report of the task force on graduate professionalization and career...
TRANSCRIPT
Report of the Task Force on Graduate Professionalization and Career Outcomes
Submitted on behalf of the committee by:
Susan Bibler Coutin
Chair of the Taskforce
Associate Dean, Graduate Division
February 24, 2014
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Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary……………………………………………………p. 3
II. Introduction……………………………………………………………p. 5
III. Recommendations……………………………………………………..p. 6
IV. Appendices…………………………………………………………….p. 16
Campus-wide outcomes data …………………………………………p. 16
Suggested content areas for professional development programming..p. 17
List of links to comparison programs on other campuses …………… p. 20
Internship literature summary ……………………………………….. p. 22
Individual Development Plan ……………………………………….. p. 25
Sample Alumni Tracking Template ………………………………… p. 30
References ………………………………………………………….. p. 31
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In order for the United States to remain competitive, it is estimated that more than 2.6 million
new and replacement jobs will require an advanced degree over the coming decade (ETS and
CGS 2012). Whereas some of the 50,000 doctoral recipients in the US each year go on to careers
in academia (NSF 2012), the majority do not. Much attention has recently been drawn to the fact
that most doctoral students develop narrow disciplinary expertise, without the broader
professional skills that are needed for success in non-academic fields. Three major national
reports published in 2012 have underlined the need for a more comprehensive approach towards
preparation of the next generation of leaders.
The UC Irvine Associated Graduate Students passed a resolution in Spring 2013 unanimously
supporting “increased academic support of career planning and professional development for
graduate students, with increased attention to faculty mentoring.” UC Irvine Graduate Division
Dean Frances Leslie, therefore, convened the Graduate Professional Development and Career
Outcomes Task Force to ensure that our campus is at the forefront of efforts to develop
innovative approaches to career preparation.
The Task Force was charged with identifying integrative strategies to establish and publicize
resources at the campus, school, and departmental levels in order to better prepare our doctoral
and masters students and our postdoctoral scholars for careers in their chosen professions. In
particular, the Task Force was asked to consider how best to broaden our understandings of the
careers for which we are preparing students, enhance students’ professionalization, improve
knowledge of career options, develop infrastructure to better support graduate students’ career
goals, identify or devise innovative educational models, and build our connections to off-campus
partners. In short, our goal was to devise an integrative strategy to develop well-rounded
graduates who will successfully compete for top positions in the years to come.
Recommendations:
These recommendations were created through the work of the full task force and four
subcommittees which met separately. We reviewed national reports, explored models developed
at other campuses, and analyzed campus data. The four subcommittees were: (1) Programming
and Structure, (2) Career Outcomes, (3) Employer and Alumni Partnerships, and (4) Promoting
Professionalization Strategies.
(1) Improve collection and sharing of information regarding job opportunities and career
outcomes.
(2) Create and disseminate informational resources to educate the campus about the value
of career alternatives.
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(3) Create structures that reward both academic and non-academic accomplishments.
(4) Make outcomes – in both academia and beyond – a measure of program quality.
(5) Create a comprehensive professionalization program, targeted to students and
postdoctoral scholars at multiple stages and with campus-wide, school, and
program-level offerings.
(6) Build partnerships with potential local, national, and international employers to
expand students’ employment opportunities.
(7) Involve UCI graduate alumni in professionalization activities.
Task Force Members:
Susan Coutin (Associate Dean, Graduate Division and Task Force Chair), Pasha Ameli
(Engineering Alumnus and Project Engineer at VERTEX), Carol Burke (Professor of English,
Graduate Council Vice-Chair), Jim Earthman (Professor of Chemical Engineering and
Materials Science), David Fruman (Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry), De
Gallow (Director of the Teaching, Learning & Technology Center), Tony Givargis (Professor of
Computer Science), Jutta Heckhausen (Graduate Council Chair and Professor of Psychology
and Social Behavior), Klemens Hertel (Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the School of
Medicine), Jen Jones (AGS Vice President and Doctoral Student in Political Science), Ketu
Katrak (Professor of Drama and Graduate Council Member), Christine Kelly (Career
Counselor for Graduate Students, Career Center), Sandra Loughlin (Director of External
Relations, Graduate Division), Goran Matijasevic (Sr. Assistant Vice Chancellor, Alumni and
Constituent Relations), Mike Mulligan (Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the School of
Biological Sciences), Ruth Mulnard (Associate Professor of Nursing Science and Graduate
Council Member), Keith Murphy (Assistant Professor of Anthropology), Gerardo Okhuysen
(Professor, Paul Merage School of Business and Graduate Council Member), Carol Olson
(Associate Professor, School of Education, and Graduate Council Member), Sierra Powell
(Career Planning GSR in the Graduate Division, Doctoral Student in Political Science),
Casandra Rauser (Director of Research Development, Office of Research), Soledad Reyes de
Mochel (DECADE Student Council co-Chair and Doctoral Student in Cellular and Molecular
Biosciences), Rolf Saager (Postdoctoral Research Fellow and former President of the UCI
Postdoctoral Association), Terry Shevlin (Professor in the Paul Merage School of Business),
Tony Smith (Associate Professor of Political Science), David Van Vranken (Professor of
Chemistry), Alladi Venkatesh (Professor in the Paul Merage School of Business)
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INTRODUCTION
In order for the United States to remain competitive, it is estimated that more than 2.6 million
new and replacement jobs will require an advanced degree over the coming decade (ETS and
CGS 2012). Whereas some of the 50,000 doctoral recipients in the US each year go on to careers
in academia (NSF 2012), the majority do not, particularly given changes in the University
system, including the rise in non-tenure track positions. Much attention has recently been drawn
to the fact that most doctoral students develop narrow disciplinary expertise, without the broader
professional skills that are needed for success in non-academic fields. Three major national
reports published in 2012 (Educational Testing Service and Council of Graduate Schools,
National Institutes of Health, National Research Council of the National Academies) have
underlined the need for a more comprehensive approach towards preparation of the next
generation of leaders. Campuses around the country, including Cornell, Michigan State, Notre
Dame, Stanford, SUNY Stonybrook, and many of our sister campuses have launched graduate
professionalization and career development initiatives.
