Individual Development Plan (Iowa State IDP)

    A mentor and a student talking at a table

    The Iowa State IDP is not a one time activity—It is your key to success!

    What is IDP?

    A individual development plan (IDP) is a tailor-made approach for evaluating your professional objectives and crafting a roadmap to achieve them. This process encourages self-reflection on your long-term career goals, assesses your current competencies, and outlines concrete steps to reach those goals. A well-crafted IDP is instrumental in optimizing your graduate or postdoctoral training, providing valuable assistance as you focus on refining your academic, professional, and soft skills.

    What is Iowa State IDP?

    The Iowa State IDP is an exceptional toolkit and a powerful resource for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at Iowa State. Whether you are at the beginning of your degree program or actively preparing for the next phase of your career, use the Iowa State IDP toolkit to boost your professional competencies and advance your career plan. While providing a structured framework, the ISU-IDP tools can be tailored exclusively to your needs, enabling you to:

    • Assess your strengths and identify skills for improvement
    • Set short, medium, and long-term goals
    • Locate and access specialized resources
    • Seek timely assistance from your mentor, enhancing your relationship
    • Develop a comprehensive action plan for both your academic and professional growth
    • Track your professional development throughout your time at Iowa State.

    Take the first step toward achieving your academic aspirations with the Iowa State IDP toolkit.

    • How to use the Iowa State IDP

      • Get your copy of the Iowa State IDP. Enable content as follows:
        • Download the Iowa State IDP from CyBox (do not use the preview or open the file in Excel Online--it will not work properly if you do).
        • Unblock the file and enable the file content.
        • You should now be able to use the buttons and drop-down menus in the Iowa State IDP.
      • Meet with a Graduate Career Coach to:
        • determine your needs for core competencies
        • assess your strengths and areas for improvement
        • understand how to create your needs-based Individual Development Plan.
      • Meet with your major professor, academic advisor, or principal investigator to discuss your strengths and needs.
      • Regularly revisit and update your core competencies and skills inventory in your IDP.
      • Update your major professor, academic advisor, or principal investigator and continue to seek their guidance.
    • Nayan Deep Tiwari.

      Focus on Core Competencies

      The Iowa State IDP is your roadmap to excellence in the areas of: 

      • Communication
      • Research
      • Teaching
      • Career
      • Leadership.

      Discover how the Iowa State IDP toolkit can empower you in these critical areas, unlocking your full potential as a professional in your field. 

    • A presenter in front of a class.

      Map Iowa State Offerings and Core Competencies

    I wish I had this when I started my program! This would've been so helpful for me, especially in terms of motivating me to seek out resources to improve my skills.

    Angeline Neo, MS Human Computer Interaction

    Brainstorming over paper

    Other Tools and Resources

    Explore other tools and resources that support a customized way to design a roadmap for accomplishing professional and personal goals.