Graduate School Primer: Navigating Academia Workshop Series

As part of a continued orientation experience for incoming graduate and professional students, the Graduate School sponsors a special seminar series for first-year graduate and professional students. The purpose of Graduate School Primer workshops is for students to gain valuable information and skills to make a successful transition into the role of a Cornell graduate or professional student. 

2025 Workshops

Additional workshops will be posted soon.

Understanding and Overcoming the Impostor Experience

Friday, July 18, 10 – 11 a.m. – Register

Did you know that impostor feelings are normal and that most high-achieving graduate students experience these feelings at some point? Join us to better understand the impostor phenomenon; learn to recognize it and see recent research on how it can be a barrier to graduate student success. By defining it and sharing experiences, you’ll learn evidence-based tools to help combat impostor feelings.

Presenter: Jessamyn Perlus, senior associate director, Cornell Career Services

Navigating Key Graduate Milestones and Academic Expectations

Wednesday, July 23, 10 – 11 a.m. – Register

Learn about key milestones associated with being a Cornell graduate student before you are expected to reach them. This session will share important information about academic milestones and provide strategies to help you successfully meet them. In addition to a short presentation, participants will have opportunities to break into smaller groups to reflect on and brainstorm how to apply the guidance in their fields of study.

Presenter: Josephine Martell, associate dean for academics

Navigating Cross-cultural Classroom Dynamics

Thursday, July 24, 10 – 11 a.m. – Register

As a teaching assistant, you will encounter a Cornell community with great cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity. Join this online workshop to examine the relationship between cultures and educational systems, as well as discuss how this relates to teaching at Cornell. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to meet other new students from a variety of backgrounds.

Presenters: Jody Gabler, instructor, Center for Teaching Innovation, and Alice Wu, instructor, International Teaching Assistant Program

Getting the Mentoring You Need and Want

Friday, July 25, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Register

Join us to reflect on your mentoring experiences and needs and discuss strategies to establish a network of mentors across multiple areas in which you need support. We’ll explore ways to co-construct and manage mentor-mentee mutual expectations using tools from the FAIM (Faculty Advancing Inclusive Mentoring) Resource Center to guide your self-assessment and priority setting and help you plan how to productively communicate and reach out to current and potential faculty advisors.

Presenters: Colleen McLinn, associate dean for professional development, and Sara Xayarath Hernández, associate dean for inclusion and student and faculty engagement

Money Matters: Budgeting and Saving

Wednesday, July 30, 2 – 3 p.m. – Register

Whenever you make a big transition (and coming to Cornell for graduate school counts!), you learn quickly that money matters. We’d like you to join us for this introductory session about finances and budgeting basics. The goal is for students to leave with concepts and a structure for planning their income/expenses for the upcoming year. When you register, we will ask what specific topics you would like addressed, allowing presenters to craft a program to meet your expectations.

Presenters: Jorge Cuevas, Alternatives Federal Credit Union

Identifying Resources to Succeed as a Teaching Assistant at Cornell

Wednesday, August 6, 9 – 10 a.m. – Register

Will you have teaching responsibilities this fall? Are you thinking about a faculty career track and want to develop your skills as an instructor? If your answer is “yes,” or you just want to find out more about teaching, join us to explore the many resources that are available to you at Cornell. At this session we will discuss the various teaching roles graduate students experience and identify areas you could develop to ensure a successful teaching experience.

Presenters: Colleen McLinn, associate dean for professional development, and Derina Samuel, associate director, graduate student development, Center for Teaching Innovation

Enhancing Language Skills for Graduate Success

Thursday, August 7, 9 – 10 a.m. – Register

Do you use English as an additional language? Are you concerned about potential challenges related to speaking, listening, reading, and writing during your graduate program? Join the directors of the English Language Support Office and International Teaching Assistant Program to learn about approaches for navigating graduate school in English. You will leave this session with strategies you can start using right away to enhance your language learning and resources you can use as soon as you arrive at Cornell.

Presenters: Derina Samuel, associate director, graduate student development, Center for Teaching Innovation, and Michelle Crow, senior lecturer and director, English Language Support Office

Exploring Career Options in and Outside Academia: Make an Action Plan for Your Future

Monday, August 11, 2 – 3 p.m. – Register

You might be thinking it is too early to think about the end as you are starting, but in this session you will learn how important it can be to keep your options open and how you can take advantage of your time at Cornell to gain experiences that help you rule in or rule out different career sectors based on what you value and in what environments you thrive. You will leave with three things you can do that don’t take long at all that will increase your agency.

Presenters: Susi Varvayanis, executive director, Careers Beyond Academia, and Christine Holmes, director, postdoctoral studies