Individual Development Plan (IDP)

Once Chemical Biology students choose an advisor, they are required to complete an Individual Development Plan (IDP) meeting with their Dissertation Advisor (or an alternate Harvard faculty mentor of their choosing) annually. An IDP provides students with the opportunity to think about their training objectives, their progress towards them, and work with their mentor to set or refine goals for the future. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) encourages trainees to make Individualized Development Plans to help them prepare for academic and non-academic careers. IDPs are essential to the training grant and program’s continued success.

Students and their mentors should read the Molecular Cell article “Yearly Planning Meetings: Individualized Development Plans Aren’t Just More Paperwork” that describes an approach to implementing IDPs and the benefits of IDPs. We encourage students to visit the Harvard Office of Career Services and http://myidp.sciencecareers.org where they provide additional resources on IDPS, mentorship, and careers in science.

Sharing the IDP form is not a requirement, nor will the IDP form be kept on file by the program. Students are free to share as much or as little of the plan as they feel comfortable. Note that the IDP process is most effective when it serves as a framework for open and candid discussions with the advisor. Students must notify the Program Administrator of the IDP meeting date and the name of the faculty member that they met with. For G1 students, this planning discussion will take place during the January meeting with their faculty advisors, which serves as the fall semester advising meeting.