Career & Tools
Check out this UCSB series on grad student and postdoc professional development experiences funded by the Individualized Professional Skills (IPS) Program. This week's featured video is by Grace Kimball, a graduate student in Theater and Dance, who used the IPS funds to attend a course on directing at Yale University. Read on to watch the video and learn more about the IPS program!
Have you ever wished you had support to take advantage of a professional or career development opportunity that lies outside the scope of your academic research? The UCSB Individualized Professional Skills (IPS) Program is designed to help graduate students and postdoctoral scholars fill in the funding gaps for pursuing opportunities that support your professional development in a variety of career trajectories.
IPS Insights: In our series, "IPS Insights," previous awardees share about their IPS-funded experiences in short informational videos. This week's featured video is by Grace Kimball, a graduate student in Theater and Dance. Grace used the IPS funds to attend a directing class titled "A Practical Approach to Directing" at Yale University. Watch the video to learn more!
In Grace's Words: What I Learned
"During the summer of 2021, I was selected to participate in the Yale University Summer Session course, "A Practical Approach to Directing." Alongside fourteen other brilliant directors and our experienced instructors, I discussed and implemented directing techniques through classes in textual analysis, rehearsal methodology, movement, set design and lighting, and stage management, as well as conversations with professional actors and directors. My colleagues and I became an artistic community, and I look forward to continuing to connect with my cohort in the future as both friends and fellow directors in our newly formed network. I would highly recommend this opportunity to anyone who wishes to explore their directing style, whether they are new to the craft or a veteran to the stage. This course has inspired me to further my work as a scholar and an artist in my Ph.D. program and in my future career."
IPS Program Overview
Awards up to $1000 are granted to eligible UCSB graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from any discipline who wish to individually tailor their career paths with outside professional development opportunities. The purpose of the IPS program is to help grad students and postdocs take greater agency in their own career path by funding exploration of a range of professional development opportunities across a variety of career and skill interests.
The IPS Program is a collaboration between the Professional Development Series at the Center for Science and Engineering Partnerships; Graduate Division; the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; UCSB Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative and CNSI Technology Incubator; Career Services; UCSB's divisional deans; and external donors. Learn more about the program here!