Professional Development

Students studying in the Bancroft Library

Making the Most of Your Winter Break for Professional Development

Winter break is finally here—a chance to take a breather after a hectic semester. But it can also be a strategic moment to invest in your professional growth. Without the usual demands of classes, research, or teaching, you have the space to think about your next steps, build new skills, and refocus on your career goals. Here’s how to make the most of your time off.
student studying at the inclusive excellence hub

Three Tips for Establishing a Daily Writing Routine

Students often single out finding time to write as one of the key time-management challenges of graduate school. With the various responsibilities of being a graduate student, including teaching, seminars, and conferences, writing can often fall by the wayside. A key strategy for combating resistance to writing is learning how to establish a daily writing routine.
aerial view of campanile and campus

Grad Slam 2026 Information and Prep Session

This workshop is intended to walk students who are interested in participating in the 2026 Grad Slam competition through the process of brainstorming a pitch, learning how to develop an engaging and accessible story and creating effective visual aides! The session will include: -a walkthrough of competition guidelines…
UC Berkeley Campus

Grad Slam 2026 Information and Prep Session

GRAD SLAM INFO AND PREP SESSION ***ALL DISCIPLINES WELCOME*** Presented by: GradPro DATE: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2025 TIME: 10:30 a.m -12:00 p.m. via Zoom (link will be sent to you prior to session) This workshop is intended to walk students who are interested in participating in the…

Remote Writing Boot Camp – Graduate Writing Center

The Spring 2023 (Spring Recess) Remote Writing Boot Camp will meet from 1 to 5 p.m. (PT) every day from March 27 through March 30, 2023. The purpose of this boot camp is to provide a quiet remote space for UC Berkeley graduate students to write. While there will be brief daily check-ins, the bulk of…

Copyright and Your Dissertation

This workshop will provide you with practical guidance for navigating copyright questions and other legal considerations for your dissertation or thesis. Whether you’re just starting to write or you’re getting ready to file, you can use our tips and workflow to figure out what you can use, what rights you…

Publish Digital Books & Open Educational Resources with Pressbooks

If you’re looking to self-publish work of any length and want an easy-to-use tool that offers a high degree of customization, allows flexibility with publishing formats (EPUB, PDF), and provides web-hosting options, Pressbooks may be great for you. Pressbooks is often the tool of choice for academics creating digital books,…

Advanced Zotero

Whether you’re just starting a research paper or preparing a draft of your dissertation, Zotero can be a useful tool for managing your research. This session will cover advanced features that will help you maximize your use of Zotero. Register for this session here.
Certificate

Advance Your Professional Skills in a Graduate Certificate Program

Earn a graduate certificate today, become a more competitive job applicant tomorrow  Photo by Lewis Keegan on Unsplash Did you know that as a UC Berkeley graduate student, you can obtain a graduate certificate in addition to your master’s, professional, or doctorate degree?…
Grad Slam 2021 Berkeley Graduate Division

Watch Our First-Ever Virtual Grad Slam!

Watch seven graduate student semi-finalists compete to be the Berkeley Champion! We’re thrilled to announce that Adélaïde Bernard was awarded first place in the Berkeley Grad Slam for her presentation titled, “Hungry Unicorns: How Antennas in Your Neurons Control Appetite.” Second place went to Neta Gotlieb for “The Impact of Stress on Pregnancy.” Iemaan Rana was…

The Power of Informational Interviews

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com via Unsplash.com Career planning as a graduate student can feel overwhelming, particularly if you’re interested in multiple career paths. Investigating and exploring what’s out there is something you can do alone, but a powerful way to save time and gain first-person…

Demystifying Networking

Photo by HIVAN ARVIZU @soyhivan via Unsplash.com To many grad students, the concept of networking has all sorts of negative connotations — it’s uncomfortable, vague, unnecessary, even fake or disingenuous. However, regardless of your goals, networking is integral to effective career planning, as it gives you…

Stamp Your ‘Passport to Professional Development’ to Win Prizes this Fall!

Attend six campus events to kick-start your professional development this semester. The start of the semester always presents a dizzying array of opportunities. How do you figure out where to begin with all of these resources? The Passport to Professional Development is a brand new initiative designed to…