PhD Career & Professional Development Services

Duke Engineering offers extensive services to help doctoral students prepare for successful careers

Writing Workshops

Each semester, the Pratt School of Engineering provides scientific and technical writing workshops, led by an academic writing expert and educator, and designed to assist our PhD students in building this important career skill set.


PhD Plus

The PhD Plus Professional Development Program assists engineering doctoral students by helping them prepare for success in their careers. This innovative program offers an array of events throughout the year — including summer workshops, practical seminars and networking opportunities. PhD Plus workshop topics have included:

  • Practicing skills for interviews and networking
  • Developing your personal brand
  • Delivering an effective job talk
  • An engineering PhD's career path in venture capital

More details on the PhD Plus website.


Engineering Graduate Communications & Intercultural Programs

Duke Engineering Graduate Communications and Intercultural Programs (GCIP) provides comprehensive communications support for all engineering PhD and master's students. GCIP offers both workshops and one-on-one coaching to assist students with:

  • Academic writing
  • Conversation and intercultural interactions
  • Presentations and degree defense

Learn more on the GCIP webpage.


Career Center Services

Duke’s Career Center provides programs designed especially for doctoral (PhD) students:

  • Career Advising: One-on-one and group appointments
  • Graduate Student Career Fairs: Including Duke's university-wide career fair
  • Career Preparation Series: CV and resume development, cover letter writing, obtaining an internship, sharpening interview skills
  • Academic Job Search Strategies: For those seeking research, professorial, and university administration opportunities
  • Job Search Strategies for Careers Beyond Academia: For those seeking opportunities in industry, the private sector and government
  • Transferrable Skills Training: Coaching to identify your full set of marketable skills
  • Networking Skill Development: Including utilizing social media, such as LinkedIn
  • For International Students: Interview skills training

More details on the Duke Career Center website


Learn more