The University of California, Irvine has already done much to prepare our doctoral students and
postdoctoral scholars to be competitive for career opportunities in academia and beyond. We
were among the first in the nation to establish a Graduate Resource Center with regular
professionalization programming for our doctoral students. We offer two innovative campus-
wide graduate communications courses, taught by the Department of Drama and the School of
Physical Sciences. Our Career Center’s Graduate Career Counselor regularly holds workshops
and offers career advice to graduate students. Many schools and programs offer
professionalization workshops to their own graduate students.
Yet, more remains to be done. The UC Irvine Associated Graduate Students passed a resolution
in Spring 2013 unanimously supporting “increased academic support of career planning and
professional development for graduate students, with increased attention to faculty mentoring.”
UC Irvine Graduate Division Dean Frances Leslie, therefore, convened the Graduate
Professional Development and Career Outcomes Task Force to ensure that our campus is at the
forefront of efforts to develop innovative approaches to career preparation.
The Task Force was charged with identifying integrative strategies to establish and publicize
resources at the campus, school, and departmental levels in order to better prepare our doctoral
and masters students and postdoctoral scholars for careers in their chosen professions. In
particular, the Task Force was asked to consider how best to broaden our understandings of the
careers for which we are preparing students and scholars, enhance students’ and scholars’
professionalization, improve knowledge of career options, develop infrastructure to better
support their career goals, identify or devise innovative educational models, and build our
connections to off-campus partners. In short, our goal has been to devise an integrative strategy
to develop well-rounded graduates who will successfully compete for top positions in the years
to come. We hope that the recommendations contained in our report will enable our campus to
scale up and coordinate our efforts in ways that will benefit our graduate students, faculty, and
the university as a whole.
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Some have expressed the concern that graduate students’ participation in professionalization
activities may reduce their productivity and increase their time-to-degree. We note, though, that
students who participate in such activities may actually become more productive in their research
and scholarly activities. We view professionalization activities as a comprehensive addition to
doctoral training that is meant to supplement and in no way replace students’ intensive
disciplinary expertise. We also recognize that no single solution will meet the needs of all
disciplines, given that there are field-specific differences in professional training and career
opportunities. It is therefore important to establish a good balance between campus-wide,
school, and program-level programming, and to create multiple avenues through which students
and postdoctoral scholars can obtain career information. We hope as well that our report will
open a conversation that will continue in the coming years as we continue to evaluate and refine
our efforts.
RECOMMENDATIONS
(1) Improve information regarding job opportunities and career outcomes.
When they are embarking on doctoral study, it is critical for our students to be well
informed about their career prospects upon graduating. Currently, many doctoral
students are not made aware of the rigors of the job markets in their fields, so they labor
through their programs without a proper understanding of what may be necessary to
achieve a tenure track job, how to prepare themselves for career alternatives, or the career
outcomes of previous graduates from their degree programs. Furthermore, faculty may
only be knowledgeable about the achievements of their own advisees and may lack a
more global perspective on doctoral student placement. The recent efforts and the very
good tracking of outcomes one-, two- and three-years post-graduation are critically
important first steps, but more remains to be done to create transparency.
Recommended measures:
Provide incoming doctoral students with program-level information regarding recent
graduates’ actual placements or job outcomes, completion times, and attrition rates so
that students are laboring with as much information as possible.
When tracking alumni outcomes, also record students’ advisors’ names.
(2) Create and disseminate informational resources to educate the campus about the value
of career alternatives.
Institutional culture largely prioritizes academic jobs over other career alternatives, even
though many doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars elect to pursue jobs in non-
academic positions. Data regarding UCI doctoral employment outcomes show that only
16-20% of students are hired in tenure track academic positions one- and three-years post
graduation, with variation across schools (see appendices). Some limitations of the data
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were noted, including the recession and the relatively short term after graduation
surveyed. Despite these limitations, our campus data is consistent with national data
showing that a minority of doctoral students enter traditional academic careers. In light of
these outcomes, it is incumbent upon our campus to research career alternatives, make
information about these available to students, and train students for these opportunities.
Recommended measures:
Disseminate the Task Force Report through the Graduate Advisors Luncheons and
Associate Deans meetings, post it on the Graduate Division website, agendize for
discussion at a Deans Advisory Council meeting, and present it to the Graduate Council
Circulate campus-wide and school-specific outcomes data accompanied by data from
comparison institutions
Provide faculty with information regarding working conditions, including pay, in
multiple career options (e.g., academic, government, industry, nonprofit), and present this
information in a comparative format
Create workshops and resources to help inform faculty advisors of career alternatives for
students and postdocs
(3) Create structures that reward both academic and non-academic accomplishments.
In many sectors of the campus, academic accomplishments are valued over nonacademic
ones. Disturbingly, many doctoral students report that they are afraid to divulge
nonacademic career goals to their advisors (see AGS Resolution in appendix). These
students fear that faculty will regard them as failures if they do not seek academic
positions and will, therefore, invest less time and fewer resources in their success.
