Individual Development Plans

An Individual Development Plan, or IDP, is a written plan for goals and actions for the next year. Like a personal strategic plan, an IDP helps early-career researchers set long- and short-term goals and establish an action plan for achieving these goals. Stony Brook does not currently have an IDP policy requiring IDPs for all graduate students and postdocs, but strongly encourages the use of the IDP by all early-career researchers to help them maintain progress in their research and career and to foster their transition to independence.

A number of resources for developing an IDP are available in Stony Brook's IDP Toolkit. Postdocs may begin or update their annual IDP through the Planning Your Path to a Satisfying Career workshop series. Watch the Graduate School calendar for more details on the next workshop, which is held every semester. For a more extended IDP process, postdocs can join a small group of other postdocs to go "up the ladder" of career development with the PhD Career Ladder Program. These peer-to-peer groups run 1-2 times a year and are led by postdoc peer leaders through seven steps in seven biweekly meetings.