Individual Development Plan

WMU recommends that all graduate students keep an Individual Development Plan (IDP) to guide their studies and professional pursuits as they progress through their program. An IDP is a living document that you fill out in your first year, then continue to update as you hit academic milestones and achieve new goals. Sections include a self-reflection on goals and values, career planning, skill development, budgeting, and a growing record of your qualifications.

Your IDP can be as detailed or bare-bones as you choose, but there are benefits to keeping a comprehensive record. For example, in Year 4, you might be surprised how easily you can forget which conferences you attended in Year 2, or a service project you worked on, or even an award you received. If you keep your IDP up to date, you can recall it all handily and complete your CV or resume without worrying that you’re forgetting some important accomplishment.

When you save your IDP to OneDrive, it’s easy to share reading and editing privileges with your advisor and mentors, as well. That way, you can look at the document together and decide which areas to focus on next. WMU’s IDP includes dedicated sections where your advisor can leave notes and recommendations for you. That log of notes can be especially helpful when you’re choosing courses or deciding which conferences and publications to target.

In fact, IDPs have become such an integral part of graduate studies that major funders now incorporate them into their project grant applications and renewals. For example, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation require their Principal Investigators to report annually on the use of IDPs among participating graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

Below, you’ll find several free IDP template options to choose from. You might also want to check with your advisor about which offers the best fit for your discipline and career path!

• The COMPASS IDP WMU’s 7-Step form provides an easy-to-use IDP geared toward students across the disciplines.
• APA Psychology scholars may want to consider this five-step plan developed by the American Psychology Association.
• ChemIDP As the name reveals, this IDP option offered by the American Chemical Society targets PhDs and postdocs in the chemical sciences.
• ImaginePhD Designed for PhD students in the humanities and social sciences, this online resource features self-assessment, career exploration, and goal-setting.
• myIDP PhD students and postdocs aspiring to careers in the sciences may prefer this
  career-planning tool, which features a printable Certificate of Completion.