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.

 

Strategic Tools for PhD Students

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.

Are You Ready for C.H.A.O.S.?

Being a graduate student at MIT is an endeavor like no other.

How can you stay focused and centered with so much going on? Will you ever have time to reflect on how you got here? How can you plan your next steps while taking on so much?

These are important questions, and C.H.A.O.S. can help! C.H.A.O.S. is an acronym for a non-linear design thinking process (and a handy mnemonic device) that will help you find patterns and order within the chaos.

Click the button below to experience C.H.A.O.S.

Signature Programming

Mentoring

Offered in IAP and summer terms, the Research Mentoring Certificate program offers PhD students and postdocs the opportunity to develop their mentoring practice within a supportive cohort.

The Graduate Students Mentoring Circles connect students with alumni who provide relevant perspectives on academic and industry careers. We are currently accepting registrations for the Spring 2025 session. Interested graduate students, email Elsie Otero at eotero@mit.edu.

Faculty Careers

The Faculty Job Search Series provides PhD students and postdocs with a suite of programming, including workshops, panel discussions, and instructional lectures on elements of the faculty job search. Throughout the academic year, the FJSS provides programming that aligns with the rhythm of the typical job market cycle. Learn what you need to know when you need to know it, and create an exceptional portfolio of job search materials to launch your post-PhD career.

The Path of Professorship, a long-running, application-based 2-day workshop — designed for MIT graduate and post-doctoral women and unique experiences of women and other underrepresented gender groups — provides information about academic careers in science and engineering, and the prepares participants to create strong, competitive applications for faculty positions. Accomplished MIT alumni who are now professors present their best tips and serve on panel discussions.


A person walks past a moving, motion-blurred subway train.

Professional development certificates for PhDs and postdocs

MIT offers 2 new professional development certificates to help graduate students and postdocs fast track and focus their growth in two essential areas: mentoring and grant writing.

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.


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


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Technology and Communication Studio

The Writing and Communication Center has launched a new Communication and Technology Studio to help you enhance your public speaking skills. At the studio, you can practice your presentations in front of simulated audiences and receive instant feedback from the PitchVantage software.

 


EVENT: Spilling the Tea on Leadership | 24 April 2025, 5pm

Thursday, April 24 | 5-6pm | On-campus

There’s something very special about the opportunity to hear directly from a leader about what her path to success was really like, how she learned to lead, and what has helped her to thrive. In …

By Lydia Huth
Lydia Huth Communication and Program Manager
Read more

Alumni voices in industry: Interview with Charles Chen from Big Pharma

In this interview with Charles Chen, a senior scientist in Big Pharma specializing in lipid chemistry, he shared his journey from earning a bachelor’s in chemical engineering at Michigan State University to completing a PhD in chemistry at King’s College …

By Nicholas Rotello-Kuri
Nicholas Rotello-Kuri
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Resource for Aspiring Academics

The academic journey, from graduate school to faculty positions and beyond, can be both rewarding and challenging. Navigating the pressures of research, teaching, service, and personal well-being requires more than just expertise in one’s field—it demands strategic support, mentorship, and …

By Tara Thakurta
Tara Thakurta Graduate Community Fellow
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Spring Programming at the WCC

As we step into a new semester, the Writing and Communication Center (WCC) is excited to offer two fantastic programs to help you achieve your academic and professional writing goals: Writing Together Online and the Writing a Journal Article Series. …

By Tara Thakurta
Tara Thakurta Graduate Community Fellow
Read more

Introducing the brand new Communication and Technology Studio at the WCC

The Writing and Communication Center (WCC) has launched a new Communication and Technology Studio to help you enhance your public speaking skills. At the studio, you can practice your presentations in front of simulated audiences and receive instant feedback from …

By Tara Thakurta
Tara Thakurta Graduate Community Fellow
Read more

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Featured Profiles

Diana Chien

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

Sean Clarke

Alumni, Partner
  • Communication Instructor + Biotech Liaison
Meet Sean
Meet Journee
  • Director of the Writing and Communication Center (WCC)
Meet Elena
Meet Breanna

Lily Liu

Graduate Student
  • PhD Student, gwaMIT Co-Chair
Meet Lily
  • Senior Lecturer, Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program
Meet David
  • Director of Product Management and Strategy / Alum Broadcom
Meet Ravi
  • Senior Advisor for Communications , MIT Office of the Vice Chancellor
Meet Michael Patrick
Meet Hannah
  • Associate Director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT
Meet Ashley

Featured Profiles

.

Meet Breanna
Meet Journee
Meet Hannah
  • Associate Director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT
Meet Ashley
  • Senior Advisor for Communications , MIT Office of the Vice Chancellor
Meet Michael Patrick
  • Director of the Writing and Communication Center (WCC)
Meet Elena

Lily Liu

Graduate Student
  • PhD Student, gwaMIT Co-Chair
Meet Lily
  • Senior Lecturer, Bernard M. Gordon-MIT Engineering Leadership Program
Meet David

Diana Chien

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

Sean Clarke

Alumni, Partner
  • Communication Instructor + Biotech Liaison
Meet Sean