Professional development is an integral part of graduate education. In coordination with offices and centers across campus, the Graduate School helps graduate students develop the skills they need to succeed in both the academic and non-academic worlds.
Graduate School
Professional Development
Development Plan
The Graduate School encourages students to develop an Individual Development Plan to map out career goals and the steps of their professional development. Doctoral students can take advantage of Brown's distinctive development opportunities.
Center for Career Exploration
Center for Career Exploration
For more information or to make an appointment to see a counselor, use Handshake or email the Center for Career Exploration.
The Center for Career Exploration offers advising services and extensive programming for those seeking career information and job search assistance. You can schedule individual sessions to ask quick questions on resume or CV critiques, and attend programs and workshops. Services are geared to both master’s and doctoral students. All sessions are confidential.
The graduate student section of the Center for Career Exploration website links to many resources for career exploration, skill development, and specific interest areas.
Brown Ph.D. Career Beyond Academia Panel Series, Hiring Ph.D.--Employer's Perspective Info Session Series, and Turning Your Ph.D. into a Job Workshop Series.
Graduate students should complete their profile on Handshake. Handshake is Brown's system for making appointments, finding job postings and learning about workshops and events.
Graduate students should complete their profile on BrownConnect. BrownConnect allows students to connect with alumni for internship opportunities or networking.
View a Resume & CV workshop for PhD students video from spring 2021.
Distinctive Opportunities
Development opportunities include advanced teaching opportunities, Research Mobility grants and research travel funds, interdisciplinary scholarly opportunities at Centers and Institutes, communications workshops and public research talks, and a series exploring careers in higher education administration.
Leadership
The Graduate Community Fellows Program is an opportunity for graduate students to cultivate community, leadership, collaboration, and problem solving skills through developing and implementing initiatives that strengthen the Brown graduate community and foster a culture that respects and celebrates diversity, inclusion and equity. Initiatives fall under one of the following areas: Race & Social Justice, International Community, Wellness & Health, Family-Friendly, and Master’s Student Community.
Publishing
Publishing is one measure of student development. Graduate students are welcome to work with peer mentors in the Writing Center.
The Graduate School is pleased to celebrate and acknowledge publishing success: Please email your accomplishments to graduate_webmaster@brown.edu.
Additional Professional Development Opportunities
External awards are prestigious and a valuable acknowledgement of intellectual pursuit and promis. Writing a fellowship proposal can clarify your thinking about your research and improve your ability to communicate its impact
Developing teaching and presentation skills are measures of your development, whether you aim to teach, conduct research, or be a leader at a federal agency, a museum, or think tank.
English language and acculturation training is available to incoming international students during the summer, through a collaborative effort of the Center for Language Studies (CLS) and the Graduate School.
Presenting papers at professional conferences is important to doctoral students' academic careers and growth as professionals, and is relevant experience for careers both inside and outside of academe.
The Graduate Research Travel Grant provides supplemental funding for scholarly research travel that occurs during the academic year.
The International Travel Fund provides funding for graduate student conference presentations and research studies abroad.
Take advantage of resources and services at the CareerLAB. You can schedule individual sessions, drop in for quick questions on resume or CV critiques, and attend programs and workshops.
Groups for Humanities and Social Sciences and Life and Physical Sciences facilitate networking among current graduate students and alumni with advanced degrees from Brown University in these fields.