Professional Development
There are opportunities for professional training, both within departments and around the University, that allow students to engage in activities that will enrich their potential for success. Some are formalized within the degree programs’ curricula. Others are offered by student organizations, department staff and U-M student services offices. By taking advantage of these opportunities, graduate students are better prepared to achieve career goals in academia and elsewhere.
These efforts to improve graduate student capabilities focus on the core competencies required of the researcher in academia. The skill sets that graduate students pursue for their professional development can be divided into the following general categories: communications, teaching, career preparation, research ethics and management, funding, advising, and personal effectiveness.
Quick Tips
Examples from the University of Michigan
- Business Administration
- Source: The Ross School of Business
- The Ross School of Business promotes teaching excellence by offering a broad range of instructional development opportunities for faculty and doctoral students. The Ph.D. offerings, administered through the RSB Teacher Development Program (TDP), are primarily for doctoral students. A variety of activities address the changing needs of Ph.D. students as they develop in their teaching careers. Offerings include workshops, seminars, mini-courses, panels, and informal brown bags. To learn more contact Brian Jones at .
- Department of Geological Sciences, GeoClub
- Source: Department of Geological Sciences
- GeoClub offers a venue for students to practice research talks, discuss field trips and provide a way for all those interested in earth science to discuss their personal, career and academic experiences in an informal environment. In addition to research and career experiences they organize most of the social events for the department and with their independent funds, provide undergraduates with financial assistance for textbooks, field trips expenses and equipment.
- Visit: GeoClub Website
- English Language and Literature
- The department sponsors a group known as Jobseekers. This group meets once a month to prepare students for interviews at the Modern Language Association’s annual conference. They offer students reimbursement for up to $400 spent for dossier postage. They also provide up to $600 in travel funds for students who have interviews at the MLA conference. In addition, there are mock interviews with the two faculty members who serve as directors of the group. The directors vet their cover letters and resumes. After the MLA, they do mock job talks for students who were invited for second stage interviews during the winter term. The directors keep a report on the students’ interview progress.
- Graduate Researchers in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Source: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Graduate Researchers in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (GREEBS) sponsors the Big Sibs Mentoring Program. This provides a comfortable, informal way for first year students (aka “Little Sibs”) to learn about the culture of graduate school, the EEB department, and how to excel at the University of Michigan.
- Visit: Graduate Researchers in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Website
- Graduate Summer Session in Epidemiology
- Source: School of Public Health
- Successful Scientific Writing is a one-credit course offered through the Graduate Summer Session in this department. While most of the one- and three-credit courses in the summer session are those typically provided in the graduate programs for this discipline, the goal of this course is for future professionals to “learn how to communicate the findings of their research and investigations more effectively and expedite publication of their manuscripts.” For more information about this course visit the Summer Session website.
- Visit: Graduate Summer Session in Epidemiology
- Human Genetics
- A variety of educational and clinical opportunities are integral to their genetic counselor training program. These include the departmental retreat which is held each fall. All faculty and students in the department participate in this annual weekend retreat. This annual event brings together the research and clinical sections, and focuses on events supporting both professional and personal development (e.g., grant review, poster presentations, career options). Alumni are included and the run a seminar.
- Immunology Journal Club
- The Immunology Journal Club (Immunology 815), held weekly, consists of informal presentations by students and fellows of journal articles or ongoing research in the presenter’s laboratory. This course is an informal way of preparing for preliminary exams. Students give three out of four presentations, and decide on the external speaker for one out of four presentations. Some faculty do attend these interactive sessions.
- Visit: 2009-10 Journal Club Schedule
- Industrial and Operations Engineering
- The curriculum for graduate education in this department is geared towards producing academics. The three course series (800, 801, 802) is designed to get the student engaged in research early. The 800 course includes completing an NSF application as one of the required activities. All domestic students are encouraged to apply for the NSF grants and many of their proposals have been funded. Although the international students are not eligible to apply, they still must complete the NSF application as a part of the 800 course.
