The Graduate School is pleased to announce a new Academic Skills Program for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at Syracuse University. The program represents an outgrowth and integration of the former BioInspired Graduate and Postdoctoral Development Program and the Graduate School’s Digital Badge in Research Communication.
The goal of the program is to equip participants with co-curricular skills needed to succeed in their professional careers. Consisting of four professional credentials offered on a four-semester cycle, the program demonstrates participants’ proficiencies in the areas of 1) Research Skills and Scholarly Publishing, 2) Scholarly Communication, 3) Project Management, and 4) Communicating with the Public. These areas are often part of the “hidden curriculum” that is not often formally addressed in graduate degree programs or postdoctoral mentoring but that is critical to professional success.
The credentials take the form of digital badges you can list on your CV and add to your LinkedIn profile. To complete any of the four credentials, you must attend three of the four workshops offered for that credential and submit an artifact (see options below) that demonstrates your proficiency in the content area. Acceptability of artifacts is at the discretion of the Graduate School. Participants may elect to complete any or all of the credentials offered in the program.
Artifact submissions and general inquiries about the program may be directed to GradASP@syr.edu.
Project management is a valuable set of skills whether you intend to pursue a career in academic, industry, or elsewhere. Pursuing this credential equips you to engage in productive project management. You will learn how to manage collaborative teams, delegate responsibilities, engage with stakeholders, and write competitive research plans for project funding opportunities.
Project Management workshops
Getting Your Project Started and Funded
Tuesday, September 15, 2:30-4:00 p.m. in Bird Library 114 REGISTER HERE
Leading Collaborative Teams
Wednesday, September 30, 9:30-11:00 a.m. in Lyman Hall 312 REGISTER HERE
Project Execution & Stakeholder Management (details TBA)
Project Management Panel Discussion
Thursday, November 5, 3:30-5:00 p.m., online REGISTER HERE
Project Management artifacts
Possible artifacts for this credential can include:
- Apply for a grant to support your research. Submit your application/narratives, including any sections relevant to managing the research project (e.g., research aims, management and/or collaboration plan, budget), along with the grant notice/announcement and proposal requirements. Funding opportunities other than grants (e.g., short-term funded research positions) may qualify if connected to a specific research project you propose.
- Complete and publish a preregistration plan for an independent project, thesis, or dissertation. Your plan must be submitted to an online repository (such as OSF or OpenIPCSR). Submit your completed preregistration plan alongside a link to your published document.
- Documentation from an event organized or managed by the submitter. To be eligible, you must have played an active role in developing the schedule and communicating with stakeholders (vendors, presenters, the audience, etc.) about the event. Please submit a flyer for the event or a PDF of the calendar post for the event along with a 1-page narrative describing your role in executing the event. Supporting documentation can include a schedule, run-of-show, advertising materials, invoices, or other items illustrating the depth of the project.
- Submit a proposal to the Orange Innovation Fund. Provide a copy of your proposal document (single PDF).
To have another artifact considered for credit, please email GradASP@syr.edu with your proposed artifact idea and a brief explanation of how your artifact demonstrates competency for the credential.
Through deliberate and thoughtful communication, scholars are able to gain support for their work and reach broader, more diverse audiences than their professional communities. However, many scholars find it difficult to situate their research in the public sphere. Pursuing this credential will help you develop strategies for effective engagement with the public, while building proficiency in media relations outreach, and public discourse around science and scholarship.
Communicating with the Public workshops (details TBA)
Navigating Public Perceptions of Science and Academia
Media Engagement Strategies
Persuasive Communication Strategies
Social Media for Professionals
Communicating with the Public artifacts
Possible artifacts for this credential can include:
- Deliver a talk at a TEDxSyracuseUniversity or similar event. Submit a video link or other evidence of your participation.
- Participate in a local community event related to your scholarly work (i.e., serving as a judge at a science/history fair). Submit documentation of your participation and a description of your role.
- Publish an op-ed or blog post related to your research with an established media outlet (e.g., The Daily Orange). Provide a link to your published text.
- Engage in an interview or podcast on your scholarly work with a media professional, for a general audience. If possible, provide a link to the publicly available version of your interview/podcast. Alternately, provide a transcript or video/audio file, with a description of where and how it was published.
- Participate in the Syracuse University Three-Minute Thesis Competition.
- Serve as a guest speaker or panelist at an event outside of your academic department, for a public audience. Submit documentation of your participation (e.g., event program, flyer, recording if available).
