Skip to main content
The Graduate School

Professional Development Workshops

The Graduate School offers an array of career preparedness, teaching, writing, and professional development workshops and series which are broken down by competencies. All workshops and development series adhere to the attendance policy and the synchronous Zoom workshop policy.

Career readiness is imperative to ensuring a successful transition from graduate school into the work environment. The best way to establish a pathway to a rewarding career is to develop the competencies employers are seeking in their new hires. Below are the core competencies the Professional Development Team has identified through a review of research by the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) and discussions with our partners. By focusing on the following competencies, the Professional Development team helps our graduate students cultivate the talents, skills and strengths that will prepare them for a variety of positions within their areas of career interests.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Requests can be served effectively if notice is provided at least ten days before the event. Direct accommodation requests for professional development programs to professional-development@ncsu.edu.

Oral & Written Communication

Communicating effectively involves both verbal and written forms. Taking part in the development of this competency builds a foundation for clearly exchanging information, ideas, perspectives and facts with people both inside and outside of a team, a classroom, a department and an organization. Asking appropriate questions, awareness of one’s non-verbal behaviors, active listening and engaging mindfully with people from diverse backgrounds are also important components of this competency.

Make progress on a major writing project such as a dissertation, thesis, or article manuscript through dedicated writing time and tips for productivity.

  • Open to NC State masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral scholars.
  • This retreat requires a two-day commitment, so we ask that participants get permission from their advisors before they register to get the most out of this event.
  • Register here.

9 to 5 p.m. Thursday, December 14 and Friday, December 15 2023 Zoom

Tuesdays January 16 and January 23 | 3 p.m.-5 p.m. | Zoom

In this two part workshop, we’ll focus on strategies for planning and managing a writing project, as well as fundamental tips for structuring the engineering writing. Participants will clarify their writing goals for the semester and learn strategies to implement on current and future writing projects. We will use different genres of engineering writing projects as case studies, so participants will also gain tips for summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing their writing projects.

Attendance at both sessions is required, and you must attend both sessions to count this workshop towards the writing certificate.

This workshop provides insights for how to lay the groundwork for teaching at the university level. Lesson planning, engaging students and identifying ways to support student success will be shared.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, January 19, 2024 Zoom

Learning outcomes are student-centered rather than teacher-centered. Understanding how to use learning outcomes to promote student success through what the student is able to do, know and apply will be examined.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 24, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, January 26, 2024 Zoom

Tuesdays, January 30 & February 6 | 3 p.m.-5 p.m. | Zoom

In this two part workshop, we address the challenges of conveying your research story in a persuasive way for technical and nontechnical stakeholders. We will focus on various writing forms in engineering that include organization and interpretation of results. These will include technical/non-technical reports, results & discussion sections or articles and theses, and similar types of writing projects.

Attendance at both sessions is required, and you must attend both sessions to count this workshop towards the writing certificate.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 31, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, February 2, 2024 Zoom

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 7, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, February 9, 2024 Zoom

Tuesday, February 20 | 3 p.m.-5 p.m. | Zoom

Contact colleagues at NCState and beyond with tact and ease! In this workshop, you will gain strategies for crafting effective professional emails.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 21, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, February 23, 2024 Zoom

Tuesday, February 27 | 3 p.m.- 5 p.m. | Zoom

Do people say that your writing is wordy? In this interactive workshop, we’ll address the challenge of building clear, concise sentences that represent your science to diverse stakeholders.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2024 Zoom

Monday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 12 | 3 p.m. – 5p.m. | College of Textiles Convocation Room 2225

Make progress on a major writing project–dissertation, thesis, manuscript–with dedicated, structured writing time in a supportive setting. This in-person writing retreat “sprint” requires advance registration and we recommend that you discuss attending with your advisor or PI to get the most out of this event and commit to attending the two days

Registration form forthcoming in February.

Tuesday, March 19 | 3 p.m. -5 p.m. | Zoom

You’ve gathered lots of articles and other sources.  What next? In this workshop, we address tips for effectively structuring and synthesizing sources (“literature”) in journal articles and research papers.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 22, 2024 Zoom

Fridays, March 22, March 19, April 2 & April 12 | 3p.m.- 5 p.m.| EBII, Room 3001 ECE Seminar Room

Make progress on an article manuscript, research paper, or dissertation/thesis chapter through hands-on writing instruction and feedback. This cohort-style writing workshop is designed to help you revise a draft in progress through strategies for effective–clear, concise, precise, and audience-centered–writing. To get the most out of this workshop series and commit to attending all sessions, we recommend that you discuss attending this series with your advisor or PI first.

Tuesday, March 26 | 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Zoom

In this hands-on webinar, learn the most common types of English verbs used in academic writing and strategies for choosing appropriate verb tenses for each part of a paper or writing project.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 29, 2024 Zoom

Tuesday, April 2 | 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Zoom

Is your writing choppy or boring? In this hands-on webinar, learn about major sentence types and strategies for writing strong, interesting sentences that explain complex concepts in clear, accessible ways. Topics will include types of sentence structures, tips for sentence variety, using transition phrases and more.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2024 Zoom

Tuesday, April 9 | 3 p.m. -5 p.m. | Zoom

In this hands-on webinar, learn about tips and tools for making more precise, professional word choices for your audience and discipline. 

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, 2024 Zoom

Monday, May 6 & Tuesday, May 7 | 3 p.m. – 5p.m. | Zoom

The Virtual Writing Retreat Sprint offers graduate and postdoctoral writers the dedicated time and structure to make progress on a major writing project in a supportive online setting.  This event is free to attend but registration is required.  We recommend that you discuss attending the virtual writing retreat with your advisor or PI to get the most out of it and commit to attending the two-day event.

Registration Forthcoming April

Teamwork & Collaboration

Working effectively with others is the major focus of this competency. Appreciating diverse viewpoints, effectively managing conflict, ensuring inclusivity, being accountable for responsibilities, and collaborating to achieve common goals are important skills across a myriad of work environments. Positive working relationships with teams and colleagues are crucial to the success of any organization.

Career & Self Development

Self-awareness is the foundation for understanding how one best operates in both personal and professional environments. This competency involves gaining insight about oneself and, through the cultivation of self-development, acquiring a prescient understanding of how one’s talents and skills can best be utilized through a variety of career paths. Recognizing opportunities for one’s talents and understanding how one’s skills can be transferable among different positions are also important aptitudes associated with this competency.

How do you separate the subjective feedback from the objective feedback on course evaluations? Learn how to use your course evaluations to improve your teaching through the strategies shared in this program.

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, 2024 Zoom

3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 17, 2024 EBII 3001-ECE-Seminar Room

3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, 2024 Zoom

Leadership & Management

There is a difference between leading others and managing people. Understanding these differences as well as knowing how to motivate, inspire, and encourage others are vital aspects to effective leadership and management. Leveraging resources, building trust, managing projects, and understanding one’s own leadership and/or management style are important characteristics of this competency.

Effectiveness & Well-Being

Knowing how to appropriately self-manage, respond, cope and work are imperative to being a productive employee. This competency focuses on developing and implementing the skills needed to be an effective, healthy and contributing member of not only an organization but also society. Recognizing how one can best engage in their personal well-being and their professional undertakings are elements of this competency.