- Introduction to Scientific Communication
- Source: Department of Pharmacology
- Pharmacology 502, Introduction to Scientific Communication, is a two-credit course that introduces graduate students to essential scientific communication skills. This begins with learning to search the literature over the Internet and ends with the challenges of writing an NRSA grant application and giving a short seminar. In-depth analysis of student writing and presentation skills is provided in class by the instructor, by other students working in small groups, as well as by guest scientists. Students participate in a mock study section to constructively evaluate each other’s grants.
- Visit: Course Syllabus
- Macromolecular Science and Engineering
- Source: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering
- TechComm 610: Dissertation, Dissertation Proposal, and Thesis Writing. This course is open to all students, domestic and international, who are writing their dissertations, dissertation proposals, or theses. Topics include: writing guidelines and their scientific base for problem definition and literature review; argument structures for the discussion of problems criteria, methodology, results, and conclusions; selection and ordering of information; editing visual aids; and special grammatical problems. This course provides some group instruction and some individual instruction. Because the instructor and assistants work with students on their own dissertations, those who enroll must have draft material ready for discussion and revision. Students can take this course up to two times as the one free course available to them when they register as a Ph.D. candidate with MacroSe 995.
- Physics Graduate Student Symposium
- Source: Department of Physics
- The Physics Graduate Student Symposium, first offered in the summer of 2007, encourages interdisciplinary exploration and offers the opportunity to hone communication skills in the context of supportive peer group-peers who are not shy to offer relevant critique. It is planned and administered by students only. Last summer 22 students from Physics, Applied Physics and Astronomy presented their work to audiences comprised of both graduate and undergraduate students. Learn more by looking at their calendar.
- Visit: Physics Graduate Student Symposium Calendar
- Writing for Publication
- Source: English Language and Literature
- Writing for Publication (811.001 Literary Research) This course is a practicum in scholarly publication for advanced graduate students, piloted as part of the department’s participation in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate. It combines a workshop format with a reading and discussion component. Students begin with an extended paper in draft form (a chapter of the dissertation, preferably or a seminar paper tied to the dissertation topic). In the workshop portion they read and critique student drafts. The course also includes discussion of issues, some related to expanding papers for publication and some related to venues of publication. Students hear from faculty members involved in editing journals or in reviewing for journals. The last few weeks of class they return to the revised versions of student essays.
Resources at the University of Michigan
- Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
- CRLT offers programs and services to support graduate students in all stages of their teaching careers from training for their first teaching experiences through preparation for the academic job market. Many of CRLT’s services are open to all graduate students, whether or not they are GSIs. These include the campus-wide teaching orientation, Preparing Future Faculty conference, seminars and consultation. For the full listing, go to the CRLT website.
- Visit: Services for Graduate Student Instructors
- Center for the Education of Women
- CEW is another center that regularly offers programs on professional and personal development. Their activities are open to all students. Read more about their wide range of resources.
- Visit: CEW Scheduled Programs and Events
- Checklist for Mock Interviewer
- Source: School of Natural Resources and the Environment
- The School of Natural Resources and the Environment has created a checklist for use by the interviewer in these practice situations to assess student performance in mock interviews.
- Download: Checklist for Mock Interviewer
- Counseling and Psychological Services
- CAPS regularly offers personal growth workshops. Some of the topics covered include time management, stress management, and test anxiety. These are structured as drop-in meetings; registration is not required. They post the calendar on their website.
- Visit: Counseling and Psychological Services Outreach and Education
- Rackham Graduate School Workshops
- Source: Rackham Graduate School
- Rackham Graduate School offers dozens of workshops each year, all designed to enrich the graduate experience and provide training in the core competencies of research professionals. The series includes workshops that target the interests of students at every phase of graduate education: first year students, those at candidacy, and students near degree completion. You’ll find workshops listed on the Graduate School’s main events calendar.
- Visit: Rackham Events Calendar
- Ten Commonly Asked Interview Questions
- Source: School of Natural Resources and the Environment
- The School of Natural Resources and the Environment has created a list of 10 commonly asked interview questions which they use in mock interviews with students. This includes a three-step approach to guide students in the preparation for the mock interview.
