The Graduate Division’s Graduate Student Professional Development Program (GSPDP) offers two courses that graduate students have found very useful, one on academic writing and one on mentoring. Consider taking one or both courses to help you target the specific skills you wish to develop. Registration for Spring 2025 classes will begin soon. Academic WritingGSPDP 320: Academic Writing for Graduate Students provides graduate students with formal instruction in the genres and mechanics of academic writing at the graduate and professional level. Through presentations, readings, discussion, and weekly peer editing, graduate students develop writing and editing skills necessary for their success as graduate students and future faculty. Here’s what students have said about this course: “I have gained important editing and writing skills. I also corrected a lot of grammatical and syntax errors. This course also informed me about writing processes outside of the dissertation that are important for any academic, and now I feel more confident and less lost about the expectations of certain types of writing. Because I have a clearer understanding about how to organize my writing process, I can also set more feasible expectations and goals. Having a space to learn about this and also seeing others going through the writing process has been extremely helpful.” “Sabrina does an awesome job of making the art of writing a more manageable process. Providing guidance on writing for students across different disciplines is challenging, however Sabrina does a great job of crafting flexible curricula so that students learn to improve writing regardless of the discipline. She provides strategies on time management, editing, content, structure, and resources that are extremely helpful. I am very happy I decided to take this course.” MentoringAs undergraduates participate increasingly in research, the opportunities for graduate students and postdocs to provide research and academic mentorship have risen dramatically. Possessing excellent skills in mentoring is also a requirement of the academic job search. GSPDP 301: Effective Mentoring in Higher Education, assists graduate students in developing the skills they need to be effective mentors in higher education, from creating mentoring plans and guiding students in skill development, to evaluating mentoring and writing a statement of mentoring philosophy. The course also enables graduate students to work effectively within the context of a mentoring relationship with their faculty advisers, and prepares students for the mentoring they will do in future academic and non-academic careers. The course consists of readings, face-to-face and online discussion, short assignments, and an applied component of mentoring. Read what students have said about this course: “I have gained confidence, skills, and the tools to become a better mentor and to also have established expectations of how I should be mentored as an individual. I feel as if I am rich in resources that will provide me with the capacity to dive deeper into what it means to be a good mentor and to give to other people who are starting out as new PIs. I am also leaving with tangible products (ie mentorship statement, evaluation criteria) that I can use and adjust wherever I go. I now start my mentee relationships with a mentorship agreement, and I wouldn’t have thought of that before.” “I found discussions with the instructors and other students to be really effective, and I received specific and helpful advice about particular issues or questions that I brought up in class. I also thought that the assignments were quite effective: the act of actually writing out certain thoughts or beliefs that I have made a big difference for me in thinking more deeply about them.” “I’m really grateful that a course like this exists! Mentoring is such an essential part of every career, but especially so in academia where the three–tier system (faculty / grad students / undergrads) is emphasized so strongly. However, it just doesn’t get talked about enough, and it’s so rare to have the opportunity to receive explicit instruction and guidance in mentoring. Thank you to the instructors!!” We hope you will take advantage of these courses!
The Graduate Division’s Graduate Student Professional Development Program (GSPDP) offers two courses that graduate students have found very useful, one on academic writing and one on mentoring. Consider taking one or both courses to help you target the specific skills you wish to develop. Registration for Spring 2025 classes will begin soon. Academic WritingGSPDP 320: Academic Writing for Graduate Students provides graduate students with formal instruction in the genres and mechanics of academic writing at the graduate and professional level. Through presentations, readings, discussion, and weekly peer editing, graduate students develop writing and editing skills necessary for their success as graduate students and future faculty. Here’s what students have said about this course: “I have gained important editing and writing skills. I also corrected a lot of grammatical and syntax errors. This course also informed me about writing processes outside of the dissertation that are important for any academic, and now I feel more confident and less lost about the expectations of certain types of writing. Because I have a clearer understanding about how to organize my writing process, I can also set more feasible expectations and goals. Having a space to learn about this and also seeing others going through the writing process has been extremely helpful.” “Sabrina does an awesome job of making the art of writing a more manageable process. Providing guidance on writing for students across different disciplines is challenging, however Sabrina does a great job of crafting flexible curricula so that students learn to improve writing regardless of the discipline. She provides strategies on time management, editing, content, structure, and resources that are extremely helpful. I am very happy I decided to take this course.” MentoringAs undergraduates participate increasingly in research, the opportunities for graduate students and postdocs to provide research and academic mentorship have risen dramatically. Possessing excellent skills in mentoring is also a requirement of the academic job search. GSPDP 301: Effective Mentoring in Higher Education, assists graduate students in developing the skills they need to be effective mentors in higher education, from creating mentoring plans and guiding students in skill development, to evaluating mentoring and writing a statement of mentoring philosophy. The course also enables graduate students to work effectively within the context of a mentoring relationship with their faculty advisers, and prepares students for the mentoring they will do in future academic and non-academic careers. The course consists of readings, face-to-face and online discussion, short assignments, and an applied component of mentoring. Read what students have said about this course: “I have gained confidence, skills, and the tools to become a better mentor and to also have established expectations of how I should be mentored as an individual. I feel as if I am rich in resources that will provide me with the capacity to dive deeper into what it means to be a good mentor and to give to other people who are starting out as new PIs. I am also leaving with tangible products (ie mentorship statement, evaluation criteria) that I can use and adjust wherever I go. I now start my mentee relationships with a mentorship agreement, and I wouldn’t have thought of that before.” “I found discussions with the instructors and other students to be really effective, and I received specific and helpful advice about particular issues or questions that I brought up in class. I also thought that the assignments were quite effective: the act of actually writing out certain thoughts or beliefs that I have made a big difference for me in thinking more deeply about them.” “I’m really grateful that a course like this exists! Mentoring is such an essential part of every career, but especially so in academia where the three–tier system (faculty / grad students / undergrads) is emphasized so strongly. However, it just doesn’t get talked about enough, and it’s so rare to have the opportunity to receive explicit instruction and guidance in mentoring. Thank you to the instructors!!” We hope you will take advantage of these courses!