Competencies Road Map - Graduate School

Enhance your career preparedness with the Competencies Road Map

Use this Road Map as a framework to develop your six core competencies in three areas identified to enhance personal and professional success. The systematic approach helps you progress and build up your competencies using CSU resources for training open to all resident graduate students. Many of the linked resources are also available to online graduate students and postdoctoral associates. We particularly recommend engaging in our Graduate Professional Development Series for graduate students and postdoctoral associates. Please check your department, college, the Graduate Student Council, and professional organizations for additional resources and opportunities to develop your competencies.

Start by engaging in one activity listed for each core competence to see what is most relevant and helpful to you. You may then decide to pursue further core competence opportunities or additional competencies.

Immediate Use

You are likely already using these skills on a day to day basis. Enhancing your abilities in these three competencies will immediately strengthen your efforts and contribute to your future success. Click on the buttons for opportunities to develop at CSU:

Foundation Building

These competencies are foundational for any career path. Click on the buttons to find ways to develop:

Future Preparation

A graduate degree pairs with strong leadership skills to have a meaningful and impactful career. To prepare for your future, you should also visit the Career Center and conduct job searches. Click on the buttons below for opportunities to build skills that may apply to your career goals:

Core Competencies

The Graduate Professional Development Series has many sessions to help build your competencies. Find descriptions of competencies below, with lists of relevant CSU opportunities.

Subscribe to the Graduate School’s event calendar to easily find upcoming events and set automated reminders. You will find a variety of professional development opportunities, CSU Writes offerings, Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring sessions, and social events among our 250+ curated offerings for the graduate community.

1. Personal Development Competence includes wellness and preventive mental health care, finances, and work-life balance.

To start on your Personal Development, download this Competencies Road Map reminder.

Resources to get started on Personal Development include:

More important ways to develop in this competence include:

2. Work Management Competence includes making a plan and effectively managing your resources, including time.

Find tools at:

3. Diversity & Inclusion Competence requires active engagement effort.

Further develop with:

4. Communication Competence includes developing informative and persuasive communication, communication to the public, technical presentation, and technical writing.

Engage with the Graduate Student Showcase, our premier interdisciplinary event to highlight graduate student work from all eight colleges across campus. Resources to build this competence also include:

CSU Writes groups and workshops
Demo Day event with CSU Ventures
Toastmasters Club
CSU Speaks Event (usually in Spring, watch the Graduate Student Council website for information)
Travel Awards for professional presentations
Online National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity
Center for Science Communication
Science in Action group
Science on Tap events
GRAD 550 STEM Communication Course: Resident and Online
BIOM 750 Grant Proposal Writing and Reviewing Course
Online GRAD 530 Introduction to Graduate Research and GRAD 540 Graduate Research Communication
Follow institutional calendars, including the Graduate School and CSU event calendars
Use your @Colostate email address to communicate professionally

5. Teamwork Competence includes networking and working collaboratively to building your mentoring contacts.

Ways to grow include:

Engage with the Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring
Follow the Graduate School on LinkedIn and connect with CSU alumni
Travel Awards for professional meetings and networking events

6. Leadership Competence includes opportunities to develop personal traits in a relevant environment.

Here are some ways you can develop leadership skills and get involved as a community leader:

Complementary Competencies

LinkedIn Learning — an on-demand video library and online educational tool — is now a free resource available to all Colorado State University graduate students.

The Office of the Provost launched a campuswide LinkedIn Learning license at Colorado State University in early March 2023. Students and employees now have access to the learning service containing more than 18,000 instructional and educational videos.

Instructions for account activation — which is necessary for users with and without preexisting Learning accounts — are available on the Provost Office website. As an educational technology company, LinkedIn Learning offers courses in four key categories: business, creative, technology and certifications. Use this link for instructions for account activation.

Entrepreneurship Competence includes research and development along with technology commercialization:

STEM Research Competence includes research ethics; compliance, governance, and risk; engagement, translation, and outreach; research and development; data science; philosophy of science:

Teaching & Mentoring Competence includes mentoring, pedagogy, and inclusivity best-practices:

Applying Policy Competence means understanding issues in your specialization and how your work impacts decision-making:

Additional Resources

Graduate students and postdocs can face a number of different types of challenges and crises. Here we provide links that graduate students and postdocs have found helpful. If you do not find what you need here, please contact the Graduate School at [email protected], and we will try to point you towards the resources you need to succeed.

Public Assistance and Community Resources for food insecurity, housing insecurity, resources for parents
Off-Campus Life has housing and commuting resources
Student Legal Services provides consultations on most legal concerns, notarization, and estate planning with reduced fees for graduate students
International Student & Scholar Services give support to international students
Adult Learner and Veteran Services has resources for veterans, resources for parents, peer mentoring for adult learners
Student Case Management provides assistance to students in difficult situations to help navigate resources and services available
Student Resolution Center gives confidential support to students navigating disputes, procedural challenges, and interpersonal conflict
Inclusive Campus highlights inclusive physical and virtual features, including physical accessibility, all gender restrooms, technology, lactation rooms, reflection spaces, signage, and transportation.
CARE program hosts useful information for employees, with some relevant childcare resources for graduate students

Emergency Hardship Support

RamAid is available to any graduate student with an emergency hardship not due to a COVID-19. If you are an international or undocumented graduate student not supported on a graduate assistantship, RamAid may also be available to support emergency hardships due to COVID-19. Contact the Office of Financial Aid at [email protected]
Graduate assistants who are not US citizens may apply for emergency funds through CSU Cares. CSU Cares was created during the 2012 High Park Fire and has provided support to CSU community members through fires, floods, and other natural disasters. Money may be available for employees who have suffered a financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and are struggling to meet expenses. Award amounts vary depending on fund availability and need but may not exceed $2,000. Eligible beneficiaries must be CSU full- or part-time regular employees (not temporary or temporary hourly), including post-doctoral candidates, at the University who have been personally impacted by a disaster covered by CSU Cares. Graduate assistants who are not eligible for student relief funding from other sources may be eligible for CSU Cares, as determined by the Awards Committee. If you are a CSU employee in need, submit an application at https://commitmenttocampus.colostate.edu/rams-for-rams/
Rams Against Hunger offers emergency food relief for Colorado State University degree-seeking graduate and undergraduate students experiencing food insecurity. Food insecurity broadly defined is “the state of being without reliable access to sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.” Indicators of food insecurity include skipping meals due to lack of financial resources, cutting the size of meals due to lack of financial resources, experiencing hunger but not eating, the inability to afford balanced meals, and/or running out of food at the end of a pay period. Students experiencing trouble reliably accessing sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food should visit lsc.colostate.edu/slice/slice-engagement/rams-against-hunger/
Students needing academic financial support or experiencing housing insecurity, please reach out. General inquiries should go to [email protected], including questions about CSU bills and requests for technology support (e.g. laptop purchase). Students should include their name, CSUID, and a brief statement of their circumstances and need.
Public Assistance and Community Resources for food insecurity, housing insecurity, resources for parents

Attend the Graduate Professional Development Series to further develop key skills and competencies. Find the schedule here. Opportunities often include:

How to build your CV or resume
Interview with purpose
Use internships for exploration

The Career Center has a lot to offer graduate students:

1:1 career advising services are open to all CSU students, including graduate students. This can take the form of a drop-in or a scheduled appointment for a deeper dive with a career educator. Many career educators have a specialization within a college.
An online Resource Center with resources that are specific to graduate students
Career Competencies
Career Center Event Calendar

More on Professional Development Competencies and References: