Welcome to the Office of Career and Professional Development
We teach UCSF students and postdoctoral scholars the information and skills they need to explore career options, make skillful career decisions, position themselves competitively, and navigate professional spaces with confidence and integrity. Our goal is to demystify career development and provide clear, actionable guidance for our learners, so they can do the work they care about and help others along the way.
News and Advice
Career updates and practical guidance: How OCPD supports our students and postdoctoral scholars
Choosing a thesis lab: upcoming sessions!
February 3 and March 18th, we’re rolling out programming and support to help first year PhD students make informed, confident decisions about choosing a thesis lab.
Over the years, students have told us they aren’t sure how to evaluate their rotation experiences or wish they had known what questions to ask earlier in the process. That's where we come in!
Q. Who should I put on my thesis committee?
Ask a Career Consultant: This week, a 3rd year PhD student asks: I just finished quals, and I’m thinking about my thesis committee. Who should I be looking for? My PI has some suggestions, but I don’t know many faculty that well.
Advice We Like: how to say no, professionally
Want some ways to say no? Take 3 minutes and watch Vanessa Van Edwards, founder of the Science of People, give you strategies - and language! - to turn people down professionally.
We're teaching student pharmacists how to navigate social media.
Coming soon! This winter quarter, Assistant Director Anna Reeves is partnering with the UCSF School of Pharmacy to pilot a new workshop on navigating professional identity and social media. We want every student to know how to protect their professional reputation while building an intentional online presence in today’s scientific and health care workforce.
Who's using our career services?
Turning data into access: As part of our evidence-based approach to career support, OCPD adopted Handshake to better understand who we are reaching across campus. Just six months in, we are engaging 96% of degree programs and have already reached 45% of students and postdoctoral scholars, allowing for more strategic, targeted outreach.