Graduate Professional Development (GPD) Series
Each semester the Graduate School offers 10-12 professional development sessions with content specifically developed for graduate students. The sessions are free and open to graduate students in any discipline.
Fall sessions are focused on personal and professional well-being while the spring sessions are focused on navigating your career path and search. View previous offerings in the archive.
Additional professional development opportunities for graduate students are highlighted below.
Testimonials
CSU Writes
CSU Writes offers postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and graduate students multiple ways to participate in an academic writing community on campus: workshops, writing groups, intensive writing retreats, guest speaker presentations, show up & write sessions, peer manuscript & proposal editing, and more.
CSU Writes is comprised of three branches.
- Grad Writes
- Doc Writes
- Faculty Writes
Housed in the Graduate School and under the direction of CSU Writes, Grad Writes offers a series of curated events designed to support graduate students as they write their thesis or dissertation.
Graduate School and the Institute of Learning and Teaching (TILT)
Co-sponsored events include professional development conferences, Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Training, additional graduate student resources and training programs.
National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity - CSU Membership
All graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty have access to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) through CSU’s institutional membership. NCFDD strives to help the academic community “achieve extraordinary writing and research productivity while maintaining a full and healthy life off campus.”
The on-demand NCFDD resources are applicable across many disciplines and are designed to help you succeed throughout your career journey. You’ll find a variety of tools to help with time management, building writing skills, overcoming core dilemmas in the academic environment, and more so that you can increase productivity and further build your sense of well-being.
Visit the CSU Membership to National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity webpage to activate your free account.
Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring
A formalized program that highlights resources on campus, offers professional development activities and provides access to faculty mentors while also supporting additional socialization activities to encourage professional networks.
Additional Resources
CSU Venture Ambassadors
CSUV Ambassadors are graduate students, typically at the PhD candidate level, who express interest in learning more about innovation and commercialization as it relates to university research. Students can apply and learn more about this program at the CSU Ventures website.
Grant Writing
The focus of a grant writing class is (mock) panel review – or learning to write by understanding reviewers better. Please check the CSU catalog for detailed course information. Some CSU offerings include:
- STEM Communication
- Grant Proposal Writing and Reviewing
- Grant Writing
- Grant Writing-Human Services and Research
- Grant Writing for Microbiology/Pathology
- Writing, Submitting and Reviewing Grants
- Preparation of Grant Proposals
Toastmasters International
Be a hit at parties. Persuade with power in meetings. Knock them out in interviews. Whatever the occasion, you can benefit from improving your communication skills. CSU Toastmasters is a friendly and welcoming group; open to everyone in the community!