Innovation And Workforce Development

Graduate School Introduces New Professional Development Workshop Series

The University of South Dakota’s Graduate School has created a series of professional development workshops for enhancing industry and academic skills across the entire graduate student body.

October 01, 2024

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Graduate Event

A group of graduate students sitting in desks look to the front of the classroom where a presenter is giving their talk.

Known as the Graduate Student Success Series (GS3), this set of coordinated workshops create unique opportunities for USD graduate students to explore and refine the crucial skills they need to excel in both academia and industry.

Beth Freeburg, Ph. D., associate provost and graduate dean, and Brittany Wagner, director of graduate education, worked with a team of dedicated faculty from across USD to create the GS3 program. Faculty include Julia Hellwege, Ph.D. associate professor of political science, and Jewel Goodman Shepherd, Ph.D., associate dean of business graduate programs.

“I have been having more and more conversations with graduate students about their desire for professional development. My colleagues across campus were hearing the exact same thing,” said Wagner. “We want our graduate students to feel confident going out into the world knowing they have the skills and experiences necessary to stand out."

The series will consist of four workshops in the 2024-2025 academic year. All the workshops will be hosted in the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and available via Zoom for online and distance students.

Topics covered in the workshops range from professionalism and communication skills to job markets and application materials and professional networking.

In addition to the workshop sessions, the GS3 will provide additional resources to graduate students to help prepare them for their professional journeys after graduation. Participants will have access to the online platform, "Beyond Graduate School," which offers professional development courses, materials and resources.

Students will also have access to “Strategies for Navigating Graduate School and Beyond,” by Hellwege. This 69-chapter book – available free online – features advice from over 150 contributors on everything from applying to graduate school to going on the job market, with a special focus on challenges faced by minoritized students and mental health and well-being.

“Students choose USD because of our highly valued faculty and research,” said Freeburg. “The faculty-developed Graduate Student Success Series will help our students continue their success into their careers.”

The GS3 offers a digital badge to those who complete the assigned activities for at least four workshops and take at least two courses on the Beyond Graduate School online platform during their time enrolled in a USD graduate program.

"The inaugural year was supported in part by a generous grant from Women in Philanthropy," said Goodman Shepherd. "Students earning digital badges last year represented the College of Arts and Sciences, Beacom School of Business, School of Education, School of Health Sciences and the Sanford School of Medicine. This year, individual academic units have been supportive in communicating the GS3 series to their students and by sponsoring lunches for the on-campus students who participate in the workshops."

2024-2025 GS3 Series Workshops