Professional Development

The Graduate School in the College of Graduate and Interdisciplinary Studies, offers several support programs for the professional development of graduate students, including improvement of writing skills in the STEM disciplines through NDSU Graduate Center for Writers (GCW).

This graduate writing program has garnered national attention through its model of using advanced STEM Ph.D. students as writing coaches. GCW trains these coaches in the basics of writing pedagogy, while they work with professors in their discipline to offer student support for discipline-specific academic writing such as posters, research papers, and technical reports.

The GCW also offers individual advising sessions and offers both for-credit and non-credit options to learn grant writing, including UNIV-640 1-credit course on Writing for Scholars, Fellows, and Researchers. The focus of the course is on writing skills for scientific proposals, which is a challenging task for junior researchers requiring a mindset different from typical technical writing used for description of accumulated research data in reports and scientific papers. The GCW involves external scientists who have served on the selection committees of major funding agencies, including faculty from our department, to evaluate the proposals students write in these courses and to provide critical, real-life feedback.

The NDSU Graduate School also provides the information and support students need for completing their graduate degree. Several helpful workshops and events are organized by the Graduate School throughout the year.

Focused assistance with topics such as recruitment, thesis and dissertation preparation, and financial awards is offered to groups of students or faculty in individual departments.

More Information

The Graduate School sends out a monthly newsletter highlighting current and upcoming opportunities. This is a great way to keep informed of relevant news and events. Students should be automatically subscribed when you enroll in a graduate program.

The NDSU Library supports the teaching, research, and informational needs of the NDSU community by offering resources and services to all students, faculty, and staff.

For more information, visit NDSU Library Resources.

Join the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS provides workshops, webinars, activities, and courses aimed at assisting you with personal evaluation and goal setting, as well as enhancing your skills across various topics. Register for the ACS Spring and Fall Meetings to participate in events centered on research career development.

For more information, visit ACS Career Development.