Career & Professional Development Programming for Graduate Students

WPI is committed to providing our students with the best possible graduate education. We know that scientists, engineers, teachers, and researchers face an increasingly competitive world and to best prepare our trainees for their future careers, we offer a number of free professional development programs throughout the year that are open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from all disciplines. We run intensive multi-session workshop series on pertinent topics, such as communication skills, career management, pedagogy, leadership, and responsible conduct of research as well boot-camps on thesis/dissertation writing, fellowship writing, and both academic and non-academic job searches.

Many of these programs culminate in the formation of peer groups which are provided additional guidance and mentoring. For example, peer writing groups are formed following the fellowship boot-camp to enable graduate students to receive peer feedback on fellowship proposals and keep each other on task to ultimately submit a fellowship application.

Throughout the academic year we also organize STARS – WPI Student Training and Readiness Sessions, which offers graduate students the opportunity to learn about a variety of career and professional development topics each month. Beyond the various workshop series, we annually run the Graduate Research and Innovation Exchange (GRIE), a two-part research symposium in which graduate students competitively present posters of their research for awards, and the Three Minute Thesis (3MTR) competition, a platform for PhD students to compete in delivering short presentations on their research to a broad audience. 

In addition to these professional development programs, career development programs and services are offered to WPI graduate students through the Career Development Center (CDC), which works closely with the Office of Graduate Studies. All of our career and professional development programs assist students with each step along the way in their training and development by providing resources both academic and nonacademic that will help chart the path through graduate school and beyond.

WPI is committed to providing our students with the best possible graduate education. We know that scientists, engineers, teachers, and researchers face an increasingly competitive world and to best prepare our trainees for their future careers, we offer a number of free professional development programs throughout the year that are open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from all disciplines. We run intensive multi-session workshop series on pertinent topics, such as communication skills, career management, pedagogy, leadership, and responsible conduct of research as well boot-camps on thesis/dissertation writing, fellowship writing, and job searches.

Throughout the academic year we also organize STARS – WPI Student Training and Readiness Sessions, which offers graduate students the opportunity to learn about a variety of career and professional development topics each month. Beyond the various workshop series, we annually run the Graduate Research and Innovation Exchange (GRIE), a two-part research symposium in which graduate students competitively present posters of their research for awards, and the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, in which PhD students competitively present their dissertation research to a broad audience in three minutes using a single static slide .

In addition to these professional development programs, career development programs and services are offered to WPI graduate students through the Career Development Center (CDC), which works closely with the Office of Graduate Studies. CDC annually runs a fall and spring career fair, virtual career fair, various employer information sessions. All career fairs and employer information sessions are be able to register through Handshake. All of our career and professional development programs assist students with each step along the way in their training and development by providing resources both academic and nonacademic that will help chart the path through graduate school and beyond. 

Programs

Student Training and Readiness Series (STARS)
A multi-session series run monthly throughout the academic year to provide overviews on a variety of pertinent career and professional development topics. The topics covered in the STARS sessions varies from year to year and is based on graduate student career and professional development interests and needs. The STARS series has sessions that are relevant for all graduate students and many sessions that are also relevant for postdocs. 

IDP Program 
A short workshop series run each fall to provide guidance on how to effectively manage one’s career, with a focus on individual development plans (IDPs), as well as how to advance in one’s career, with a focus on honing effective networking skills and obtaining the right mentoring. The IDP series is designed for PhD students and postdocs, though masters students may participate as well. 

Graduate Researcher Education and Training Series 
A multisession series run each year to provide instruction on fundamental skills and knowledge graduate researchers (PhDs, Masters Thesis Students) need to be successful in their research activities. This series has a specific focus on research communication skills (fellowships, manuscripts, posters, communicating research to non-technical audiences), with other topics, such as finding and critically reading research literature being covered as well.  

Graduate Fellowship Workshops
Workshops are run annually in the Fall (NSF GFRP Boot Camp) and most Spring semesters (NIH and Foundation Fellowships) providing guidance on applying for the NSF GRFP and NIH NRSA F31 graduate fellowships, respectively. The NSF GRFP is a fellowship opportunity for graduate students in their first two years of graduate training and the NIH NRSA F31 is a fellowship opportunity for biomedical PhD students in the dissertation research phase of their PhD training. Both opportunities are only open to US Citizens, Naturalized Citizens, or Permanent Residents. Participants in the workshops should plan to apply for these fellowships. 

Postdoc Search Boot Camp
A short series run each fall to provide guidance on best approaches to identify and secure a postdoc opportunity. This program is intended for mid- to late-PhD students as well as postdocs. 

Entrepreneurship and Start-up Boot Camp
A Boot Camp run run each year offering guidance, training, and resources on developing entrepreneurship skills and launching start-ups. Program is for graduate students and postdocs that are interested in entrepreneurship and launching start-ups. The 2021-2022 bootcamp will be run in Spring 2022. 

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Course (ID500)
A zero credit graduate course run each winter to provide instruction on best practices in research and experimental design, data management, and record keeping, as well as provides an overview of authorship rights, mentoring, collaboration and conflicts of interest, research subjects ethics and policies, intellectual property and ownership of data, and research misconduct, among other topics. The course satisfies NIH RCR requirements.

Leadership Series
A multi-session series run every other spring to bolster leadership skill development through interactive workshops on personality type and self-awareness, emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills, team dynamics and multicultural competencies, conflict management and negotiation, organizational leadership, strategic planning, as well as project and time management. Graduate students have the option of joining a peer leadership group following the series to continue developing leadership skills. The next leadership series will be run in Spring 2022. 

Pedagogy Course (ID527)
A zero credit graduate course run each Fall to bolster teaching proficiency through in depth and interactive sessions on the science behind student learning, scientific teaching, assessments and rubrics, active learning, project based learning, technology in the classroom, and course design. Participants will learn through both lecture and practicum format of the course, and will work in small groups to develop a short teachable unit incorporating the techniques learned throughout the course, which they will ultimately present at the conclusion of the series.

PhD Career Chat Series
A short series run each summer and fall to broaden PhD students’ awareness and familiarity with the range of career options for STEM PhDs. Talks are delivered by PhDs, many of which are WPI grad alumni, in interesting career sectors. PhD Career Chat sessions are promoted through the graduate student biweekly newsletter.  

Thesis/Dissertation Writing Boot Camp 
A series run each winter providing a general overview of thesis/dissertations, including their organization, writing strategies, and literature review. Graduate students have the option of joining a peer writing group following the series to give and receive peer feedback on sections of their thesis/dissertation and to stay on task with completing their writing in a timely manner. 

Graduate Research and Innovation Exchange (GRIE)
An annual graduate research symposium featuring two rounds of graduate student poster presentations with prizes awarded. GRIE enjoys significant participation level by graduate students and is widely attended by faculty and industry representatives. GRIE typically takes place in early February each year. 

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition
An annual competition that challenges PhD students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience using only a single static slide. 3MT celebrates the discoveries made by PhD students and encourages their skill in communicating the importance of research to the broader community. 3MT competitions are held in the Spring.