Furthermore, some of the students who are seeking academic positions are aiming for
teaching-oriented institutions. At the same time, faculty may lack information about
pathways, working conditions, and salary ranges in careers beyond academia, though it is
important to note that not all programs are the same in this regard (for example, in
biomedical engineering, an academic job is the "alternative" career.) Consequently,
faculty may discourage students from taking advantage of professional development
opportunities, particularly those that are more associated with alternatives to academic
careers, viewing these as distractions from students’ performance as researchers.
Likewise, review criteria for awards and fellowships may value academic
accomplishments and goals more than nonacademic ones.
Recommended measures:
Encourage students to consider both non-academic posts and academic positions from the
outset of their graduate experience. This could be addressed through department, school,
or campus based seminars, brown bag series, or other open events. Some on the
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committee feel that this effort should occur at every level (campus, school, department)
in order to cast as wide a net as possible.
Encourage programs and schools to have open conversations about career options in
order to reduce student anxiety about discussing their career goals with faculty
Change terminology to focus on “career alternatives” both to reflect disciplinary diversity
(in some fields, academic careers are the alternative) and to avoid stigmatization
Showcase stories of successful non-academic placements in Graduate Division spotlights,
and on the university website
Create a Professional Development Incentive Award (PDIA) competition, modeled after
the Graduate Growth Incentive Award (GgIA) program to fund professional development
initiatives at the program or school level
Invite PDIA awardees to give “best practices” workshops to other faculty
As appropriate, encourage award and fellowship review committees to acknowledge all
types of achievements, not only academic ones.
Improve our level of understanding of students’ actual career outcomes by obtaining
more information about the students who are in the “other” career category. This will
make it possible to discern what percentage of those students are in positions where their
doctoral degrees and doctoral training are germane to their occupations.
(4) Make outcomes – in both academia and beyond – a measure of program quality.
Currently, doctoral programs are not held accountable for student placements; rather,
these are seen largely as a reflection of students’ performance. Because of this lack of
accountability, comprehensive program-level information about career outcomes is not
widely available, even to students and faculty in programs. To the degree that outcomes
are examined, for example, as part of academic review structures, priority is given to
academic positions in research universities. In the final analysis, the Task Force
concluded that more should be done at every stage to help our doctoral students arrive at
a professional destination that articulates with their graduate training.
Recommended measures:
Publicize program-level placement data
Encourage programs to evaluate placements as part of Program Learning Outcomes
assessment
Incorporate placement outcomes and preparation for career alternatives as review criteria
for the Academic Program Review Board
Encourage faculty to participate in discussions of career alternatives within their own
professional associations, and to thus contribute to changing national culture
Evaluate whether students’ and postdocs’ participation in professionalization activities
(e.g., leadership, conflict management, communicating to broader audiences, time
management) enhances their research productivity.
Encourage the academic senate to consider how best to reward faculty for engaging in
graduate and post doc professional development activities
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Designate faculty and staff who will be responsible for monitoring and improving student
outcomes, at the program, school, and campus-wide level. For example, faculty who
already hold particular responsibilities regarding their own graduate programs may take
on placement responsibilities as well, a school-wide committee could be charged with
this task, and, as noted below, the Graduate Division could develop additional
programming dedicated to professionalization and career outcomes.
Issues: Some suggested that the nomenclature of “placement” be replaced with
“outcomes” (based on accepted nomenclature in career advising field) while others felt
that the broad use of “placement” among the various disciplines suggest we should not
veer away from that nomenclature since it is so widely used. Some on the committee
believed faculty should primarily carry out placement functions, others thought staff
should be given this charge, others thought both staff and faculty should be part of this
initiative.
(5) Create a comprehensive professionalization program, targeted to students and
postdoctoral scholars at multiple stages and with campus-wide, school, and
program-level offerings.
While our campus has made great strides through the Graduate Resource Center (GRC)
and program and school-level initiatives, more could be done to ensure that all doctoral
students and postdoctoral scholars are well-informed about and well-prepared for
available career opportunities, and that professionalization opportunities target all stages
of study and multiple areas of competency. Currently, doctoral students, postdoctoral
scholars and many faculty may lack knowledge about nonacademic career paths, and few
faculty have the professional development expertise needed to address the broad range of
skills needed to complement students’ and scholars’ deep disciplinary training.
Furthermore, faculty-advisee conversations about careers may occur late in students’
studies, thus missing the opportunity for students to pursue professional development at
earlier stages of study. Many major universities provide training in general professional
skills including Michigan State, University of Virginia, Syracuse University, Stanford,
Notre Dame, Cornell, McMaster, SUNY Stony Brook, and our sister campuses, UCSC,
UCD, UCSD, UCSB and Berkeley (see links and brief descriptions of these programs in
the appendices). For our own faculty and doctoral students, it is important to clarify what
is meant by the term “professional development” and the fact that our professional
development initiative is designed to enhance the competitiveness of all students and
postdoctoral scholars, whether they are pursuing careers in academia or beyond.
A 2012 UC Irvine graduate student survey revealed that 57% of respondents valued
professional development, only 41% were satisfied with the existing level of professional
development available, and 40% did not know whether they were satisfied; 53% of
doctoral students reported that their original career goal was academia but only 44%
remained committed to academia at the time of the survey; not all students had spoken
with their advisors about careers or had been offered professional development
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opportunities in their programs; and only 44% said that their advisors had assisted them
in professional development.
