Fall 2026 Professional Development Series for Graduate Students and Postdocs

Posted on August 24, 2026

Every teaching experience you build at UIC is valuable – learn how to leverage your teaching skills and knowledge for success on the academic job market and beyond!

Two grad students share ideas and plans

Join other graduate students in this semester-long series of professional development workshops and UIC alumni career panel. You’ll explore how to leverage the skills you build as a TA, create a teaching statement to be ready for the academic job market, and hear from UIC alumni about navigating the academic job market. The series is open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from all departments and disciplines, at all stages of professional development and teaching experience.

 

Professionalizing your TA Experience

Your teaching experience can be a valuable asset for your academic and professional career, wherever your path takes you. During this workshop, you’ll learn how to document your teaching accomplishments and where to talk about them as you build your teaching portfolio, an important document when applying and interviewing for an academic job. We will also discuss the vast number of professional development opportunities that are available to you at CATE and through CIRTL at UIC!

 

Writing Effective Teaching Statements for the Academic Job Market

Does drafting or revising a teaching statement have you wondering where to start or what to even write about? Join us for this interactive workshop where you will generate ideas with your peers for a teaching statement that is unique to you and stands out on the academic job market. Please complete the pre-work assignments prior to the start of the workshop, which you will receive in your registration confirmation email.

 

Peer Reviewing Teaching Statements for the Academic Job Market

Teaching statements are an important component of many academic job applications, but they can be challenging to write. Receiving feedback from peers can provide you with recommendations on how to clarify and improve your main claims about your teaching. In this workshop, participants will share their teaching statement drafts and engage in guided peer feedback. Please complete a short pre-work assignment prior to the workshop and bring a draft of your teaching statement to share.

 

Academic Job Market Panel with Alumni

The skills, knowledge, and experiences you develop as a UIC TA or through other teaching opportunities can open doors to a wide range of teaching and instructional careers in academia. Learn from UIC alumni and staff who have leveraged teaching experiences they gained as graduate students to build meaningful careers across different roles, campuses, and areas of higher education. Panelists will share their career journeys, discuss how their teaching experience shaped their career paths, and offer insights on navigating the higher education landscape and job market.

 

Have questions about this event series? Please reach out to Emily Potratz (epotra2@uic.edu), Postdoctoral Research Associate and Visiting Lecturer.

Modified on August 27, 2026