Professional Development
Graduate school is a holistic experience designed to prepare students to succeed in school and in their careers. To further those goals, SMU offers a series of workshops designed to help students in all phases of their graduate school tenure.
Graduate Writing Center
Graduate Studies is excited to introduce our new Graduate Writing Center! Read more about it here.
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity
Southern Methodist University is a member institution of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD). NCFDD is an independent professional development, training, mentoring organization that offers support, resources, and forums to its members. The NCFDD provides training, mentoring, and supportive communities for faculty, graduate students or professional students at colleges and universities across America. As a graduate/professional student of SMU, you can access the NCFDD resources at any time. Click here to create a login or to obtain detailed information.
Upcoming Workshops
Fall 2020 workshops
Wednesday, September 16, 12-1pm CDT, Zoom Meeting (Registration Required)
Best Practices for Online Teaching
Join us by Zoom for a virtual brown bag session for graduate students with Adeline Tolliver, Senior Instructional Designer at the Center for Teaching Excellence. Many graduate students are currently engaged in online teaching, will be in future semesters, or may be embarking on careers involving online teaching. Dr. Tolliver will share information with you about best practices for online teaching, offer advice on issues and concerns related to online teaching, and answer questions you have about online teaching. Register here.
Wednesday, October 7, 12-1pm CDT, Zoom Meeting (Application Required)
Technical Writing for Early Career Doctoral Students
Technical writing is unlike typical writing and can be a difficult skill to master. Join Drs. Carie King and Debra Burleson, experienced teachers of technical writing, to learn about this special skill. The workshop will cover citations, transitions between sentences to create better flow in paragraphs and to clarify the writer's logic, and concision in sentence structure. To be eligible for this workshop, you must be (1) a doctoral student, (2) currently in coursework, and (3) in a field that uses technical writing. Attendance is limited to 25. Application deadline: Sept. 30. Apply here.
Wednesday, October 14, 12-1pm CDT, Zoom Meeting (Application Required)
Technical Writing for Later Career Doctoral Students
Technical writing is unlike typical writing and can be a difficult skill to master. Join Drs. Carie King and Debra Burleson, experienced teachers of technical writing, to learn about this special skill. The workshop will cover citations, transitions between sentences to create better flow in paragraphs and to clarify the writer's logic, and concision in sentence structure. To be eligible for this workshop, you must be (1) a doctoral student, (2) finished with coursework, and (3) in a field that uses technical writing. Attendance is limited to 25. Application deadline: Oct. 7. Apply here.
Friday, December 4, 12-1pm CDT, Zoom Meeting (Registration Required)
Career Exploration During the Break
Do the words chaos, unpredictability, resilience, and anxiety describe your fall semester? We thought so. Time for a brain-break! At this workshop, we’ll discuss small steps you could take during the winter break to think about and prepare for your career. We’ll look at resources and help you get started. Maybe you only want to do one thing career-related? You’ll have ideas to choose from! Or you’re graduating soon and need more intense guidance? You can use all the ideas! No matter where you are in your degree progress, you’ll find something of use here. This workshop will be led by Dr. Ruth Schemmer, Career Development Specialist. Registration is required. Register here.