Practice Your Skills and Expand Your Possibilities!

Are you interested in gaining practical (work) experience beyond the classroom? You might want to apply the knowledge and skills you've gained through graduate school and build new skills. These often brief experiences can also enhance your resume by providing tangible evidence of your skills, making you a more competitive candidate, and opening new career opportunities! Here are just some of the one-time and recurring opportunities that UMass graduate students have taken advantage of: 

Lead a Workshop at the Teaching Academy

Each year OPD coaches multiple presenters to create a workshop (virtual and in person) for the Teaching Academy! Presenters talk about a range of topics, such as inclusive classrooms, active learning, preparing for class, ungrading, the first day, syllabi, getting your students to discuss and write, and more! Presenters often use this experience to transition to a career at a center for teaching, faculty support, or a career in the classroom!  Apply in the spring. 

Public Writing Fellows

Are you interested in improving your writing for non-expert audiences? Or maybe you want to pursue a career in public relations, science communication, or outreach?  Be a Graduate School Public Writing Fellow! In this program, graduate students work with a peer mentor group under the direction of OPD to write, revise, and polish a research communication news story. Apply in the spring. 

Compete in the 3 Minute Thesis

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Three Minute Thesis (3MT) celebrates the research accomplishments of our graduate students while helping students develop their presentation and communication skills. These popular competitions have become a global phenomenon by challenging graduate students to communicate the significance of their research to a general audience, all in three minutes or less. Guided by support and feedback from OPD, participating in the 3MT is a great way to improve and practice public speaking skills! Sign-up in early winter.

Attend the Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) Workshop

The CASE workshop is organized to educate STEM students who are interested in learning about the role of science in policymaking. Participants spend several days learning about the structure and organization of Congress, the federal budget and appropriations process, and tools for effective science communication and civic engagement. This year, four UMass graduate students will be selected to participate in the 2024 CASE workshop in Washington DC from April 14-17. Selection is competitive and graduate students can apply here by Tuesday, February 13th for consideration. Sponsored by the Graduate School, College of Engineering, and College of Natural Sciences.

Attend the Scientist Mentoring & Diversity Program

This one-year career mentoring program pairs ethnically diverse students with industry mentors who work at companies in the medical technology, biotechnology, and consumer healthcare industries. Highlights of the program include a 5-day training session that students attend with their industry mentors to learn about various career paths in industry career development coaching support to attend a major industry conference. OPD can nominate students each year; learn more on the SMDP website. 

Teach a First Year Seminar

Considering a career in teaching? The UMass First Year Seminar is a 1-credit class for first year undergrads on a topic of your choice taught in fall semester! The experience of being an instructor - and building your own syllabus - is invaluable if you are interested in a faculty career. First year seminars are managed by UMass colleges and schools and watch for the call for applicants in the early spring each year! 

Be a Consultant for the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) 

The role of an ISSR consultant is to provide methodological guidance to students, faculty, and other researchers in the UMass community with their research projects. The primary job responsibility is to hold individual meetings with faculty and students in response to walk-in and email requests for assistance. In addition, each consultant prepares and delivers two workshops each semester on a research method and/or analytical software topic. Co-sponsored by the Graduate School. 

Intern at the UMass Press

The academic publishing industry follows an apprenticeship model, wherein job experience is frequently the key qualification for both entry-level and advanced positions. To explore or launch a career in publishing, applicants generally begin as assistants, providing support to acquisitions and marketing staff.  Based at the Amherst office of the University of Massachusetts Press, this internship will offer exposure to the workings of a university press and provide the experience necessary to land an entry-level job in the industry. Each spring, a single application cycle is used to select three graduate interns who will work at the UMass Press in either the fall, spring, or summer term. The next application cycle will open in Spring 2025. Co-sponsored by the Graduate School, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and UMass Press.

Intern at the UMass Technology Transfer Office

The University of Massachusetts Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is pleased to pilot a graduate internship in Summer 2023 as a way to learn about careers in technology transfer and intellectual property. The interns will receive training in intellectual property concepts, evaluate early-stage technologies, work with campus innovators, and prepare marketing materials for promising technologies. Job experience is frequently a key qualification for obtaining an entry-level licensing position in a Technology Transfer Office, and this internship is a great way to build foundational knowledge in the field.

TRaCE Project Assistants: Tracking the Alt-Ac Career Outcomes of Humanities PhDs

“TRaCE Transborder: PhD grads driving change by telling their stories” is a partnership of eleven universities across six continents (one of which is UMass!). Our task is to track the career paths of our Humanities PhDs, interview Humanities PhD grads, and create narratives from the information we gather. Learning about previous student outcomes will help current students plan their own career paths and will allow the universities to identify opportunities for improvement of their academic and professional training. The UMass TRaCE Project Assistants are gathering quantitative data about PhD outcomes and conducting virtual interviews to be published on the TRaCE website, under the direction of OPD (2023-2024). Sponsored by the Graduate School.