Professional Development
Careers in science are intense and competitive, and many essential skills are not typically learned in the laboratory. The NSP is committed to providing fostering students’ development through instruction, professional experiences, grant writing, and other activities in which students can take on increased responsibilities as they gain in experience and research achievement.
The Professional Development Program (PDP) was started to meet the increasing need for career skills beyond those normally acquired in the lab. These include written and oral presentations, grant writing, peer review, career planning, time management, networking, balancing personal and professional life, and ethics.
The PDP seminar, Neur 520 section PDP, meets in the spring semester from 2:30 - 3:30 on Tuesdays. The class is a mix of lecture presentation, group discussion, in class exercises, and reading and written assignments. Guest appearances by NSP faculty and postdocs, and by outside seminar speakers, are a regular feature of the PDP.