Success and Socialization Skills
Success in graduate school or a postdoctoral position requires taking a proactive role in your professional development. To help ensure success, Graduate Studies, your program, and your faculty mentors work together to provide orientations; advising; and workshops, courses, and symposia focused on program milestones. Through these opportunities you will enhance and acquire the knowledge and skills needed to master your field of study and learn its norms (socialization).
Skill Review
Review these skills, and consider if you have already developed the skill enough for your future career plans, expect to develop the skill as part of your program, or need to find additional resources to support developing the skill:
- Understand and adopt the norms relating to scholarship in my field
- Understand and adopt the norms relating to authorship and presentation in my field
- Master the subject-matter knowledge relevant to scholars in my field
- Participate in key experiential training needed for scholarly readiness in my field
- Understand accepted research methods in my field
- Become familiar with relevant interdisciplinary research and scholarship
- Understand and navigate research funding structures
- Understand and navigate the American university system
- Adhere to all safety guideline and procedures in all relevant environments (on- or off-campus)
- Master the technical skills necessary to complete research in my field
Graduate Student Resource Guide
The UC Davis Graduate Student Resource Guide is a central online hub designed to help graduate students navigate the many academic, professional, and personal challenges of graduate education. It brings together essential information on academic success, funding and employment opportunities, health and well-being support, housing and transportation, parenting and childcare help, professional development, and mentoring resources, making it easier for students to find the services and guidance they need in one place rather than searching across multiple departments.
Doctoral Qualifying Exams are among the most stressful periods in an academic's training. Read the article on Acing your Qualifying Examination to learn about the structure and function of a QE, and how to strategize your preparation and prepare for the big day.
On-Demand Content
In his video Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Graduate Students and Postdocs, acclaimed educator, researcher, and public speaker High Kearns shares practical, research-based strategies that help early-career researchers manage their time, work effectively with supervisors, stay focused, and maintain wellbeing throughout their graduate journey. Whether you’re just starting a program or deep into your research, these insights are designed to boost your productivity, reduce stress, and support long-term success in academia and beyond.
Chancellor's Graduate & Professional Student Advisory Board
The CGPSA board was established to facilitate direct communication between the Chancellor and graduate and professional students at the University of California, Davis. The board informs students about activities within the Office of the Chancellor and provides comprehensive recommendations to the Chancellor about graduate and professional student needs. The purpose of the Chancellor’s Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Board is to advise the Office of the Chancellor and advocate on behalf of graduate and professional students.