A UC Postdoctoral survey conducted in Spring 2012 obtained similar results. Half of the
postdocs surveyed wanted more career workshops, many postdocs only discussed career
and professional development with their Principal Investigators (PIs) once a year or less,
68% of postdocs did not seek mentorship outside of UC Irvine, and two-thirds of
postdocs sought faculty appointments while one-third wanted a career in industry.
Desired professionalization opportunities included grant writing, the faculty career path,
alternative opportunities, teaching strategies, and scientific writing and publishing.
Recommended measures:
Further structure and integrate professionalization opportunities on our campus around
six areas of emphasis: communications, responsible creation, collaboration, wellness,
pedagogy, and careers (see appendices for detailed description). This will train our
students and scholars and also offer employers information on the skills our students
develop in addition to deep disciplinary expertise.
o Note that many of these topics would further careers in academia or beyond
o Encourage coordination across campus entities; for example, closely related
disciplines might want to form clusters to sponsor professionalization activities
o Brand the professional development initiative. For example, a possible name for
the program is the Graduate Professional Success or GPS Program. The key
question we should be asking is: What is the best 21st century model for a young
school like UCI? Our campus is known for innovation
o Programming should occur with some regularity, so, if people miss, they know to
try again.
o Create multiple avenues through which students and postdoctoral scholars can
obtain career information, and thus achieve a good balance between campus-wide,
school, and program-level programming
Build on current workshops and one-on-one consultations by offering not-for-credit short
courses on specific topics with clear objectives through the Graduate Resource Center
(e.g. PDA workshop series http://pda.grad.uci.edu/teaching-skill-development-workshop-
series/, Career Center’s "Academic Job Search Boot Camp”, and workshops offered at
the Teaching, Learning & Technology Center).
o Students who complete not-for-credit courses might receive certificates
acknowledging their achievement
Encourage academic units with appropriate expertise to develop campus-wide
professional development courses or offerings.
o Hold an annual competition through which programs can propose campus-wide
professional development courses to be piloted with Graduate Division support,
with a plan to sustain the course beyond the pilot period. This competition can be
a component of the Professional Development Incentive Award competition
described above.
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o Alternatively or in addition, create an expectation of reciprocity, such that each
school might offer one campus-wide professional development course open to
students from outside their school
o When possible, pursue a “Train-the-trainers” model, as has occurred with the
Graduate Communications course offered by the Department of Drama , and with
the Pedagogical Fellows Program offered through the TLTC
o Develop a repository of professional development syllabi, for example, in the
GRC
o Involve School of Education in pedagogical training, and consult with Business
and Law Schools regarding their professionalization and career placement efforts.
Encourage programs and schools to incorporate professionalism as a regular aspect of
their departmental graduate student colloquia
o Classroom visits, e.g., during proseminars, provide an opportunity to offer an
introduction to professionalization issues, and to point students to where they can
find other information in the future
Identify metrics through which professional development programming can be assessed
and improved
Encourage student participation by providing additional conference travel funding upon
evidence of participation in professional development activities
By means of a checklist or use of the Individual Development Plan, ensure that career
planning is part of the faculty-student relationship from the outset, with more detailed
discussions as students near degree completion. Elements of such a checklist might
include:
o Do you take advantage of centers at UCI that have industry participation?
o Have you thought about who on your committee could help you get academic or
non-academic jobs?
o Have you visited the Career Center?
o Have you visited the GRC?
o Have you participated in pedagogical development through the TLTC?
o Have you asked your faculty to invite graduate student alumni to talk about their
career paths and bring professional connections?
Maintain a centralized website registry of campus career preparation and professional
skills development opportunities in the GRC, schools, and programs. This registry should
be easy to find and navigate and clearly identify the opportunity and learning outcomes.
Ideally, a full calendar-year of programming should be provided in a concise format that
is listed by topic that is easy to read on one page. One-to-one sessions should also be
clearly denoted. This comprehensive listing of opportunities will encourage
collaboration and reduce redundancy.
Seek funding to establish guided professional development fellowships, modeled after the
Pedagogical Fellows program
Revise the Individual Development Plan to include pedagogical training and preparation
Expand career support for graduate students, build on existing relationships with graduate
employers, and strengthen collaborations with the Career Center
Provide enhanced career counseling opportunities for post-docs (note that currently, UCI
postdocs must pay in order to receive Career Center Services and requests for such
services are increasing to the point that they are difficult to accommodate)
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Develop a webpage that informs both students and faculty about where to look for job
listings in different sorts of careers as well as how to translate skills and expertise for
different sorts of employers.
o Ensure that all doctoral students know the difference between a CV and a resume,
and are able to create their own versions of each
Advise incoming doctoral students about alternative non-academic positions. Indeed, the
most successful sectors on campus seem to orient the students from the very beginning of
their graduate school experience to consider how they should plan and prepare for the
career path they desire.
Encourage doctoral students to develop an early understanding of the elements of a
successful job market candidate whether in academics, industry, government, or the non-
profit sector.
Issue: A serious discussion at the program level is needed as to how to ensure that all
students engage in appropriate career development training. For example, programs could
require or encourage students to attend a career seminar at least once a year or to accumulate
a certain number of professional development “credits” (not necessarily the same thing as
academic units) over the course of their studies. Whatever format is selected, it will be
important for students to be able to list their professional development training or coursework
on their CVs and/or resumes. Students should be made aware of the need for such training as
early as possible in their educational progress.
(6) Build partnerships with potential local, national, and international employers to
expand students’ and postdoctoral scholars’ employment opportunities.
