Make the most of your graduate experience
Graduate school can be an exciting, challenging and life-changing adventure. The College of Science is committed to helping you take full advantage of your experience at USU.
What am I supposed to learn as a graduate student?
While your graduate education requires in-depth training in your chosen field, the full benefit of a graduate education is realized by developing a wide range of academic and professional skills, many of which transcend the specific academic discipline. For example, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine recently articulated a series of expectations for all STEM Master’s and PhD graduate students. These core academic and professional skills and learning objectives include:
- Disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge
- Professional competencies
- Foundational and transferrable skills (e.g. communication, leadership, teamwork)
- Research
How will I meet all of these expectations?
Your graduate experience will be most successful and productive as you intentionally identify areas that need work, set specific goals to improve, and engage the support of mentors. For this purpose, graduate students in the College of Science are expected to develop and maintain a current Individual Development Plan.
What resources are available to help me achieve my goals?
Your department, the College of Science and the University offer a wide range of resources to help you in your graduate activities and career development.
- Graduate Training Series (GrTS) - Workshops held throughout the academic year, designed to build soft skills and address topics requested by USU graduate students. Hosted by the Graduate School
- CAAS Summer Professional Development Workshop - Summer professional development workshop, three sessions addressing scientific scholarly literature, data management, and research presentation techniques
Communication
- USU Science Writing Center - Offers face-to-face tutoring sessions to improve your scientific writing
- CAS Communicating Science Seminars
- Planning and Writing Successful Proposals: Starting Out - A full-day seminar offered every Fall semester. Hosted by the Office of Research and tailored to graduate students
- ADVS 5650/6650 Science Communication - Taught by Abby Benninghoff, open to all students
- The Science of Scientific Writing - A classic American Scientific publication, co-authored by George Gopen and Judith Swan
- Scientific Writing Resource - This excellent resource from Duke University includes free online course material that teaches effective writing strategies aimed at clearly communicating to the reader
- SGS Tips for Conflict Resolution
Teaching
Mentoring
- How to Get the Mentoring You Want: A Guide for Students at a Diverse University – a popular guide for graduate students, developed by the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan
Leadership
- College of Science Graduate Student Council
- School of Graduate Studies Student Council
- Science Unwrapped Service Opportunities
- USUSA Clubs
- USU Student Association Opportunities
- CAS 6888 - Leadership and Followership
- College of Science Clubs
Project Management
- Making the Right Moves– a practical guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty
Computer and Programming Skills
- SoftwareCarpentry.org - A helpful resource for learning how to program
Career Development
Networking
- Graduate Student Socials
- Departmental Graduate Student Directories
Research Support
- College of Science Scholarships
- USUSA Funding Opportunities
- Graduate School Financial Resources - Includes travel support, dissertation fellowships, and other scholarships/grants.
- CAS Funding Opportunities
- Individual Department Scholarship Pages
Safety
- Environmental Health and Safety - Includes links to safety training, hazardous waste pick-up, and accident reporting
Research Responsibility and Integrity
- Integrity and Compliance - Includes information on conflict of interest (CoI), research, misconduct, and required Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training.
Internships
Feedback
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