Get help with your academic, career, professional, and personal development goals, from learning how to navigate graduate school to identifying and applying for jobs.
We'll help you create an Individual Development Plan (IDP), a tool to plan professional development experiences during your graduate education.
Using an IDP will encourage you to assess your current strengths, identify areas of growth, develop specific goals and outcomes for professional development, and to engage in ongoing communication with your faculty and mentors about your plans.
An IDP will help you maximize your graduate education experience by providing a framework for:
- Assessing your skills and strengths.
- Identifying your short-term and long-term professional goals.
- Developing a plan to meet your goals.
- Promoting communication with mentors.
You will want to revisit your IDP on an on-going basis, to update it as your skills and goals evolve and to record your progress and accomplishments.
Creating and Using Your Individual Development Plan (IDP)
- Conduct a self-assessment.
- Create your IDP.
- Discuss goals with your mentor/advisor.
- Implement the plan.
- Revise and update your IDP as you gain experiences and meet goals.
To learn more about the IDP process, view Creating a Professional Development Plan workshop slides. Then complete the Individual Development Plan Self-Assessment and create an Individual Development Plan. For additional information and support, contact Graduate Student Life.
