Professional Development
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professional Studies has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, resulting in high-quality educational programs, strong student retention and overall financial and organizational stability.
Given the transformation of the employment landscape in the biomedical and health sciences, one of the strategic directions of the Graduate School is to focus on meeting the needs and expectations of graduate students now and into the future, both in and out of the classroom. It is within this context that a Drexel graduate education is enriched with robust professional development programming.
Professional Development Programs
Professional development programs include full-day workshops designed to help students define their career goals, develop plans to achieve those goals and provide skills to reach their employment ambitions.
Careers Beyond the Bench features speakers discussing career trajectories in non-academic settings. An emphasis is placed on providing tips to prepare for a career shift, tools for networking and strategies to build your resume. Learn more.
Success in Academia features highly accomplished speakers and panelists recounting how they navigated their careers in academia and providing tips on how to be successful. Breakout sessions include effective strategies for landing grants and fellowships as well as negotiating tactics for faculty positions. Learn more.
Communicating Your Science features presentations in promoting science to lay audiences and how to effectively advocate for science on the local and national level. Learn more.
Additional Professional Development Events
Additional professional development events occur on a smaller scale via seminars and informal lunches. These smaller-scale events are designed to promote networking and collaboration among our students, and to build an interconnected and robust student community.
Partnership with the Association for Women in Science (AWIS)
Drexel University is an institutional partner of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). AWIS is an organization that is dedicated to helping women in STEM achieve their career objectives. AWIS reaches more than 20,000 professionals in STEM around the country and can help you improve networking among women in the scientific community.
A benefit of the Drexel-AWIS partnership is that any undergraduate or graduate student may sign up for a complimentary membership in AWIS National (known as a Collegiate Representative membership).
Once you have created a user name and entered the requested information, accept and then continue to complete the membership page. Under institution, select Drexel University and then indicate if you are a graduate or undergraduate student. If given the opportunity (this feature may not be available at this time) select AWIS-PHL (Philadelphia Chapter) as your local chapter affiliation.
For questions, please contact: Ellie Cantor, PhD, awisphl@awisphl.org.
Meet an Alum
Christine Vaspoli
"Growing up in small town New Jersey I never expected I would have been privileged enough to be standing where I am today. I have to admit, coming from an agricultural school like Delaware Valley University, I was a little timid when I was given the opportunity to come to the city. Little did I know, the decision to come to Drexel to get my Master of Laboratory Animal Science degree would be one of the best I've ever made. Throughout the duration of this program, the professors have been beyond helpful and I have gained experience in areas I otherwise may not have."
"There's a lot of collaboration here, and that's kind of amazing when you consider that it's a graduate school in a big city. You're not all living in the same area and you're not all on the same schedule, but as we settled in, it was a very collaborative environment. There's a great sense of community in the program and that was great because in the health care profession you're rarely, if ever, working on your own; you have to work with people in teams, so it was helpful to learn the curriculum that way." Read Michael's story.
"I always knew I wanted a career that married my passion for helping people and challenged my analytical skill. Toward the end of high school, I started making a list of careers that would allow me to do that, but I always went back to medicine. After I arrived at Drexel, I shadowed doctors in different specialties and that reinforced my decision to pursue a career as a physician." Read Robert's story.
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