What is an IDP?
An individual development plan, also called a postdoctoral mentoring plan, helps you:
- assess your skills, interests, and values;
- create a plan for achieving your academic and professional goals;
- communicate with your mentors about your evolving plan and needs.
Creating an IDP is a process through which you reflect, plan, and discuss, and ultimately achieve, your academic and professional goals. It is your responsibility to develop and maintain your IDP. You are encouraged to share your IDP with your mentors.
University of Arizona Postdoctoral IDP
We suggest using the following IDP, which you can modify according to your needs.
UArizona Postdoctoral Affairs IDP (long, pdf)
UArizona Postdoctoral Affairs IDP (long, doc)
UArizona Postdoctoral Affairs IDP (short, pdf)
UArizona Postdoctoral Affairs IDP (short, doc)
Other Resources
There are other online resources to help you build an effective IDP:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- The National Postdoctoral Association offers suggestions for developing Mentoring Plans for Postdoctoral Scholars, a Core Competencies Toolkit, and a Core Competency Checklist.
- ImaginePhD is a free online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
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Examples of IDPs from Stanford University.
- Example of IDP from the University of Colorado Boulder.