GSBS Individual Development Plan (IDP)

• Overview

  The IDP is a planning tool designed to help students identify scientific progress, determine professional development needs, and meet career-planning objectives. The GSBS IDP was designed for GSBS students and includes reflection on graduate training expectations, self-assessment and goal-setting exercises, and follow-up discussions with a research advisor and the Office of Career Development. Collectively, this process is designed to aid students in setting short-term training and professional development goals that enhance career readiness for students upon graduation.

  The GSBS IDP is an annual academic milestone requirement for all GSBS PhD students.

  Goals of the IDP:

  • cultivates a sense of ownership over training, career planning and professional development
  • allows for reflection and self-evaluation on training progress and career-readiness
  • identifies areas for improving performance and developing new skills
  • facilitates communication and transparent expectations between the student and research mentor

  To learn more about how the GSBS IDP process, see this one page summary.

  Feedback from the GSBS community is critical in ensuring this is a useful tool for our community. Please click here to answer a brief survey about your IDP experience: https://uthtmc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0fauk0NNzSyuYyp

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  Questions about the IDP process: Contact gsbs.careerdevelopment@uth.tmc.edu

• IDP Form

  Use the GSBS IDP guide and worksheet that correlates to your specific stage of training:

  First year: Guide and Worksheet (Word Document)

  Second year: Guide and Worksheet (Word Document)

  Third year: Guide and Worksheet (Word Document)

  Fourth year and beyond: Guide and Worksheet (Word Document)

• For Graduate Students

  GSBS expects that all PhD students will complete their IDPs on an annual basis. Students will complete a training year-specific form that guides them through self-reflection and assessment, goal-setting, and a facilitated discussion of training and career-related goals. The first IDP is completed during GSBS orientation with the Office of Career Development. In subsequent years, GSBS students will review their IDP from the previous year, reflect on progress, and revise their IDPs using the recommended form. Students are expected to complete and discuss their IDPs with their research mentors (or another faculty member) on an annual basis. In year 3, all GSBS students will be required to complete their IDP and participate in a confidential one-on-one career advising meeting with the Office of Career Development.

• For Mentors

  An IDP enables both students and their mentors to best chart a path for an individual student’s development needs.  Importantly, it recognizes that we are all unique and have a different mix of strengths, developmental goals, and career ambitions. Therefore, this process is highly tailored to help graduate students:

  • assess their skills, interests and values;
  • determine a plan for meeting academic and professional goals; and
  • communicate with their mentor(s) about evolving goals and related skills.

  The mentor’s responsibility

  It is the responsibility of the graduate student to engage in the IDP process.  However, having conversations with a mentor or mentoring team is an essential step in implementing and completing the IDP process.

  While it is up to the graduate student to develop IDPs, it is also important for you to encourage them to interact with you regarding the IDP. They may choose to share certain parts of the IDP with you and keep other parts (such as the skills assessment, or personal goals) private.

  Questions about the process?

  Contact gsbs.careerdevelopment@uth.tmc.edu

• For Principal Investigators and Program Directors of NIH Grants

  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) encourages institutions to assist graduate students in achieving their career goals within the biomedical research workforce through the use of Individual Development Plans (IDPs)- see (NOT-OD-114-13?). Institutions are encouraged to implement IDP policies and to report on their use in all progress reports submitted on/after October 1, 2014, using the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). NIH Investigators of training grant should include information to document that IDPs are used to help manage the training for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in their grant applications and progress report. Additionally, it is encouraged to use IDPs with all trainees that are recipients of NIH funding mechanisms. https://myidp.sciencecareers.org/

  There is no requirement to use a specific IDP format. Any IDP tool, for example, Science Careers myIDP, may be used. The GSBS recommends using the GSBS IDP, which integrates Science Careers myIDP and standard GSBS academic milestones.

  It is important to note that actual IDPs do not need to be reported to the NIH, but rather NIH Investigators should outline current practices that document that IDPs are used to help manage the training for those individuals.