The NIU Graduate Career and Professional Development Pathway (GCPD) follows your progress from early in your program through degree completion. Our Community Portal offers centralized resources and services tailored to master’s and doctoral students, along with ongoing, multi-layered support through the following stages. Begin your pathway by becoming active on the portal today!
Plan your career pathway through UNIV 601, a variable (0-1 credit hour) course developed in the Graduate School. The course provides you with a personalized package to empower you with a data-informed approach to career planning. Learn effective strategies for conducting informational interviews. Begin building an optimized LinkedIn profile.
Explore how your graduate academic program aligns with real-time labor market data using NIU’s Career Pathway Dashboard, and discover occupations and specializations that interest you. Identify skills considered essential by employers for geographic regions of interest, future growth projections and demand, salary premium skills and more.
Use the skills data for occupations and specializations of interest to facilitate conversations with faculty and staff advisors about your program of study (e.g. courses you could take within and outside your department to obtain high-impact exposures to needed skills). The Graduate School also provides workshops, webinars, and podcasts to help you round out your curricular program and improve you skills alignment with employer demand.
Enhance your resume and interviewing skills to heighten recruiter interest by taking UNIV 602, a variable (0-1 credit hour) course developed by the Graduate School. The course provides you with personalized assistance with job searching and developing your application materials. Develop a Job Market Plan to align labor-market skills with your experience. Learn how to develop a network that will advocate for you. Get connected with key alumni in jobs that interest you.
Your Individual Development Plan (IDP) brings your pathway into focus. The Graduate School provides an electronic IDP template to help you better visualize your pathway and use it as a tool to facilitate conversations about your career and professional development goals. Schedule an appointment, email graduatecareers@niu.edu to get started!
Phone: 815-753-0395
Fax: 815-753-6366
Email: gradsch@niu.edu
Monday-Friday
8-11:30 a.m.
12:30-4:30 p.m.