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Career Center

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A Roadmap with Two Tracks

There's no single right path through a PhD. Two parallel tracks run side-by-side: the academic milestones set by your program, and the developmental career stages the Career Center helps you build through. This page lays out both so you can pace them together.

 

 

Doctoral Program Milestones 

 

Each UCR doctoral program has its own structure, but most share the same five phases. The focus and key milestone for each phase are shown by field below. Always confirm specifics with your program handbook and your advisor.

HumanitiesShow ▾
Phase & milestone Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5+
Foundation
MILESTONE
Identifying “major fields” & advisor
FOCUS
Seminars, language study & coursework
        
Coursework
MILESTONE
Coursework complete & exam fields set		  
FOCUS
Remaining coursework, comprehensive reading, TA-ship & pedagogy
      
Candidacy
MILESTONE
Qualifying exams & advancement to candidacy
Timing varies: many programs hold qualifying exams in Year 2, others in Year 3. Check your department’s handbook.		    
FOCUS
Exam preparation & prospectus writing
    
Research
MILESTONE
ABD (All But Dissertation)		      
FOCUS
Research, fieldwork, grant writing & chapter drafting
  
Completion
MILESTONE
Defense & graduation		        
FOCUS
Polishing & job market
Humanities: Creative Practice (such as music composition)Show ▾
Phase & milestone Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 3+
Foundation
MILESTONE
Selecting an advisor
FOCUS
Composition seminars, coursework & lessons
      
Candidacy
MILESTONE
Qualifying exams & advancement to candidacy		  
FOCUS
Portfolio work, TA-ship & project proposal
    
Creative Project
MILESTONE
Creative project complete		    
FOCUS
Composing a larger work, building software, or another creative project
  
Completion
MILESTONE
Defense & graduation		      
FOCUS
Writing the shorter paper about your project & job market
Social SciencesShow ▾
Phase & milestone Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5+
Foundation
MILESTONE
Selecting advisor & research area
FOCUS
Coursework & methods training
        
Candidacy
MILESTONE
Comp exams & prospectus
Timing varies: many programs hold qualifying exams in Year 2, others in Year 3. Check your department’s handbook.		  
FOCUS
Specialization seminars, TA teaching & comp prep
      
Research
MILESTONE
Data collection complete		    
FOCUS
IRB approval, fieldwork & data collection
    
Writing
MILESTONE
ABD & first job applications		      
FOCUS
Chapter drafting & conference papers
  
Completion
MILESTONE
Defense & graduation		        
FOCUS
Polishing & job market
STEMShow ▾
Phase & milestone Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5+
Foundation
MILESTONE
Joining a lab / selecting advisor
FOCUS
Core coursework & lab rotations
        
Candidacy
MILESTONE
Qualifying exam & advancement to candidacy
Timing varies: many programs hold qualifying exams in Year 2, others in Year 3. Check your department’s handbook.		  
FOCUS
Advanced coursework, TA-ship & research proposal
      
Research
MILESTONE
First-author paper submitted		    
FOCUS
Experiments, analysis & conferences
    
Writing
MILESTONE
ABD & final experiments		      
FOCUS
Dissertation drafting & fellowships
  
Completion
MILESTONE
Defense, graduation & transition		        
FOCUS
Defense prep & job market
 
Note: These are general timelines representative of UCR doctoral programs. Each program has specific requirements, confirm with your program handbook and advisor.

Download the printable milestone roadmap (PDF) to set your goals and dates for each phase:

 

Career-Development Stages

Alongside your academic milestones, the Career Center maps four developmental career stages. The same four stages apply to both PhD and master's students, the actions inside differ.

PhD Roadmap Master's Roadmap 
Year 1 · First Steps
Build Your Foundation

Your first year is for setting your foundation. The goal isn't to know what you'll do after the PhD, it's to know what you have to work with and where to get help.

  • Activate UCR Handshake. Where you'll book Career Center appointments and find grad events.
  • Take one career assessment: myIDP (STEM), ImaginePhD (humanities/social sciences), or ChemIDP (chemistry).
  • Book a first appointment with the Graduate Student Career Specialist.
  • Email GradSuccess / GSRC to introduce yourself and ask what's open this term.
  • Update or draft a one-page CV or resume using the resume samples for graduate students.

Mentor note

At your annual advisor meeting, share a copy of your IDP, the conversation goes better with a written reference.

Years 2-3 · Next Steps
Explore & Build Skills

The middle years are where you go from absorbing the field to operating in it. The most powerful move is talking to people who have already taken the paths you might consider.

Ongoing · Work Across Differences
Build Inclusive Skills

This stage runs through your entire PhD. Employers, hiring committees, and collaborators look at how well you work across roles, disciplines, and communities, and good work depends on it.

  • Attend at least one professional-development event on collaboration or working across roles each year.
  • Research your target employers' company culture and hiring practices the same way you research their research areas.
  • Build your network across communities, same-field peers, different-field peers, and cross-disciplinary connections.
  • Engage NCFDD (free via UCR) if you're pursuing academia.
Final Year · Prepare to Launch
Apply & Transition

Most students under-budget time for the launch. Start 9–12 months out, not the last semester. Two tracks, academic and non-academic, share most of the work but diverge in the last six months.

If you're targeting academic roles
  • Refine your CV, research statement, teaching statement, and diversity statement.
  • Practice your job talk before three audiences: lab, department, and friends outside your field.
  • Search & apply on AAS Job Register, AcademicJobsOnline, HigherEdJobs.
  • Book mock interviews with the Career Specialist and a faculty member outside your committee.
If you're targeting non-academic roles
  • Convert your CV into a resume. Use the GradSuccess Convert-CV-to-Resume guide.
  • Tailor each application, generic resumes are filtered out by algorithms and humans.
  • Target boards by sector, industry, government (USAJobs), nonprofit (Idealist).
  • Practice with the Indeed Job Search Academy + Career Specialist mock interviews.
 

Phd Roadmap 7.20.26

 

 

 

 

Talk to someone

Book a 1:1 with the Graduate Student Career Specialist, Dr. Vanessa Lee. Most questions answered in one session.

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Quick contacts

Grad Career Specialist
Dr. Vanessa Lee · Book via Handshake
GradSuccess / GSRC
Dr. Monique Posadas
GSA Career Liaison
gsacareercenter@ucr.edu
Career Center
(951) 827-3631
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