Professional Development Certificate for Business, Government, and Industry (BGI)
The Graduate Teacher Program partners with Career Services to offer a Professional Development Certificate for graduate students who wish to pursue careers in business, government and industry. Requirements include workshop attendance, completion of either an internship plan and resume or a PFF mentorship plan and CV, participation in an on- or off-campus internship or PFF mentorship, a presentation that is observed and evaluated by the internship mentor or the PFF faculty mentor, completion of a professional portfolio, and an exit survey. Graduate students and postdocs on fellowships or research assistantships may also participate.
The Professional Development Certification is a program for advanced graduate students (Beginning graduate students who are teaching should pursue the Graduate Teacher Certification.) Graduate students are not required to be teaching to pursue the PDC. The program has two tracks:
Track 2 PDC/BGI: The second track is designed for graduate students who would like to explore working in business, government, industry, or the non-profit sector using their academic expertise in a non-academic setting. Professional interns are placed in high-level positions where their academic expertise may be used creatively to benefit the host institution. For example, an anthropology doctoral student may use her expertise to provide feedback on the employee culture of a high-tech industry. This track is offered in coordination with the Graduate Student Career Program (GSCP).
Track PDC/BGI is for graduate students who wish to explore careers in business, government and industry. Requirements include an off-campus internship in such a setting. Requirements are listed in detail below.
- 20 Graduate Teacher Program workshops: including 10 GTP teaching workshops and 10 GTP professional development workshops. Tracking method: graduate students sign in at all Graduate Teacher Program and GSCP workshops. GTP maintains electronic and hard copy data files for each student. (No double dipping, i.e., one workshop cannot count for both the Graduate Teacher and the Professional Development Certificate.)
- Résumé to be submitted to the GTP office.
- An internship plan should be created prior to the beginning of the internship to document the key skills and expertise the PFF Fellow will develop over the course of the campus mentorship. The professional development plan is to be made with the PFF coordinator in the GTP or a faculty mentor and to be submitted to the student’s file in the GTP office.
- An off-campus professional internship in business, government, industry, or the non-profit sector (120-150 hours, paid or unpaid). The off-campus professional internship is organized through the coordinator of Graduate Student Career Program in Career Services or the Center for Humanities & Arts.
- One on-site presentation to be evaluated during the internship by the internship mentor.
- A written evaluation (explicitly taking into account the professional development plan, the presentation, and the intern’s work) by the internship mentor, to be submitted to student’s file in the GTP office at the end of internship.
- A professional portfolio which includes a summary of the internship and the mentor’s written evaluation; to be prepared in consultation with the coordinator of the Graduate Student Career Program. A printed copy or link to an electronic portfolio should be submitted to the student’s file in the GSCP office.
- A completed PDC Attendance Tracking form with preferred first name, middle name(s) or initial(s), and last name, current phone number, and mailing address; to be submitted to the student’s file in GSCP office so the certificate can be issued and mailed.
- An on-line exit survey.
The certificate, signed by the coordinator of the Graduate Student Career Program, and the vice-chancellor for research and dean of the Graduate School, may be picked up in the GTP office or mailed.
