Individual Development Plans

An Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a powerful tool that supports graduate students in setting intentional academic and career goals while fostering meaningful conversations with their mentors.

Designed to promote self-reflection and strategic planning, the IDP helps students assess their values, strengths, and areas for growth in relation to their long-term aspirations. It also encourages students to document progress in both disciplinary expertise and transferable skills that are valued across academic, nonprofit, government, and industry sectors.

For mentoring pairs, the IDP serves as a shared framework to align expectations, track milestones, and identify opportunities for professional development.

Faculty mentors can use the IDP to better understand their mentees’ evolving goals and to offer tailored guidance on research, teaching, networking, and career exploration.

Whether using tools like ImaginePhD for humanities and social sciences or myIDP for STEM fields, the IDP process fosters a proactive, collaborative approach to mentoring that enhances student success and satisfaction throughout graduate training and beyond.

University Requirement

Annual reviews are designed to ensure that graduate students are making timely progress toward their degrees and that mentors are providing consistent, effective support. These reviews are not only evaluative but also developmental, serving as mentoring tools that foster communication, clarify expectations, and guide next steps.

In 2021, the University Council on Graduate Study (UCGS) required that all PhD students complete annual IDPs. The Regulations Governing Graduate Study at the University of Pittsburgh highlights that requirement: "meetings of the doctoral candidate and his/her dissertation committee must occur at least annually from the time the student gains admission to doctoral candidacy.

During these meetings, the committee should assess the student's progress toward the degree and discuss objectives for the following year and a timetable for completing degree requirements. It is the responsibility of the dean of each school to determine a mechanism for monitoring the occurrence of these annual reviews."

Here are some helpful tips for conducting an annual review.

Creating an IDP—Tips for Students

Creating an IDP is a collaborative and reflective process that helps graduate students align their academic experiences with long-term career goals. At Pitt, students are encouraged to use structured tools and resources to guide this process.

Here are key steps to get started.

Assess your values, interests, and skills using tools like ImaginePhD (for humanities and social sciences) or myIDP (for STEM fields).

Explore career paths that align with your strengths and aspirations—both within and beyond academia.

Set specific, measurable goals for research, teaching, skill development, and professional engagement.

Identify resources and opportunities (e.g., workshops, internships, mentoring) to support your goals.

Review and revise your IDP regularly in conversation with your mentor or mentoring team to reflect progress and evolving interests.

Conducting the Meeting—Tips for Faculty

Schedule at least 30–60 minutes for a one-on-one conversation.

IDP should include:

  • Progress on goals
  • Feedback on milestones, research, coursework, and skill development
  • Career aspirations and planning
  • Any barriers to progress (e.g., funding, committee dynamics)
  • Updates to the IDP or mentoring agreement

Encourage open dialogue and shared responsibility.

Documentation and Follow-up

After the meeting, a written summary helps formalize the discussion and ensures accountability. Feedback should be shared with the student and the program/school should keep a written record.

Best Practices

Annual reviews are most effective when approached as mentoring opportunities rather than administrative tasks. These tips help foster a supportive, student-centered review process that promotes growth and success.

  • Schedule reviews at a consistent time each year (e.g., end of spring term).
  • Use the review as a mentoring opportunity, not just a compliance task.
  • Encourage students to build mentoring networks beyond the primary advisor.
  • Revisit and revise mentoring agreements and IDPs annually.

IDP Templates and Resources

Other Career Planning Resources

  • Career Design Workshop Series: The Career Design Workshop Series is a four-week sequence of one-hour professional development workshops for graduate students. The workshops are designed to address doctoral and postdoctoral fellows’ career goals beyond academia by engaging in discussions and activities that help them plan and start implementing their professional goals.
  • Graduate Career Foundations: This new learning resource gives graduate students from all disciplines the opportunity to develop core career-readiness competencies to ensure their professional success beyond graduation. Once completed, these achievements can be shared via a linked e-portfolio.
  • Interstride: University of Pittsburgh graduate, undergraduate, and professional students and alumni have free access to Interstride’s online platform that provides specialized career exploration support for both international and domestic students.
  • University Career Center: The Career Center provides resources and services to help Pitt students succeed during their career journey. Explore the career resources and communities housed in Pitt Career Central, where you also can find a channel dedicated to the graduate student audience, as well as related events.
  • Campus Resources: Pitt graduate and professional students can access a variety of resources across campus that offer support related to careers and professional development.

UCGS Mentoring Committee

This committee was charged by Vice Provost Amanda Godley to update the University’s Guide to Graduate Mentoring and Advising (titled Elements of Good Academic Advising) and make recommendations for University-wide mentor/advisor and mentee training and support.
The committee met in February, March, April, May, September, October, and November of 2023.

Process and Benchmarking

In May 2023, the UCGS committee conducted a comprehensive review of twelve national organizations, well-regarded mentoring and advising programs, universities, and other external resources beyond the University of Pittsburgh.

Key insights from this benchmarking initiative include:

  • Many programs clearly define the roles and expectations of both mentors and mentees, often providing examples of effective and ineffective mentoring. Strong mentors are commonly described as adaptable, resilient, and open-minded.
  • Best practices from various schools are shared in ways that allow them to be adapted across different departments and units.
  • Several programs emphasize the importance of inclusive excellence and accessibility.
  • A student-centered approach is widely encouraged, moving away from one-size-fits-all models. This includes connecting students with mentors from industry to support academic completion and career readiness.
  • Multi-mentor models are promoted as a way to better meet diverse student needs. These networks support broader career development and engagement across four distinct academic support roles: academic advisor, supervisor or dissertation chair, faculty mentor, and peer or lateral mentor.
  • Centralized platforms are frequently used to consolidate resources such as event listings, training opportunities, conflict resolution tools, mental health services, and key campus contacts.

This summary reflects the committee’s findings and supports the development of this centralized mentoring website that incorporates best practices, resources, and guidance for faculty and students at the University of Pittsburgh.