Graduate Students

The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a crucial component of the growth and development of graduate students and postdocs. It 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.

UC Irvine strongly encourages all graduate students to apply for fellowships.  Fellowships vary in amount and are an important source of funding designed to help students meet their educational and living expenses. There are two types of fellowships: internal (i.e., offered by UC Irvine Graduate Division or an academic department) and extramural (i.e., offered by an external organization or agency for study at UC Irvine). In addition to UC Irvine resources, check out this comprehensive resource from Johns Hopkins University with graduate funding opportunities!

The Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation encourages graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to be student-centered teachers with ongoing practice and feedback because excellent teaching develops over time. The DTEI serves graduate student and postdoctoral scholar instructional development in three overlapping domains: (1) Evidence-based pedagogy trainings to enhance teaching and learning experiences for instructors and students, (2) Professional development for TAs and future faculty to foster successful careers in higher education; and (3) Supportive interdisciplinary communities focused on teaching and learning at the University level.

GPS-STEM (previously, GPS-BIOMED) is a career and professional development program for PhD students & Postdoctoral fellows in STEM. The program is funded by UCI’s schools of Biological Sciences, Medicine, Physical Sciences & Engineering plus the provost office. The program aims to better prepare our STEM scientists for a variety of careers within the STEM workforce, and empower them to become not only skilled scientists, but also polished professionals. The program works to create, identify and support innovative approaches to broaden the graduate and postdoctoral training. It is designed to increase awareness and interest in diverse careers outside of academic research, improve communication and other skills needed to pursue academic and non-academic career paths, provide hands-on experience through on campus and external internships, and build networks that allow our members to prepare for and transition to diverse careers.

The UC Irvine Graduate Division is committed to supporting graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in developing a strong professional identity and career plan. Our Graduate Professional Success Program (GPS) serves as an umbrella for individual or thematic workshops, certificate programs, and academic courses designed to educate students about and prepare them for new and exciting career opportunities within academia and beyond. While your home department or program will provide you with deep disciplinary expertise, we have identified a set of skills which are not always addressed in traditional academic training, but are essential to professional success.