Supporting the Professionalization of Graduate Students

Originally published May 2025 

Supporting the Professionalization of Graduate Students

Taking a proactive approach to supporting your graduate student’s professionalization has never been more important to their success. Graduate students coming to Laurier have varied motivations for the role of their degree in their professional path, including further advancing their academic careers, honing their knowledge and skills in a specialization, expanding their transferrable skills or elevating their already established careers. Instructors can play an important role in growing the confidence and capacities of graduate students as professionals as they move toward their post-graduate goals.

Enhancing Professional Skills in Your Course

Reflect on practical skills associated with the professional careers that your students are pursuing, not only the content of your course. Laurier's Competency Framework is a great place to start building learning outcomes related to professional skills. The framework includes competencies such as teamwork, diversity and intercultural understanding, digital literacy, and communication. Sharing the framework with graduate students also provides an evaluative opportunity for them to reflect on their existing strengths and areas where they would like further development and support. 

For your courses, consider the following:

• What are the transferable skills that will enhance your graduate student’s employability or ability to achieve a promotion?
• Will students from your discipline need to learn how to write grant proposals or keep detailed notes from clients they serve?  
• Will they need to know how to set up and run their labs? 
• Will they need to deliver persuasive presentations to potential clients or government actors?
• What professional skills are needed for future careers, such as time management, organizational skills, and prioritization?

Consider how you can support graduate student professionalization through the following strategies:

• Send out a pre-term survey to your students asking what professionalization skills or competencies they want to develop. Getting to know your students’ future goals can help provide your students with skills that align with your course content. 
• Support stronger writing and communication skills through process-focused scaffolded assignments designed for your discipline. Connect with Writing Services to learn more about graduate student programming, including one-on-one consultations with writing tutors and in-class workshops to support students with your assessments - inquire about the new GenAI and writing workshop! 
• Imposter syndrome and job market fear can be stressful for graduate students. Incorporate opportunities to engage in authentic assessments to grow student confidence through real-world scenarios or contexts.
• Talk to your students about the value of attendance, managing timelines and deadlines, and course engagement to both their academic and professional success. 
  • See the Resources and Handouts page from Student Success for more information about supports for skill development.

Co-Curricular Services and Campus Supports for Graduate Student Professionalization 

Our Laurier campus community also provides alternative training and skill development opportunities that you can share with your students. Consider informing your students about the following opportunities:

• Provide your graduate students with information about the ASPIRE Professional Development Certificate. The ASPIRE program provides graduate and postdoctoral students with skills, knowledge, and resources, such as teaching development, to thrive in their academic journey and beyond. Consider if and how you could create space in your class (or at the program level) for the required certificate completion.
• Share the Writing with Inclusive Language Module on MyLS to enhance their knowledge and skills with equity-minded communication.
• Connect your graduate students with the Career Centre to discuss alternative options they may not have considered. Career services run workshops, provide one-on-one supports and guide students into their next chapter.
• Connect your graduate students with the Laurier Graduate Student Support Instagram account for updates, information and ways to connect further.

Graduate Student Teaching Preparation and Recognition

• Are you working with GTAs?  
  • Being explicit about expectations and professional engagement can help graduate students understand the boundaries of their roles and responsibilities. 
  • To find training opportunities for your Graduate Teaching Assistant, please direct them to GTA Training: Mental Health, Wellness and a Caring Community and GTA Training – Best Practice In Teaching, available for Self-Registration on MyLS.
• Do you know a PhD student who is teaching a course? 
  • Please encourage them to contact the TEI team for questions about planning courses or developing instructional skills.
  • Doctoral students are also welcome to participate in any of the workshops that we offer to all Laurier instructors. 
• Do you know a graduate student who demonstrates excellence in teaching? 
  • Consider nominating them for a Student Teaching Award of Excellence!

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