To have another artifact considered for credit, please email GradASP@syr.edu with your proposed artifact idea and a brief explanation of how your artifact demonstrates competency for the credential.
Graduate students and early-career scholars often engage in research as a central part of their academic work. Pursuing this credential provides an opportunity to learn core principles of scholarly research and writing, and prepares participants with actionable skills that streamline and demystify the research process.
Research Skills & Scholarly Publishing workshops
Advanced Literature Searching
AI & Research: Tools, Ethics, and Applications
Cultivating Credibility: Rigor and Responsibility in Research
Navigating the Journal Publication Process
Research Skills & Scholarly Publishing artifacts
Possible artifacts for this credential can include:
- Complete one online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training course listed below and submit documentation of completion. Courses range in length from 3-6 hours. (For more information on the CITI programs, visit https://about.citiprogram.org/ and log in using your SU email address and password.)
- Basic Human Subjects – Biomedical
- Basic Human Subjects – Biomedical & Social/Behavioral Focus
- Basic Human Subjects – Social/Behavioral Focus
- Biosafety/Biosecurity
- Good Clinical Practice
- Health Information Privacy and Security
- Laboratory Animal Welfare
- Responsible Conduct of Research
- Complete the online Research Ethics for All (RE4All) training and submit documentation of completion. This training is designed for researchers engaged in community outreach and/or who work with individuals with disabilities. Click the link for more information.
- Provide an article you have submitted to a peer-reviewed academic journal article or a book chapter you have submitted to a proposed edited volume. With your artifact submission, provide evidence that your article or chapter is under consideration for publication (i.e., “under review”). If your submission is in response to a call for papers, please provide a copy of the CFP.
- Submit a developing or work-in-progress manuscript to receive formal feedback at a seminar or conference (e.g., a roundtable works-in-progress discussion) Please note that you must present at a session designed for in-progress manuscripts for this artifact to count for credit. Alongside your proposal submission, provide evidence of participation (e.g., a seminar or conference program) along with a description of the feedback you received and how you plan to incorporate that feedback into your manuscript.
- Give formal feedback at a seminar or conference (e.g., a roundtable works-in-progress discussion) Please note that you must present at a session designed for in-progress manuscripts for this artifact to count for credit. Alongside your proposal submission, provide evidence of participation (e.g., a seminar or conference program) along with a description of the feedback you received and how you plan to incorporate that feedback into your manuscript
- Publish a book review in a peer-reviewed journal. Provide a copy of your published review along with a link to the book reviewed from the publisher’s website.
- Complete and receive acceptance for an IRB protocol. Provide a copy of your IRB acceptance letter as well as a description of any modifications you made during the approval process.
To have another artifact considered for credit, please email GradASP@syr.edu with your proposed artifact idea and a brief explanation of how your artifact demonstrates competency for the credential.
For our research and scholarship to be effective, we must know how to communicate our work with the broader scholarly community. Pursuing this credential, participants gain skills in effective written, visual, and oral communication for academic audiences.
Effective Scholarly Communication workshops (details TBA)
Introduction to Graphic Design for Academics
Figure and Poster Design
Writing for Publication
Engaging Oral Research Talks
Effective Scholarly Communication artifacts
Possible artifacts for this credential can include:
- Present your work at an academic conference or a campus-based research symposium (such as ECS Research Day or the SOE Graduate Research Symposium), in the form of an oral or poster presentation. Your artifact submission should consist of your presentation abstract or a confirmation of acceptance; your written text, prepared notes, and/or slides (oral presentation) or graphic image of your poster; and the conference/symposium program or schedule.
- Transform work written as part of your program (e.g., a term paper or qualifying exam essay) into a journal article or book chapter manuscript. Submit both the original and revised versions of your work, with a brief description of your revision process. Also submit evidence that your article/chapter is under consideration or has been accepted for publication.
- Become a peer reviewer for a (blind review) journal in your academic discipline and complete a minimum of one review of an assigned article. Submit editorial correspondence soliciting your review of the manuscript, along with the review you provided. If the article was published, provide a link from the journal’s website.
- Apply for a nationally competitive fellowship or scholarship. Provide your application materials and the call for applications or other description of the fellowship or scholarship.
- Provide application materials for an academic job (CV, cover letter, research and/or teaching statements, writing sample if required; letters of reference are not needed). Provide the job posting.
To have another artifact considered for credit, please email GradASP@syr.edu with your proposed artifact idea and a brief explanation of how your artifact demonstrates competency for the credential.
