Transition to Graduate School
Welcome to the Purdue University College of Engineering! We are excited you are joining us. To help with your transition to Grad School, we have compiled some tips below. Be sure to also review the rest of the information on this Current Graduate Student website using the right-hand navigation. You will find many helpful resources here!
Graduate Student Panel - Advice for your First Semester
1 hour webinar. The moderator's video is frozen for the first four minutes of the webinar but the audio is fine. Keep watching! The video does correct as the panelists start talking. Sorry for this technical glitch, but we hope the information is helpful!
Additional Resources
Mentoring Handbook: Start your semester off right with the graduate mentoring handbook. This handbook will assist you and your mentor as you work together to plan your career and professional development. By reading it and jotting down some notes, you will be prepared to get the most out of your graduate school experience.
Additional Contacts: Spend some time exploring this website and visit often as new professional development opportunities and events get posted. Take advantage of the many opportunities you will find in your graduate program, the College of Engineering, and across the University. If you have specific questions, your graduate administrator is often an excellent first contact. You can find their information, as well as links to your graduate program, on our Graduate Majors page. Let's make this a great year!
Graduate Student Organizations
Whether you’re building your professional network or looking for a social break, get started by meeting your graduate student colleagues. Join your program’s graduate student organization or get involved in the university-wide Graduate Student Government. You’ll also find groups focused on diversity, academic careers, and more.
Each school of Engineering has a graduate student organization dedicated to enhancing your student experience through social and scholarly networks, professional development, and opportunities to mentor others or serve. Connect with your organization through the list on the Engineering Graduate Student Organizations (GSO) page.
Graduate students are welcome at the more than 1,000 student organizations across campus open to all students, and numerous organizations specifically focus on graduate students. Two of the most prominent organizations that advocate for graduate students include the Purdue Graduate Student Government (PGSG) and the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA). Learn more about these two organizations by visiting their websites, and search the database of all student organizations to find other graduate student organizations.
Whether you already know you want to become a professor or are interested in learning more about what this career path might look like, the Engineering Academic Career Club can help. This dynamic club provides insight, support, and professional development opportunities for engineering graduate students who are exploring and preparing for academic careers.
Greater Lafayette SWE Chapter
Connect with other female engineering graduate students as well as practicing engineers and alumnae. This supportive network can help you navigate both the graduate school experience and the launching of your career. GWEN is also affiliated with Purdue’s Women In Engineering (WIE), which was the first such program in the nation and has become a model for numerous other universities.