In order to expand the career opportunities available to our doctoral students and
postdoctoral scholars, it is critical to strengthen connections between our campus and
potential employers. Few doctoral programs currently give students industry
connections, for example, and while faculty may have close relationships with other
academic institutions, many lack networks with other potential employers. Additionally,
it is clear that there are misunderstandings on multiple sides. Graduate students and
postdoctoral scholars may not understand corporate culture and may not realize the full
range of opportunities offered by potential employers, while nonacademic employers
may not understand the advantages of hiring Ph.D.s.
A Task Force meeting with potential nonacademic employers revealed that industry
perceptions of Ph.D.s were both positive and negative. On the positive side, speakers
noted that in addition to their specialized, disciplinary knowledge: Ph.D.s have strong
intellectual skills, can read, write, and think analytically; have the ability to complete
projects by deadlines, have acquired leadership skills, demonstrate both commitment and
discipline, and have often worked collaboratively as part of research teams. On the
negative side, speakers worried that industry employers might see Ph.D.s as arrogant and
difficult to work with, unpolished, lacking in practical knowledge, and unable to
communicate in ways that can be understood by nonspecialists. To overcome these
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concerns, speakers emphasized, doctoral degree recipients needed to learn how to
translate their academic experience into nonacademic settings.
Recommended measures:
Identify opportunities for students to attend local and national professional meetings and
to participate in the career fairs held at such meetings
Encourage and support programs, departments and centers in their efforts to nurture
relationships with non-academic employers by inviting them to meet with UCI faculty
and students in campus workshops, panels, seminars and meetings.
Encourage development staff to incorporate internships into their outreach to companies.
Provide non-academic employers with information about the value of the graduate
degrees.
Build stronger connections with business, non-profit, and government sectors
o Faculty who share interests could reach out to employers to try to make
connections for students. Faculty who are gathered in research centers, institutes,
or other new forms of faculty clusters (Pilot projects- film example) might
facilitate connections with employers
o Build relationships with institutions that hire graduate students at the national
level, including large companies, institutes (Smithsonian), NGOs
o Invite UCI faculty who do consulting to give a graduate student workshop on
what it is like to consult.
o Ask faculty who do consulting whether we can build on their relationships to
government agencies and to think tanks.
o Organize panels to expose doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars to
opportunities in companies that they might not otherwise think about.
o Fold company visits into an experiential learning class, perhaps a modified
version of service learning. Faculty can invite industry partners to talk to their
classes
o Invite industry and other partners to the AGS research symposium on April 18,
2014.
o Organize “go visit a company” days
o Further develop our speakers bureau to enable graduate students and postdocs to
connect to outside entities
Link the CEO Roundtable to our Ph.D. programs, for example, through networking
sessions, student presentations at CEO Roundtable meetings, or other vehicles
Develop internships and related opportunities for doctoral students. This is a model that is
successfully used in many sectors on campus for undergraduates and in some sectors on
campus for graduates. This sort of foray into the job market should be broadly
encouraged.
o Successful Approaches Elsewhere:
UCSF Graduate Student Internship Program (http://gsice.ucsf.edu/) And
see UCSF study on career outcomes at beginning vs. end of program
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3164563/)
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3164563/pdf/239.pdf)
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USC “Connect with a Trojan” Career Network, “Explor@4” Interactive
Career Panels with industry professionals, Field study classes at the
undergraduate level (a model for how to do internships at grad level)
o Successful approaches on campus:
Teaching Internship, mentored by UCI faculty, at a community college,
but problems with health insurance, tuition, and fees
Bill Maurer’s program with Intel & the Center for Social Computing at
UCI is a good example
o Create opportunities for shorter 3 hrs/week rotations with companies or NGOs.
For example, students may be able to shadow individuals in companies, NGOs, or
government positions. Employers may allow such shadowing, because it is a way
to figure out whether students are potential employees. Something like this might
be a briefer part of a larger program, or a precursor to an internship.
o Companies may be willing to consider shorter internships for doctoral students,
for 1-3 months. Employers are interested in meeting people that they might
consider hiring later, and also building their relationships with UC Irvine.
Internships are like an extended interview. For industry, internships are an
opportunity to acquire talent, as there is a high cost to making a hiring mistake.
And for the university, internships are opportunities for students to enhance their
research through newly acquired skills.
Internships or shadowing opportunities could create an opportunity for some
productive feedback from the visiting student. E.g., a brainstorming session at the
end.
Prior to shadowing potential employers, students should have some sort of
preparation , e.g., developing an elevator pitch, doing some research on the
institution, thinking of some good questions to ask during their visit
To maximize impact, we could encourage students to have a conversation with their
faculty about their experience, report on what they got out of it, and/or write a
reflection
Over time, we can track what grows out of internships and visits
o Ground our internship program in research on models that have proven successful
elsewhere
o When possible, secure compensation for students who participate in internships.
o Recruit a faculty member to coordinate doctoral and postdoc internship
opportunities
(7) Involve UCI graduate alumni in professionalization activities.
Graduate alumni and postdoctoral scholars have valuable knowledge and skills, yet at
present, many doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, and even program faculty lack
robust connections to graduate alumni. Both the Graduate Division and academic
schools and programs have recently launched efforts to track graduate alumni better,
including a promising web tool called “GradTracks” that will enable alumni to post
information about their current location and activities. Additionally, some departments
have used Linked In to reach alumni. Building on these efforts will create new
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opportunities to connect doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate alumni.
Ideally, these efforts will also include undergraduate alumni who went on to complete
graduate degrees at other institutions, but who have an interest in supporting graduate
education at UC Irvine.
Recommended measures:
Improve alumni tracking of Ph.D.s in academic and nonacademic positions at least ten
years after graduation in order to assess, among other things, their impact on the
university's stature and/or resources (e.g. gifts, research contracts, etc.).
