Professional Development workshops are mandatory for all second-year PhD Students, but others are encouraged to attend. In addition to covering the topics listed, each meeting serves as a “cohort meeting” to check in with students of each year and think about next steps for the year ahead.

Dissertation Seminar (THEO 5017)
Register for the seminar in FALL

The Dissertation Seminar (for students who are ABD) meets all academic year but you will not register for the official course until the spring semester. However, if you would like to participate in the seminar, you must participate throughout the full year, so you would begin in the fall (without registering) and then continue on in the spring, but you need to register in the spring. To indicate your interest in participating in 2026–2027, please email Michael Peppard by August 30th for the coming year. In recent years, participation has been capped at 8 students, so it is important to let the Director of Professional Development (Michael Peppard (2026-2027)) know of your intent to participate as soon as possible so that they orchestrate the logistics of the class [scheduling etc.]. 

Professionalization Seminar (THEO 9000)
Register in Spring (mandatory for all second year students)

If you plan to consult with the current Director (Dr. Peppard 2026-2027) for any professionalization work, you MUST register for THEO 9000: Professionalization Seminar. This is a zero-credit course and can be registered for up to three times, so even if you registered last year or the year before, you can enroll again.

Professionalization assistance includes: one-on-one conversations with the Director about applying for jobs (academic or otherwise) or fellowships, assistance with cover letters, resumes/CVs, teaching statements and other materials, mock interviews, job advice, advice negotiating salaries, and more. In other words, if you plan to apply for any jobs OR fellowships this year (whether one or twenty-five) and you plan to ask for any advice or assistance with this process, please register for THEO 9000. Also, I ask that you do this sooner rather than later, as numbers in this course affect the overall department course enrollment averages which have very serious bearing for how many courses we can offer students still in course work.

GSAS Professional Development Resources

Career pathways, Career resources, Workshops and Events, Self-Care, Mentoring, Internships, Futures.

Interested in receiving training in public-facing writing? Check out this link.