What is the Individual Development Plan (IDP)?
The Individual Development Plan (IDP) was designed to help you break down your journey through the graduate program into clear short- and long-term goals as well as steps towards achieving these goals.
Start your IDP
With Notion
1. Watch the tutorial video
2. Or read the tutorial
- Tutorial document
3. Make a copy of the IDP template:
- Humanities and Social Science IDP template
- STEM IDP template
With Google Document
- Make a copy of an IDP template
Explore Examples of Real Individual Development Plans
- First-Year Master's Student, Social Sciences
- Third-Year PhD Student, Humanities
- Fifth-Year PhD Student, STEM
- Postdoctoral Fellow
Why make an IDP?
A well-crafted IDP serves both as a planning and a communications tool, so you can identify research and career goals, and communicate them to mentors, advisors, and future employers.
The IDP is intended to help you reflect and plan for the coming year. The IDP is not a contract, so don't worry about setting ambitious goals and feel free to revise your IDP as often as you need as your goals evolve.
The IDP helps to:
- Assess and develop transferable skills for different career paths.
- Effectively communicate academic and professional goals to your advisor, faculty, and mentors.
- Build a solid support network during graduate school and beyond.