Request feedback from alumni on the “value” of their doctoral degree/training in non-
academic position, to assess what aspects of the current graduate programs work and
identify where gaps (in doctoral education) may exist.
Develop a program that facilitates partnering of doctoral students and postdoctoral
scholars with UCI alumni and other southern California employers to learn about and
network with professionals in their fields, similar to USConnect or Meet a Trojan.
o Bring alumni back to campus in department/center seminars and informal “inside
the career path” soft skills discussions with graduate students (both academic and
non-academic)
Provide all graduate alumni with a no-cost lifetime UCI affiliated email and/or email
forwarding.
Encourage successful graduate students to return for regular conversations with current
students about how they were able to successfully navigate their career paths.
o Create an annual Graduate Student Homecoming- possibly to coincide with AGS
Graduate & Professional Student Symposium on April 18th –host general and
departmental events
o Invite alumni to the AGS research symposium on April 18, 2014
o Encourage programs to create alumni advisory panels to work with doctoral
students
Develop a LinkedIn group for Public Impact Fellows, including those who are now
alumni, and invite the previous recipients to attend the Public Impact Fellows reception
each year. That is an opportunity for them to connect current recipients and to consider
donating to this program in the future (e.g., there could be one Alumni-funded Public
Impact Fellowship). Additionally, we would be able to track the careers of this high
achieving group.
Alumni outreach should include more than fundraising, but in addition, opportunities for
engagement.
16
APPENDICES
17
6 Areas of Emphasis with Outcomes
1. Communication:
New Ph.D.s will be able to produce tangible written and oral work that
communicates their research accomplishments effectively with others within
relevant career networks.
Oral Communication
o Developing Oral Presentations
o Presentation Skills
o Interview Preparation
Written Communication
o Writing a Cover Letter
o Writing and Publishing Skills
o Grant Writing for Funding
o Preparing a Research Statement
o Preparing CV
o Transforming CV to Resume
o Reports, briefs, lab reports, white papers and other sector-specific
communications
The Social Professional
o Socialization
o Professionalism
o Networking
o Technology
2. Responsible Creation and International Property:
New Ph.D.s will be able to channel their creativity and hold themselves and other to
the highest standard of responsible research.
Creativity
o Entrepreneurism
o Innovation
o Global Skills
o Intellectual property
Responsible Conduct of Research
o Ethics and Integrity in Scholarship
o Scholarly Integrity and Professionalism
o UC Policy
18
3. Working with Others:
New Ph.D.s will be able to adapt their role in diverse team environments from being
a mentee to being a leader.
Leadership
Project Management
Mentoring
Supervisory Development
Conflict Resolution
Teamwork
Diversity
o Inclusion
o Community Engagement
4. Wellness and Life Balance:
New Ph.D.s will be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle, balancing work and wellness
for long-term success.
Productivity
Effectiveness
Resilience
Success
Work-life and Wellness
5. Pedagogy:
New Ph.D.s will continue to improve their teaching skills by exploring pedagogical
espitemology and trends in higher education, and by applying new teaching
innovations
Teaching feedback and consultation
Workshop participation
Teaching Demonstration Preparation
Higher Education Trends
Development of innovative training programs
6. Careers:
New Ph.D.s will be able to learn resources to assist with choosing a career and the
job search process.
Building Work Experience
o Career Development
o Planning
o Internships
Career Exploration Strategies
o Job Searching
19
o Exploring Career Options/Searching for a Job
o Understanding Differences Among Institutions
o Whether you need and how to get a Postdoc
o Identifying Transferable Skills
Once You’ve Been Hired
o What to Expect as a New Employee
o Preparing for the Tenure Process
o Negotiating Terms of First Job Offer
20
Sample Professionalization Initiatives at Other Campuses
Cornell University
Operates an Office of Inclusion and Professional Development. Its mission is to enhance
professional development as it relates to communication, leadership and management, teaching,
responsible conduct of research, and personal development.
http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/professional-development/office-inclusion-professional-
development
McMaster University
Developed an Essentials Program of highly concentrated short courses on topics relating too
business, communication, innovation, leadership, productivity, and team essentials.
http://www.mcmaster.ca/conted/programs/essentials/
Michigan State University
Developed the PREP Model for professional development: Planning, Resilience, Engagement,
Professionalism.
http://grad.msu.edu/prep/
Stanford University (School of Engineering and Related Academic Departments)
Operates a Center for Professional Development that focuses on programming about leadership,
strategy, decision-making, innovation, and execution.
http://scpd.stanford.edu/publicViewHome.do?method=load
State University of New York, Stonybrook
Runs a School of Professional Development with on-campus and online courses about higher
education, school district leadership, communication, and leadership and team effectiveness.
http://www.stonybrook.edu/spd/
University of California, Berkeley
Provides a listing of services and resources that cover: writing resources, graduate and
professional diversity, teaching, research and other related resources.
http://grad.berkeley.edu/acapro/
University of California, Santa Barbara
Provides a listing of workshops and resources relating to: writing skills, grant writing for
funding, developing oral presentations, ethics and integrity in scholarship and science, exploring
career options, writing a cover letter and preparing CV, preparing for job interview, negotiating
the terms of first job offer, effective teaching, finding, working with, and being a mentor.
https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/profdev/index.aspx
21
University of California, Santa Cruz
Offers courses and workshops on professional development for graduate students. Topics include
career development, communication, diversity and inclusion, leadership, management and
supervisory development, technology, UC policy, and work life and wellness.
