Best Practices For Departments

GradPro has partnered with departments and other campus offices to develop guidance on specific steps departments can take to support graduate students’ professional development. Faculty, staff, and students alike can adapt these practices for graduate student professional development in their respective departments.

Learn About What Departments Can Do

Practices that departments have successfully used to support graduate student professional and career development are outlined below, along with guidance on the steps faculty and staff can take to implement each best practice. Please note that these are general guidelines and not all best practices are relevant to each department. Coming soon: Expand each header for more information, tips, resources, and examples.

  1. Connect Students and Faculty with Graduate Student Professional Development Resources

  2. Provide Opportunities for Faculty to Understand and Normalize Non-Academic Career Paths

  3. Offer Tools or Structure for Faculty to Mentor on Professional Development Topics

  4. Connect Students with Career Exploration Tools

  5. Maintain a Department-Specific Alumni Network with Job Placement Information

  6. Organize Alumni Career Panels

  7. Host Networking or Professional Development Events

  8. Host Mock Job Interviews for Academic and Non-Academic Jobs

  9. Schedule a Professional Development Town Hall

  10. Conduct a Survey on Students’ Professional Development Needs

  11. Offer a Course on Professional Development

  12. Incorporate Professional Development Topics into Existing Courses

  13. Normalize and Support Students in Securing Internships and Other Experiential Learning Opportunities

  14. Develop a Departmental Job Placement Committee or Appoint a Job Placement Officer

  15. Equip Your Job Placement Officer or Committee With Information and Resources about the Non-Academic Job Market

  16. Create and Maintain a Departmental Handbook or Equivalent Resource for Job Search