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Individual development planning is often used in organizations and private industry to help employees articulate and accomplish work-related goals. Nationally, many academic and professional organizations and institutions have begun using Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to promote a process of self-reflection, assessment, and goal-setting for graduate students and
postdocs. The National Institutes of Health consider IDPs so valuable for student training and career development that NIH has now established reporting requirements around IDPs for funded graduate students and postdocs. For graduate students and postdocs, an IDP is a dynamic self-evaluation and career exploration tool that can be used for setting goals for research projects, skills development, and career planning. It is your private written list of objectives mapped to a
timeline. Although the IDP is authored, reviewed, and revised by you, it can also serve as a framework for discussion between you and your faculty advisors. The IDP is most valuable when you work with your mentors to make full use of its potential as a research agenda and career development tool, and when you update it annually (or more often) to reflect accomplishments and changes in your career and research objectives. At Berkeley, several offices and programs already promote the use of IDPs. Drawing on these experiences, a UC Berkeley IDP Working Group has produced recommended practices for those who must comply with the NIH mandate, as well as
for all others who want to use the power of planning that an IDP makes possible.Mapping Your Goals
Tools to Assist in Individual Development Planning
Berkeley and the IDP
Review the Berkeley IDP Recommended Practices (PDF).
An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a goal-setting tool to assist graduate students (as well as scholars and professionals of all stages) to meet short- and long-term career goals. Graduate students should use an IDP to: reflect on career goals, make actionable plans to achieve those goals, and track progress in academic performance and professional development. It is expected that all graduate students will utilize an IDP throughout their graduate experience.
The MU Graduate School’s IDP is aligned with our gradESSENTIALS professional development categories. These categories reflect key transferable skills useful for a broad spectrum of careers. Use the fillable IDP template below, or use the Word doc version if you need to make changes to the IDP to meet your needs. It is recommended that graduate students review their IDP at least annually with their faculty advisor/mentor. IDPs are not submitted to the Graduate School for review, but rather are used at the academic program level for students to track their individual progress and set goals.
Create your IDP:
Download Fillable IDP
Download Word Version IDP
Events
Cornell Resources to Help You Create Your Plan
Self-Assessments
All graduate students are encouraged to meet with a Cornell career advisor to take an assessment to understand their personality, interests, values, and career goals. Postdocs may discuss their interests, values, and career goals with Christine Holmes (), director of the Office of Postdoctoral Studies.
- Find assessments available to all graduate students.
- Find free online assessments available to all students and postdocs.
- Ask yourself reflection questions to identify your career goals, interests, and skills.
External Resources
Individual Development Plan (IDP)
The IDP is an excellent tool for self-assessment and developing goals for yourself during your academic years and beyond. Although you can create your IDP by yourself, graduate students and postdocs often find that co-developing their IDP with their faculty mentor is a good way to ensure there is awareness and support of their career plans.
IDPs for humanities and social science fields:
- Imagine Ph.D. (all fields in the humanities and social sciences)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (all fields)
- American Psychological Association
- University of Southern California Postdoctoral Office (for postdocs in all fields but could be used for graduate students)
IDPs for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields:
- ScienceCareers myIDP (all STEM fields)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (all fields)
- University of Southern California Postdoctoral Office (for postdocs in all fields but could be used for graduate students)
- American Chemical Society (for chemical scientists)
- Stanford University Biosciences (for bioscience fields)
Books, References
- Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career For You Through the Secrets of Personality Type by Paul Tieger (available in 103 Barnes Hall and Cornell Library System)
- So What Are You Going To Do With That? A Guide to Career-Changing for M.A.s and Ph.D.s by Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius (available in 103 Barnes Hall and Cornell Library System)
- Effective Phrases for Performance Appraisals: A Guide to Successful Evaluations by James Neal, Jr. (available in Cornell Library System)