http://shr.ucsc.edu/training/course_listings/prof-development.html#career-development
University of California, Davis
Developed the Grad Pathways Program with four tiers ranging from introductory workshops to
community building on 8 competancies: success and socialization, writing and publishing,
presentation skills, teaching and mentoring, leadership and management, scholarly integrity and
professionalism, career exploration, job searching and networking, and wellness and work life
balance.
http://gradstudies.ucdavis.edu/gradpathways/index.cfm
University of Notre Dame
Has website on central graduate division page. It highlights professional development
opportunities on campus relating to research, teaching, ethics and responsible conduct of
research, career planning.
http://graduateschool.nd.edu/professional_development/
22
Research about Internships for Graduate Students
While internships are most commonly associated with and offered to undergraduate, MBA, and
law students (Vick and Furlong 2013), some research about internships for graduate students has
been conducted.
The bulk of the literature described here shows that internships offer useful, applied experience
from outside the classroom. From providing service to the community through partnerships
aimed at citizen-building to off-campus teaching experiences, other campuses have explored
innovative ways to encourage graduate student internships. One concern that has been raised is
about the integrity of research that has been funded by industry sources. Funded by the National
Science Foundation, Behrens and Gray (2001) conducted a study of graduate students from two
departments at six universities. They found that industry sponsorship did not affect either
graduate student career goals or perceived climate of academic freedom.
Alternatively, internship experiences can be a predictor of graduate student success. Leverett-
Main (2004) found that eighty-six percent of faculty perceived internship and practicum
experience to be an excellent predictor of a graduate student’s success in their program. And, as
is true of other aspects of graduate education, the graduate student internship experience is
mediated by the support (or not) students have from their advisors. In other words, if students
who are involved in internships have their advisors’ support for these activities, they are more
likely to be successful, whereas if advisors are unsupportive, students are less likely to be
successful. Kelly (1986) advances this argument in her analysis of the Applied Sociology and
Urban Policy Studies Program offered at Wayne State University, writing “[w]hen an internship
is working optimally, the intern, the faculty advisor and the sponsor work as a team.” In another
setting, Chapel (1998) argues advisor support to be “pivotal to the success” of graduate students
pursuing international internships, particularly with regard to understanding cultural dimensions,
how interns are selected and monitored, and finally how the student will be evaluated.
Other research about graduate student internships has evaluated internship programs and models.
In an earlier study, Kelly (1986), for example, describes a successful program as having two
“internship parameters:” 1) interns will be paid and 2) interns are to be given significant
responsibilities. There are obvious reasons that payment serves to support the student. But, as
Kelly notes, providing payment to graduate students also shows both the intern and the
institutional sponsor that the skills that graduate students have “deserve and require
compensation.” Such payment may also alleviate the finances of strained departments. In another
study, Cherwitz and Sullivan (2002) find the Intellectual Entrepreneurship model at the
University of Texas, Austin to be successful in developing student skills in ownership and
accountability, integrative thinking and action, and collaboration and teamwork.
23
Cherwitz and Sullivan (2002) examined service opportunities for graduate students both on
campus and off-campus, while other research has emphasized opportunities that exist for
graduate students from within the university. For instance, Swartz et al (2007) demonstrate how
at UCLA graduate interns in a central campus entity have collaborated with the campus libraries.
In this program, Student Affairs and the campus libraries collaborated to educate the campus
about ethical uses of information. Other opportunities for students exist in the area of teaching
development. Targeting post-doctoral scholars, a partnership between Stanford University and
San Jose State University has developed to facilitate teaching experience for post-doctoral
scholars at Stanford. For the postdoctoral scholars, the program includes a teaching mentor,
pedagogy and course development, and the experience of teaching their own course in the third
year.
On the whole, few universities or databases have compiled lists of internships for graduate
students or postdoctoral scholars to consider; rather, most internship opportunities are advertised
on company or government websites. This requires that someone take the initiative to find them-
- schools, departments, and students. Almost all internships are during the summer and payment
is often unspecified. Few internships specify that they are for PhD students. University programs
supporting internships for PhD students appear sparse, whereas resources for other types of
students in this regard are plentiful.
Below is a link to UC Berkeley’s website for internships for graduate students, which essentially
provides links to company websites listing opportunities. Some examples from this website and
others are also found below.
Internship Website Examples
UC Berkeley’s Website: https://career.berkeley.edu/phds/PhDIntern.stm
Stanford San Jose Collaboration
http://iracda.stanford.edu/teaching.html
UN World Institute for Development Economics Research
http://www.wider.unu.edu/opportunities/en_GB/phd-internships/
Specifically for PhD students and for thesis research. Preference is given to students from
developing countries. Length of the internship is 2-3 months.
Microsoft
http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/internships.aspx
12 Week Internship program. Interns are required to give a presentation at the end. Unclear if
paid.
24
Asian Development Bank
http://www.adb.org/site/careers/internship-program
Must be enrolled in an MA or PhD program both before and after the assignment. Unclear if
paid.
The Boston Consulting Group:
http://www.bcg.com/careers/is_bcg_for_me/internships/default.aspx
Interns are given real responsibility, the program lasts 2-3 months.
JP Morgan Chase:
http://careers.jpmorgan.com/student/jpmorgan/careers/us/programs/summerphd
Specifies “summer associate” internships as during the summer. Difficult to figure out if this is
paid or not, but they have internships specifically for PhD students in Quantitative Research and
Income Strategy.