- Download: Ten Commonly Asked Interview Questions
- The Career Center
- The Career Center regularly offers workshops to assist graduate students as they transition into the next phase of their professional lives. Their services and resources aid in career exploration and job search activity for Master’s degree and Ph.D. students in every academic discipline. Career Center staff work in collaboration with academic units, employers and alumni/ae.
- Visit: Services for Graduate Students
- Universal Job Skills: Skills to Highlight in Your Resume/Cover Letter/Job Interview
- Source: School of Natural Resources and the Environment
- The List of Universal Job Skills is a useful summary developed by Lisa Yee-Litzenberg, Coordinator of Student Career Services at SNRE, after more than a decade working for a national non-profit.
- Download: Universal Job Skills: Skills to Highlight in Your Resume/Cover Letter/Job Interview
- University Library: U-M Teaching and Technology Collaborative
- Staff provide instruction and guidance in this workshop series on the use of information technology for effective research management and communications. These hands-on workshops are designed to assist graduate students at a range of skill levels, from novice to expert.
- Visit: Sessions sponsored by the University Library
- University Of Michigan Landscape Architecture Spring Break Internship Program
- Source: School of Natural Resources and the Environment
- The School of Natural Resources and the Environment has a spring job shadowing program for landscape architecture students.
- Download: University Of Michigan Landscape Architecture Spring Break Internship Program
- Worksheet to Customize Your Resume
- Source: School of Natural Resources and the Environment
- Lisa Yee-Litzenberg, Coordinator of Student Career Services at SNRE, provided a set of materials used at her school as preparation for the move from researcher/student into academic or other careers. The worksheet to customize your resume sets out an easy-to-follow scheme.
- Download: Worksheet to Customize Your Resume
Examples from Other Universities and Organizations
- Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID) Collection
- Source: Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate
- “The CID is an action and research project to encourage and support departments’ efforts to improve the quality of their doctoral programs by designing and putting new initiatives into practice … CID staff worked with leadership teams from over 80 departments that were selected to participate in the CID. On their campuses, leadership teams of faculty and students deliberated seriously about what did and did not work in their doctoral programs. Thereafter, departments implemented appropriate changes in the program, and began to assess their efforts.” Their “Exemplary Elements” collection includes descriptions of participating departments and their work in the CID.
- Visit: Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID) Collection
- Council of Graduate Schools - Ph.D. Completion Project
- Source: Council of Graduate Schools
- “The Ph.D. Completion Project is a seven-year, grant-funded project that addresses the issues surrounding Ph.D. completion and attrition. The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), with generous support from Pfizer, Inc. and the Ford Foundation, has provided funding to 29 major U.S. and Canadian research universities to create intervention strategies and pilot projects, and to evaluate the impact of these projects on doctoral completion rates and attrition patterns.” (The Rackham Graduate School is one of the participants.) The Promising Practices section contains descriptive summaries of lessons learned for six different topics.
- Visit: Promising Practices Selection
- Graduate School Skills Programme
- Source: The University of Warwick
- The University of Warwick has a Graduate School Skills Programme which exemplifies the approach taken in the United Kingdom to the professional development of graduate students. The carefully coordinated workshops and other training sessions cover a wide range of subject areas designed to provide students with the skills and experience necessary for successful completion of research degrees and preparation for employment.
- Visit: Welcome to the Graduate School Skills Programme
- PhDs.org
- Source: PhDs.org
- The goal of the site is help students to prepare for the changing demands of today’s job market and to provide a voice for early career scientists. Much of the advice is useful to graduate students in any discipline. It provides a selection of resources-articles, guides, research-in sections that span graduate student interests from how to select a program through completing the dissertation.
- Visit: Succeeding in Graduate School
- Re-envisioning the Ph.D.: Promising Practices
- Source: Re-envisioning the Ph.D.
- Re-envisioning the Ph.D. was a project funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts that ended in 2003. The project posed the question: “How can we re-envision the Ph.D. to meet the needs of the society of the 21st Century?” The Promising Practices site is still maintained by the University of Washington. The practices described are listed by topic and by institution.
- Visit: Re-envisioning the Ph.D.: Promising Practices