faculty job search.

Grad Student Appreciation Week: Speedy Nutrition for Grad Students on the Go 

Tuesday, April 4, 2023
11am – 1pm
E19-202
Learn more: https://bit.ly/3TNftnF

Are you busy? Are you hungry? Are you looking for ways to build a little more nutrition and healthy eating into your day? CAPD’s Graduate Student Career Advising and …

By Tara Thakurta
Tara Thakurta
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Graduate Student Appreciation Week

This graduate-student-centric week will include raffles, paint nights, free chair massages, and more wellness-related programming!

View the Graduate Student Appreciation Week events on the OGE website here.

2023 schedule:
Monday-Friday, April 3-7
Free coffee or tea at Area Four (M-F, 11:30am …

By Tara Thakurta
Tara Thakurta
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Alumni Panel: Setting Yourself Up for Success in a New Job

Join a panel of MIT alumni to hear their advice on navigating the transition from the university environment to starting a new job, and how to set yourself up for success in your career progression. Potential discussion topics include: -Making …

By Amanda Cornwall
Amanda Cornwall Graduate Student Professional Development
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Experimental Ethics Teaching Fellowship

Apply to be a Teaching Fellow by 4/23

Experiential Learning at MIT (ELO) is hiring graduate students from across all disciplines to serve as Graduate Teaching Fellows for Experiential Ethics, a discussion-based summer course that introduces MIT undergraduate students to …

By Amanda Cornwall
Amanda Cornwall Graduate Student Professional Development
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Survey on Graduate Communications

Has your MIT experience helped you build communication skills? You are invited to participate in a 15-minute anonymous survey to give your input. Those who complete the survey may enter a raffle onto win one of 40 $25 Amazon gift cards. Your input …

By Amanda Cornwall
Amanda Cornwall Graduate Student Professional Development
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Featured Profiles

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  • Senior Lecturer, Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program

Diana Chien

Alumni, Partner
  • Program Director, School of Engineering Communication Lab

Sean Clarke

Alumni, Partner
  • Communication Instructor + Biotech Liaison