Professional Development Program

The Professional Development Program (PDP) in the Center for Leadership Education is designed to help graduate and post-doctoral students succeed in both academic and professional settings. Recently, The Commission on Pathways Through Graduate School noted in their final report that more than one-half of all doctoral degree holders in science, engineering or health fields work outside the academy. In addition, a recent survey from LinkedIn reported that the top skills that employers look for are communication, leadership, project management, teamwork, and other interpersonal skills. The PDP Program offers a series of half-semester courses in topics such as technical communication, presentation skills, grant writing, managing people, leading teams, managing personal finances, consulting, and other relevant areas. Courses emphasize real-world, simulation-based experiences and are open to all full time graduate students (masters, doctoral, and postdoctoral fellows) at Johns Hopkins. These courses must be taken for a letter grade. A small but growing number of master's degree programs in the Whiting school (only) accept a limited number of these courses as elective credits. Students should speak with their degree advisor to learn more.

For more information, including a current class schedule and a list of all modules, visit the website