Development Plans Increasing Graduate Student Confidence

A team from the Faculty of Arts and Science, Career Services, Student Academic Success Services, the Centre for Teaching and Learning, and the School of Graduate Studies has completed a pilot program that brings Individual Development (IDP) planning tools to graduate students.

鈥淧articipants in the pilot said the IDP improved their confidence in their employability following graduation, as well as helped to clarify their career options,鈥 says Sharon Regan, Associate Dean (Graduate Students and Global Engagement) and Project Sponsor. 鈥淪tudents reported being motivated to seek out new and different opportunities and they also said they gained some perspective on their own skillsets and better understand what employers want and value.鈥

Supporting the FAS Strategic Plan Initiative #50: Explore opportunities for developing Individual Development Plans for graduate students in FAS, the content of the IDP is intended to provide direction, support, and tools to help graduate students:

  • set flexible career goals that align with their values, skills and interests, with awareness of job-market options and realities
  • identify skill strengths and gaps and make plans to build additional learning experiences into their graduate education
  • complete their degree and successfully transition to the next stage of their career.

鈥淭he IDP was a very beneficial addition to my coursework鈥攑articularly in the case of being a first-year PhD student,鈥 says Spencer Huesken, PhD Student (Sociology). 鈥淭he obstacles this year both regarding COVID and the general expectations of the program produced a lot of uncertainty. This was the main strength of the IDP for me - it allowed me to be self-reflective while 'zooming out' on my own interests, passions, and how to incorporate them holistically into the scope of my PhD work.鈥

The program ran within FAS from September 2019 until July 2020. Once completed, the findings of the program were handed off to School of Graduate Studies to inform an institution-wide roll-out scheduled for September 1, 2021.

鈥淭he information gathered during the pilot phase will be used to develop the addition of a graduate IDP as a permanent program and to support the broader Queen鈥檚 strategy by providing a scalable model and pilot data,鈥 says Cathy Keates, Director of Career and Experiential Learning.

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