Build success skills for diverse career paths
The Graduate School is committed to setting you up for success for your desired career path. In addition to the discipline-specific knowledge and training you receive from your academic program, developing skills in areas such as communication, time management, leadership, critical thinking, and collaboration will increase your competitiveness on the job market.
Through partnerships at K-State and externally, there are many opportunities for you to develop skills that will contribute to your success in graduate school and beyond.
The Graduate Student Council and Graduate School recognize graduate students who engage in professional development activities such as seminars, workshops, and forums that facilitate the development of competencies for academic success and career readiness. Graduate students who complete requirements in an academic year are presented with a certificate.
The Graduate Student Leadership Development Program (GSLDP) provides K-State graduate students an opportunity to develop leadership skills to make positive change in your work, studies, and student organizations. In this semester-long experience, you will work with Leadership Studies faculty and your peers to dive into challenges that are most important to you.
K-State's Career Center is available to assist graduate students with their career readiness needs. The Career Center offers extensive career advising which focuses on resume/CV/cover letter development, interview prep, job search training, and networking. Students have the opportunity to connect with potential employers at several career fairs hosted each year. The Career Center also offers free professional clothing to K-State students from its Career Closet.
Beyond Graduate School (the Master’s Career Training Platform) and Beyond the Professoriate (the PhD Career Training Platform) are two virtual career training platforms where master's students, doctoral students, and post docs can access on-demand trainings in topics such as:
- Career trainings to help with your job search
- Career libraries with master’s and PhD alumni interviews
- Monthly live webinars (and replays) on job search strategies
- Workbooks to help you explore career options and strengthen job docs
The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is an NSF Center for Learning and Teaching in higher education. CIRTL uses graduate education as the leverage point to develop a national STEM faculty committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse student audiences as part of successful professional careers. The goal of CIRTL is to improve the STEM learning of all students at every college and university, and thereby to increase the diversity in STEM fields and the STEM literacy of the nation.
Visit CIRTL's event series page for a full schedule of sessions and instructions on how to attend a session.
While K-State does not have institutional membership to NCFDD (as of May 15, 2026), some NCFDD events and resources are available at no cost, such as their public events, 14-day Writing Challenges, and insights and resources.