2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report on Graduate STEM Education for the 21st Century discussed PhD and master's degrees in the sciences. The report recommends two broad and especially compelling career-related actions for STEM master's degree programs: (1) the creation of Individual Development Plans (IDP) and (2) the provision of Career Exploration opportunities. However, while IDPs have become more prevalent in PhD and Postdoctoral programs, they are not at all common in science and engineering master's programs. The short time frames to completion and the intensifying workforce development aspects of STEM master's degrees present distinctive conditions that mandate the creation of specialized IDPs for students in these programs. Furthermore, the IDPs developed for PhD candidates are not really relevant to master's students.

Using an IDP encourages students to plan well in advance and empowers them to create personalized educational pathways, a habit that will serve them well in graduate education and in becoming intentional lifelong learners. Second, experience with an IDP acclimates the students to personal development plans/assessments widely used in the workplace and to the necessity of ongoing planning and awareness for continuous learning about the workplace. Furthermore, it helps students become aware of transferable skill acquisition. And, lastly, the use of IDPs will enhance the graduate experience and career preparation for an increasingly diverse master’s population.

In this poster, we will present the initial IDP templates that have been developed as part of the NSF grant and discuss its use in engineering master’s programs.