Professionalization at UCLA

Exploring Career Possibilities

Our graduate program includes two Proseminars (Spanish M297A & M297B) which are designed to enhance professionalization skills, engage in thoughtful discussions of the doctorate itself, and explore the array of attractive career opportunities available to humanities PhDs. 

The Proseminars, usually offered in the Fall, provide a key opportunity for collective mentoring, in combination with the one-on-one mentoring students receive from their faculty advisors. These courses guide students as they investigate career options, with a variety of sessions and assignments which help develop materials and strategies. The Proseminar also includes visits from alumni and others in a range of careers.

The Department Community

The Director of Graduate Studies, your dissertation committee, other faculty members, and advanced students can all be important resources as you consider your professional future. You should seek out opportunities to learn more about potential career pathways and to engage in professionalization activities early in the program, with an eye toward developing diverse skills and experiences.

To assist with this journey, the Department and the Spanish and Portuguese Graduate Student Association regularly organize workshops on careers within and beyond academia and other graduate student professionalization topics.

The Department also supports students who seek out internships with funding and guidance.

Across Campus

Beyond the Department of Spanish & Portuguese, the UCLA Career Center hosts events, workshops, and tools to help graduate students explore multiple career choices. 

Other programs on campus provide support for graduate student development in teaching, including EPIC – Excellence in Pedagogy and Innovative Classrooms and the UCLA Center for the Advancement of Teaching, through a variety of programs, resources, fellowship support, teaching guides, and more. 

Graduate certificates from Centers, Institutes, and departments at UCLA are also designed to enhance graduate students’ professionalization and provide training in a number of specialized fields.

As a graduate student at UCLA, you have access to the resources listed above, and many more, which will help you prepare for a bright professional future.