Skip to main content Skip to secondary navigation

PhDs & Postdocs: Explore

Main content start

As a PhD student or postdoctoral scholar, we are excited to help you explore what’s next, no matter your interests or goals. 

2023-24 Neighborhood Decorative Accent Line

Leverage Your Network

To explore pathways and to learn about how your interests, skills, and values align with a diverse array of careers, we encourage you to activate your network, including Stanford’s robust network of PhD and postdoc alums.

2023-24 Neighborhood Decorative Accent Line

Career Guide

Our Careers Strategies Guide for PhDs and Postdocs is a comprehensive resource that provides advice on how to explore your interests and pursue a meaningful career both within and beyond academia.

 

 

2023-24 Neighborhood Decorative Accent Line

The Higher Education Administration Directory (HEAD) is a searchable directory of Stanford staff from across the University who hold doctoral degrees. Using this directory, you can connect with and learn from others with PhDs–humanists, scientists, social scientists, engineers–who have forged careers in various higher education administrative staff roles at Stanford. Learn more about the career paths represented in the directory. 

 

2023-24 Neighborhood Decorative Accent Line

Events, Programs, and Resources

Access Handshake for more programs, panels, and workshops.

Close up of student at PhD Pathways conference

PhD Pathways

PhD Pathways programs educate PhD students and postdocs from all disciplines about career pathways available beyond academia. PhD Pathways is an annual one-day conference. We recorded PhD Pathways panels in 2020-22.

Humanists at Large

Humanists at Large (HAL) is an annual program that exposes PhD students in the humanities, arts, and humanistic social sciences to meaningful work beyond academia that capitalizes on humanistic knowledge and skills.

Flowers on campus. Credit: HaizhanZheng  / iStock

Grad Grow

Grad Grow from VPGE is a tool to help you explore and sort through the many professional development resources available to you at Stanford, including career development.

student talking with recruiter at career fair

Career Fairs

Career Fairs are an excellent way to connect with employers to learn about job and internship opportunities along with the specific skills they are seeking. CareerEd hosts several career fairs each academic year featuring employers excited to connect with PhDs and postdocs.

Courses

CareerEd is involved in the following Stanford courses designed to help PhDs and postdocs explore their path to meaningful, purposeful work.Stanford has many additional career-focused courses available. These can be found by searching "career" on Stanford Explore Courses.

Integrative Learning Portfolio Lab (ILPL)

The ILPL helps PhDs and postdocs identify their current online story and curate it into an ePortfolio medium by identifying and translating their skills.

Campus scenes: Spring. Credit:  Andrew Brodhead / newslibrary@stanford.edu