The Professional Skills Foundations program has been retired and replaced with the Grad Skill Enhancement Project. The information on this page is for historical reference only.
The Professional Skills Foundations (PSF) program empowered graduate students to take charge of their professional development through personalized plans, workshops, and activities. With a focus on skill assessment, goal setting, and reflective feedback, students culminated their journey with a mock interview and received a prestigious letter of completion.
Overview
Similar to the new Grad Skill Enhancement Project (GSEP), Professional Skills Foundations (PSF) was organized around four core categories that are important for a wide variety of career paths, both inside and outside of academia:
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Career preparation
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Communication
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Leadership
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Personal effectiveness
During the program, students:
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Developed key skills in career preparation, communication, leadership, and personal effectiveness.
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Assessed your skills, interests, and values relative to their career goals.
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Learned to identify and articulate their skills.
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Increased their confidence and experience as an advanced degree candidate exploring career options.
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Achieved their specific professional development goals within a framework that provided structure, feedback, resources, and accountability.
Program structure
To complete the PSF program, students:
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Attended a Professional Skills Foundations Introductory Workshop (either in person or by taking online modules)
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Created an Individual Development Plan (IDP) which was then approved through a meeting with Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs
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Completed one workshop and one activity in each of the core areas mentioned above (4 workshops and 4 activities total)
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Submitted proof of completion for all workshops and activities as well as a brief reflection (approximately 500 words) on the benefits or learning outcomes of each activity
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Completed a mock interview through the Centre for Career Development
Upon completion of the capstone, students were provided with confirmation of program completion in the form of a letter from the associate vice-president of GSPA.
Contact us
If you have questions about PSF, please reach out to the GSPA graduate programming team at gradexperience@uwaterloo.ca .