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Designing Your Life: PhD Edition

“What do you want to do after graduation?”
“What are you going to do with your PhD?”

Seemingly simple questions with no easy answers. But what if there was a course that could help you explore these questions and start to build a life and career that excites you? Inspired by the Stanford and Northwestern courses of the namesake book title, The Graduate School in partnership with Northwestern Career Advancement and the Northwestern Personal Development StudioLab in the McCormick School of Engineering are excited to announce Designing Your Life: PhD Edition. This pilot program is open to post-candidacy PhD students in all disciplines and teaches Design Thinking principles that students can apply to all areas of their lives—including their careers—to build a path forward that aligns with their skills, interests, values, and goals. The class will include small-group discussions, short reading and writing assignments, hands-on making, and conversations with alumni. 

This class will run weekly on Wednesdays from 12:00–2:00 PM during Winter 2024 on the Evanston campus.

Attendance at all of the following sessions is required:

Designing Your Life: PhD Edition Class Schedule
Session I January 24 12:00–2:00 PM TGS Commons, 2122 Sheridan Road
Session II January 31 12:00–2:00 PM TGS Commons, 2122 Sheridan Road
Session III February 7 12:00–2:00 PM TGS Commons, 2122 Sheridan Road
Session IV February 14 12:00–2:00 PM TGS Commons, 2122 Sheridan Road
Session V February 21 12:00–2:00 PM Northwestern Career Advancement, 620 Lincoln Street (Lower level)
Session VI February 28 12:00–2:00 PM TGS Commons, 2122 Sheridan Road

Applications for Winter 2024 have closed. Please email Aubrey Korneta (aubrey.korneta@northwestern.edu) with any questions.