Student Research and Professional Development
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NU Directions - Graduate Student Professional Development
Through collaborative efforts with faculty and staff across campus, The Graduate School aims to offer a series of events that will contribute to the professional development of graduate students at Northwestern University.  These events include:


NU Directions Conferences:
A series of bi-annual conferences offering professional development opportunities for graduate students.  Previous topics have included the non-academic job search, funding, teaching, and dissertation writing.  Please see our website for information about past and upcoming conferences.


Professional Development Workshops and Events:  
A wide range of professional development programming is offered throughout the year, organized by both The Graduate School and other offices on campus.  For complete details about university-wide events, please see our Professional Development Calendar

Click here to read an interview with our recent  guest speaker, James Lang, Ph.D., in the May 14 issue of Inside Higher Ed.


Preparing Future Faculty:
All Northwestern University graduate students are welcome to participate in the following events, intended to help aspiring faculty members prepare for careers in academia.  For more information on these events, please visit the Preparing Future Faculty webpage, or the Calendar:
  • Panel discussions involving faculty members from NU as well as other area colleges and universities (some of these panels will take place at the NU Directions Conferences). 
  • Site visits to area colleges/universities which include presentations and panel discussions on topics related to careers in academia; classroom observation; opportunity to network with faculty.  Spring 2008 site visit was held on Feb 27 at Oakton Community College.

Students who participate in the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, "Graduate Teaching Certificate Program" also have the opportunity to be paired with a faculty mentor at a local college/university.

Last updated: Jun 12 2008 9:44AM