Graduate Professional Development
Graduate Professional Development
We offer a variety of info sessions, workshops, and open labs dedicated to providing graduate students with the skills they need to succeed during and after their graduate program.
Questions? Email gradworkshops@ucf.edu.
Opportunities
All opportunities, including professional development, are available on the UCF Events Calendar with full descriptions and links. Don’t forget to add these events to your personal calendar through the “Feeds” on the UCF Events Calendar.
Academic Integrity (Responsible Conduct in Research) Workshops
The Academic Integrity (Responsible Conduct in Research) workshops are required for all doctoral students. More information and the current workshop schedule is available at https://graduate.ucf.edu/academic-integrity-training
Career Exploration
Partnering with UCF Career Services and the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, we offer workshops to prepare you for life after grad school. These workshops include career support, resume/CV assistance, and interviewing/networking advice. See our Career Preparation page for more information.
Online Resources
Thesis and Dissertation Webcourse
All resources related to the thesis and dissertation process, including information on how to choose an adviser and committee, how to format your document, how to conduct the defense, and more, are located within the Thesis and Dissertation Webcourse.
This FREE, non-credit Webcourse is intended for students planning to complete a thesis or dissertation in the future and students already enrolled in thesis and dissertation hours.
Please see our Thesis and Dissertation page for a link to the Webcourse and other information.
Grant Development Series Webcourse
The Grant Development Series Webcourse is intended for those seeking possible future careers in academia, research, and other fields demanding knowledge of research grants. This free resource equips participants with the knowledge and skills needed to successfully obtain external research funding through five modules. Users who complete all five modules and corresponding quizzes will be able to download a printable completion certificate! Access this resource in Webcourses.
Graduate Teaching (GTA) Information
Most programs offer assistantships in which students serve as research or teaching associates or assistants. Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) may be appointed as classroom teachers (instructors of record), co-teachers, or classroom assistants, graders, lab assistants, or other roles directly related to classroom instruction. Please see our Graduate Teaching (GTA) Information page for additional details.
GTA Training
GTA training information is available on our GTA Training Requirements page. This training mainly involves self-paced online modules, and there is no cost to students. While it’s primarily intended to prepare graduate students to teach at UCF, it is beneficial to any graduate student who may teach in various contexts in their future positions.
Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty Program
The Karen L. Smith Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning offers a Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty Program every semester. This is a voluntary program on teaching in higher education, primarily intended for graduate teaching assistants but open to all UCF graduate students. The format for this program is mixed-mode. Participants will be expected to complete a series of online modules and attend six, two-hour meetings, which will be held on the Orlando campus. Participation is limited, so please enroll early. There is no cost associated with registration.
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
Therapy Assisted Online (TAO) Self Help
Provided by UCF Counseling and Psychological Services, Therapy Assisted Online (TAO) Self Help is an interactive, web-based program that provides assistance to help overcome anxiety, depression, and other concerns. TAO is based on well-researched and highly effective strategies.
You can choose to view short but helpful videos, take part in brief exercises, use logs to track moods and progress, and have access to a Mindfulness Library. All UCF students are eligible for TAO Self-Help. You just need a UCF email address.
Supporting Students in Distress
Provided by UCF Counseling and Psychological Services, Supporting Students in Distress is a set of role-play, avatar modules to educate faculty, staff, and students about mental health and suicide prevention (which we know supports improved academic performance, student retention, and campus safety).
It is an aviator/simulation online tool that allows users to enter a virtual environment and engage in role-play conversations with emotionally-responsive virtual humans. Through practice and receiving personalized feedback, users learn and assess their competency to lead similar conversations in real life.
Information Literacy Modules
The UCF library offers free online modules on how to avoid plagiarism using APA, MLA, and Chicago Styles. There are also modules on Conducting a Literature Review, Evaluating Websites, and Creating a Search Strategy. Please note you will need your NID and NID password to log in to these on-demand modules.
ETD+ Virtual Workshops
The ETD+ Virtual Workshop Series is a set of free introductory training resources on crucial data curation and digital longevity techniques for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs) and affiliated files.
Workshop topics include: Copyright, Data Organization, File Formats, Metadata, and Storage. Version Control
Each module is approximately 15-20 minutes each and includes the supplemental material, including slides, a guidance brief (booklet), and a printable handout summarizing key takeaways and learning objectives.