Professional Development Courses
The Graduate School offers a variety of courses that provide discipline-neutral professional development for both academic and non-academic career paths. Most are one-to-two credit courses, and many are offered in the late afternoon/evening and for half of the semester. Some of the courses can be counted toward the Graduate Certificate in Innovation, Leadership and Management.
CareerWell Professional Development GRAD courses are pass/fail and do not fulfill degree requirements or count as earned hours. Some GRAD courses are graded H, P, L and can potentially fulfill a degree requirement elective. Please confirm with your student services manager that a particular GRAD course can satisfy a degree elective. Post-doctoral fellows are welcome to audit these courses with instructor permission if space allows.
How to Register
Register for these courses as you would for any other graduate course through ConnectCarolina. The Office of the University Registrar also has course registration information.
Spring 2024 Course Offerings
GRAD 705: Responsible Conduct of Research (1.5 credits)
Hybrid, Tuesdays, 3:30-5:00 p.m., January 10-May 10
This course will explore ethical issues in research, including rigorous and reproducible experimental design; misconduct, plagiarism, and data falsification; data management and ownership; responsibility, and criteria for authorship; peer review of manuscripts and grants; definition and management of conflicts of interest; faculty/graduate student interactions; intellectual property and commercialization; and appropriate design and implementation of research with animals and humans. Each lecture will be followed by student-lead case discussion to illustrate principles addressed in the lecture.
GRAD 712: Leadership in the Workplace (1.5 credits)
Section 1: Remote synchronous, Mondays, 4:30-6:00 p.m., January 10-February 29
Section 2: Remote synchronous, Mondays, 4:30-6:00 p.m., March 4-April 30
Effective leadership begins with understanding your capacity to influence others positively. This course examines your current leadership style and addresses the relationship of that style to leadership development opportunities including influencing team dynamics, building productive relationships, and managing change as a professional and a leader.
GRAD 713: Applied Project Management: Frameworks, Principles and Techniques (1.5 credits)
Section 1: Remote synchronous, Wednesdays, 6:00-7:30 p.m., January 10-February 29
Section 2: Remote synchronous, Wednesdays, 6:00-7:30 p.m., March 4-April 30
This course focuses on practical project management principles and techniques, demonstrating their effectiveness in the workplace. Key topics include frameworks and methodologies, planning and monitoring projects, risk management, stakeholder management, managing your team, and time and cost management. This course will include group work.
GRAD 714: Introduction to Financial Accounting (1.5 credits)
Section 1: Remote asynchronous, March 4-April 26
Section 2: Remote asynchronous, January 10-February 29
This course will teach the basics of financial accounting, including the balance sheet, the income statement, and the statement of cash flows and budgeting. The final presentation will incorporate financial skills and knowledge that can be used to support a future project proposal to business managers in an organization. This course has a required materials fee. See the syllabus and/or the course website for more details.
GRAD 715: Business Communication (1.5 credits)
Section 1: Remote synchronous, Tuesdays, 12:30-2:00 p.m., March 4-April 26
Section 2: Remote synchronous, Tuesdays, 12:00-1:30 p.m., January 10-February 29
Business communication is a seven-week course and development series designed to provide Carolina graduate students strategies and tactics for: (1) clearly, concisely, and convincingly communicating their ideas in business settings; and (2) operating with a client (eg, internal, external) focus. Students will explore some of the fundamentals of business writing, including practices for writing common business documents (eg, memoranda, emails) as well as proposals (eg, grants, bids, strategic partnerships) and executive summaries.
GRAD 717: Introduction to Entrepreneurship and the Entrepreneurial Mindset (1.5 credits)
In person, Wednesdays, 3:30-5:30 p.m., January 10-February 21
Intro to Entrepreneurship provides graduate students from a wide range of programs with an overview of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking. As part of this, students will learn and apply the lean startup methodology to develop and validate a business idea.
GRAD 725: Build Your Professional Brand (1.5 credits)
In person, Fridays, 1:00-2:30 p.m., January 12-February 23
Building effective job search materials and a strong online presence is essential for career success inside and outside the academy. In GRAD 725, you will work with professionals with expertise in all areas of the job search process to develop your brand including LinkedIn profile, resume/CV, cover letters and more. You will identify your job values and job skills and develop a professional development plan. Interactive sessions will provide the setting to develop/refine your job search materials and your career approach. Open to all graduate students in any discipline.
GRAD 810: Teaching Skills for International Teaching Assistants (2 credits)
In person, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:00-11:50 a.m., January 10-May 10
GRAD 810 and 811 are part of the Preparing International Teaching Assistants Program.
GRAD 810 serves as an introduction to teaching skills. The course focuses on cross-cultural communication, English pronunciation, basic teaching skills, and topics necessary for effective interaction in classrooms in the United States.
GRAD 811: Advanced Teaching Skills for International Teaching Assistants (2 credits)
In person, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00-2:50 p.m., January 10-May 10
GRAD 810 and 811 are part of the Preparing International Teaching Assistants Program.
GRAD 811 serves as a continuation course with GRAD 810 being a prerequisite. The course focuses on cross-cultural communication, English pronunciation, basic teaching skills, and topics necessary for effective interaction in classrooms in the United States.