Samuel S. Feld Fund
http://samfels.org/wordpress/2012-summer-internships-in-community-service/
Created as a philanthropic endeavor to support 15 grants for graduate students seeking an
internship in community service (to work at a nonprofit organization) in Philadelphia over the
Summer. Internship is full time for 10 weeks in the Summer and interns are paid $6000. The
Fund is not involved in the selection of the interns.
Central Europe Summer Research Institute
http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/CESRI
Fellowship of $2000, airfare to Europe, room and board for 8 weeks
Academic Year
Year in Program Date
Instructions: The student should complete the IDP in preparation for a scheduled meeting
with his/her mentor and advisor. The IDP is designed to foster communication in a variety of
areas to ensure the student is receiving comprehensive feedback about both his/her progress
to date and future expectations. Accomplishments, challenges and goals should be addressed
as well as any performance/progress issues so that both the student and the mentor/advisor
have a clear understanding of the student’s progress toward the degree. Please Note: The
IDP is to be used as a student planning tool and is not a formal university evaluation or
record-keeping document.
Academic Course Planning
I In order to fulfill my academic goals and maintain NTTD progress, I plan to enroll in these courses.
Annual Goals:
Long Term Plans:
Name Program NTTA (Normative Time to
Advance)
NTTD (Normative Time to
Degree)
Advisor Mentor
26
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mentor/Advisor Comments:
Research Planning
I will make progress on my research agenda through the following: (include collaborations,
research theories that you’ve developed, and studies/projects that you’ve been involved with.)
Annual Goals:
Plan
Long Term Plans:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mentor/Advisor Comments:
Conference/Publications Planning
I plan to attend the following conferences. The professional papers I plan to submit (include
publications and submittal deadlines).
Annual Goals:
IDP
27
Long Term Plans:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mentor/Advisor Comments:
Career Planning
My long and short-term career goals. Skills and competencies I expect to develop and workshops
I plan to attend.
Annual Goals:
Long Term Plans:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mentor/Advisor Comments:
IDP
28
Funding Planning
My plans for securing funding each year of my graduate program. (Include Dept. Funding,
External Grants/Fellowships and Summer Internships)
Annual Goals:
Long Term Plans (including funding for dissertations and research projects):
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mentor/Advisor Comments:
Leadership Development Planning
My leadership skills and competencies are being developed through the following (include
positions held, activities and projects, civic engagement activities etc.) My professional
leadership aspirations include the following activities:
Annual Goals:
Long Term Plans:
IDP
29
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mentor/Advisor Comments:
Dissertation Progress Planning
I am aware of and am following the Department degree progress expectations through the
following steps: (Include plans for committee membership, advancement deadlines and writing
schedules).
Annual Goals:
Long Term Plans:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mentor/Advisor Comments:
_________________________ ______________________ Graduate Student Signature Date Mentor Signature Date
Sample Alumni Tracking Template
Student
Name
Student
I.D. #
Program Advisor Year of
Graduation
Degree Level Current
Position
Current
Contact
Information
Pat
Jones
12345 PSB Prof. X 20xx PSB PhD Assistant
Professor at
the University
of Y
(123) 456-
7891
Chris
Smith
54321 BME Prof. Y 20xx BME PhD Director of
Research at
ACME
company
(109) 876-
5432
31
Reference List
Behrens, Teresa R. and Denis O. Gray (2001). “Unintended Consequences of Cooperative
Research: Impact of Industry Sponsorship on Climate for Academic Freedom and Other
Graduate Student Outcomes” Research Policy Vol. 30, No 2: 179-199.
Chapel, William B. (1998). “Advising Graduate Students for Successful International
Internships” Business and Professional Communication Quarterly Vol. 61, No. 4: 92-
103.
Cherwitz, Richard A. and Charlotte A. Sullivan (2002). “Intellectual Entrepreneurship: A Vision
for Graduate Education” Change November/December: 22-27.
Educational Testing Service and Council of Graduate Schools (2012). “Pathways Through
Graduate School and Into Careers”
http://www.pathwaysreport.org/rsc/pdf/19089_PathwaysRept_Links.pdf Accessed
Febryary 18, 2014.
Kelly, Robert F. (1986). “Teaching Graduate Applied Sociology through Internships; Program
Development, Management, and Problems.” Teaching Sociology Vol. 14, No. 4: 234-
242.
Leverett-Main, Sarah. (2004). “Program Directors’ Perceptions of Admission Screening
Measures and Indicators of Student Success” Counselor Education and Supervision Vol.
43, No. 2: 207-219.
National Institutes of Health. (2012). “Biomedical Research Working Group Draft Report”
Available at http://acd.od.nih.gov/bmw_report.pdf Accessed February 18, 2014.
National Research Council of the National Academies (2012). “Research Universities and the
Future of America” Ten Breakthrough Actions Vital to Our Nation’s Prosperity and
Security.” Available at
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record%20id=13396&page=R1 Accessed February
18, 2014.
National Science Foundation. (2012). “Table 1. Doctoral Recipients from U.S. Colleges and
Universities, 1957-2012.” Available at
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/sed/2012/pdf/tab1.pdf. Accessed February 17, 2014.
Swartz, Pauline S., Brian A. Carlisle, E. Chisato Uyeki. (2007). “Libraries and Student Affairs:
Partners for Student Success” Reference Services Review Vol. 35, No. 1: 109-122.
University of California, Irvine (2012) Graduate Student Survey.
University of California, Irvine (2012) Postdoctoral Scholar Survey.
32
Vick, Julie Miller and Jennifer S. Furlong. (2013). “Finding an Internship to Change Careers.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education. Available at http://chronicle.com/article/Finding-an-
Internship-to/137007/ Accessed February 18, 2014.