Graduate Student Personal Development Plan

Does the student understand laboratory problems, procedures, and equipment?
Does the student perform laboratory skills with a reasonable level of proficiency?
Does the student design experiments with adequate controls?
Does the student plan a series of experiments logically?
Does the student keep adequate laboratory records?
Does the student exhibit the ability to evaluate experimental results?
Does the student exhibit receptiveness to suggestions and critical comments?
Does the student exhibit the capacity for self-expression and communication?
Does the student exhibit the ability to get along with co-workers?
• Ph.D. advisory committee meetings: Within the first six months of the date that the
student enters the laboratory, it is advisable to hold a preliminary advisory committee
meeting. Many graduate programs do not require this, but it will often be extremely
beneficial to the student in terms of helping them begin to focus on their dissertation
project. Ideally, the mentor should encourage the student to hold biannual dissertation
advisory committee meetings to review the student’s progress. At these meetings, the
student should prepare a formal update concerning their project and recent progress
during the past six months. The committee should evaluate the student’s progress in
terms of the original specific aims and should provide scientific advice if changes to the
original goals need to be made. The advisory committee should be asked to evaluate the
overall progress of the student with respect to the projected time to graduation for that
student. Specific recommendations should be provided to the student at the conclusion of
the meeting concerning scientific direction and experimental goals for the next six
months.
Part III. Completion of the Ph.D.:
• Evaluation of student achievements: The mentor and student should discuss student
achievements including papers published, abstracts published, presentations at meetings,
research competitions, etc. The mentor should assist the student in the preparation of a
CV early in the program and encourage the student to regularly update their CV.
• Assesment of career goals: The mentor and student should discuss the intermediate and
long-term goals of the student and the mentor should advise the student on the necessary
steps to achieve their intermediate career goal (e.g. postdoctoral fellow position). The
mentor should begin this process early in the student’s training to ensure that sufficient
time is allotted for planning and preparation on the part of the student so that they can
meet requirements in order to be competitive.