Reimagining Professional Development Award

Apply for an Award

Applications for 2024-2025 are now closed. Check back in 2025!

students in a conference room

This award for graduate students and postdocs offers financial support for the production of programming, content or training resources addressing the career and professional development needs of their peers across campus. 

The Graduate School encourages graduate students and postdocs to apply for the Reimagining Professional Development Award in recognition of their unique perspectives and abilities  to identify and design student need-driven programming and resources for career and professional development. 

Award recipients will be supported in their design and creation of resources and programs to be completed and delivered before August 1, 2025. 

View the 2024-25 Call for Proposals.

Current and Ongoing Reimagining Projects:

Master Your Money: Practical Financial Skills for Graduate Students and Postdocs

Near Peer Learning: A Mentorship Podcast

Communicating Science with Impact: Developing a Micro-Credential

Beyond the Corporate Ladder: Graduate Pathways to Careers in Arts and Nonprofits

Empowering Communication Work: Graduate and Postdoctoral Life with Chronic Illness

Career Transition Guide: How to Pursue Program Officer Positions

Improvisation for Better Communication: An Interactive Workshop

Target Audience

Preference will be given to proposals that:

  • Produce “evergreen” content that is accessible beyond one program or moment in time. 

  • Are designed to increase access to career education and professional development for graduate students and scholars. 

  • Serve a cross-section of disciplinary backgrounds from more than one college or school and are specifically targeted to master’s students, PhD students and postdoctoral scholars. 

  • Address unique and shared career development needs for graduate students and postdocs that aren’t currently addressed. Examples include but are not limited to scholars with disabilities, veterans, parents/caregivers, non-traditional or first generation and international students and scholars. 

  • Demonstrate an unmet need and potential for high impact. 

  • Align with the work of the Office of Career and Life Design and The Graduate School, focusing on career and professional development topics other than discipline-specific research or teaching. 

All trainings and content created will be accessible to all students.

Application Process

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate degree program or be a postdoctoral scholar at The University of Texas at Austin throughout the completion of the project. 

  • Past awardees are eligible to apply with new proposals, but new applicants will be prioritized to diversify engagement and offer equitable access to this award. 

Financial Aid

Individual applicants can request up to $1,200. Team applicants of no more than three individuals can request up to $3,000, with each individual limited to $1,200. Applicants must have room in their financial aid package in order to accept this scholarship. Otherwise, loans may be reduced or funding may not be realized. Please contact Texas One Stop with any questions.

The award is distributed in installments. Certain award program milestones must be met to ensure full funding distribution. Funding could be jeopardized if certain requirements are not met, including finalization of the award project.

Proposal Requirements

The proposal must include the following items:

A PDF that outlines:

  • The proposal title. 

  • A clearly defined graduate student or postdoc need. 

  • Your proposed solution to address the need. The solution must define the format of the in-person program (e.g., one-time workshop, seminar or panel) and any potential digital resource (e.g., video, worksheet, guide, website content or podcast). You are welcome to incorporate other speakers or contributors from UT Austin or beyond in this solution. 

  • A timeline for execution of the project, including projected month of in-person event and completion of entire project. 

  • The targeted population(s) of the project and anticipated number of students served; the project must serve students from more than one school or college. 

  • The award amount requested, within the specified range of  up to $1,200 for each individual applicant, or $3,000 per team. 

  • An anticipated itemized budget for associated costs, up to $1,000 per individual proposal or up to $2,000 per team proposal. 

A video compilation that includes:

  • A bio for each named author and your interest in addressing graduate student or postdoc need. The video compilation should be less than two minutes per author.

Guidance for Funding Requests

Funds will be allocated based in part on the level of involvement and effort required.

Levels of Involvement Chart

Consult this chart to assess how much involvement your proposal will entail.

Application Timeline

  • Monday, September 30 at 11:59 p.m.: Application Deadline 

  • October 2024: Award Notification 

  • Late Fall 2024: Project Orientation 

  • Following Orientation (Date TBD): 25% of Award Issued 

  • At time of project completion: Remaining 75% of award issued 

  • Before August 1, 2025: Project Completion Deadline 

Contact Us

If you have any questions about the Reimagining Professional Development Award, please contact Loren Cressler.