a planner with post-its and the word "career"

Career & Professional Development

The Office of Career and Professional Development (CPD) supports graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in their career exploration and planning. We provide students, postdocs, faculty, programs, and departments with resources and opportunities that help GradTerps and PostdocTerps build professional skills and prepare for diverse career paths.

Career development is an ongoing process that involves reflecting on one’s values, interests, and experiences, exploring career options, and identifying the skills and experiences needed to pursue one’s professional goals. Career development overlaps with, but is distinct from, professional development. Professional development is the process of gaining specific knowledge, training, and competencies related to your career trajectory.

It is critical for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to actively engage in career and professional development long before beginning your job search. In fact, engaging in purposeful professional development and career planning from day one are important parts of the graduate student and postdoctoral scholar experience and are essential to building a fulfilling career across one’s lifetime.

The Office of Career and Professional Development supports graduate students and postdocs across all four stages of career development shown in the model below: systematic self-assessment, research career options, focus and plan, and take action. Whether you are a student, a postdoctoral scholar, a faculty member, or an administrator, we encourage you to become familiar with the Career Development Model that guides our work and the resources and opportunities we provide.