At Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, we offer a Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) seminar series, along with an alumni series, to showcase the variety of careers our PhD candidates can pursue.

We also partner with NYU’s Wasserman Center for Career Development, which has dedicated staff to advise PhD students in the biomedical sciences through one-on-one meetings. You can also join our LinkedIn alumni group to keep in touch with fellow graduates. We encourage students to participate in our various professional development programs on campus and to pursue opportunities off campus that enhance their training and career prospects.

Scientific Training Enhancement Program

In partnership with NYU’s downtown campus and our postdoctoral program, Vilcek Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences encourages graduate students to participate in the National Institutes of Health–funded Scientific Training Enhancement Program (NYU-STEP). Faculty on both campuses work closely with career advisors to provide courses, workshops, and networking events to prepare graduate students and postdocs for the job market and to shorten training time.

NYU-STEP also helps graduate students and postdocs identify career goals and develop the skills needed to achieve them. It focuses on building professional skills related to four career tracks: for-profit industry, nonprofit and government, communications, and academia.

Teaching Opportunities

If you’re interested in teaching, NYU-STEP offers courses and workshops, including Fundamentals of Teaching, Best Practices for Teaching and Learning, and the Steinhardt Teaching Course, designed to enhance the skills you need to be competitive in the academic job market. In these courses, you acquire skills and experience that go beyond scientific training to help you guide students in the classroom and lab. We also partner with other programs to assist you in finding opportunities to put new skills into practice.

Center for the Advancement of Teaching Program

NYU’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching supports effective and innovative pedagogy across scientific disciplines. Its staff collaborates with faculty, teaching graduate students, and administrators to identify instructional goals and provide teachers with the tools to achieve them.

Based in NYU’s Office of Faculty Resources, the Center for the Advancement of Teaching offers a regular schedule of events and workshops in addition to individualized consulting services. The center also offers teaching development programs, confidential teaching consultations, and “Teach Talks,” which feature an NYU instructor discussing topics such as active learning, teaching with technology, and incorporating local resources into courses. See the center’s website for its calendar of events.

Student-Initiated Teaching

Our students can gain middle school and high school teaching experience through our partnerships with New York City programs.

Citizen Schools partners with public middle schools in low-income neighborhoods to provide an expanded learning day with new opportunities. By drawing more students into these programs, Citizen Schools promotes student achievement, transforms schools, and reimagines education in New York City. Opportunities for Citizen Schools’ teachers are available for 10 weeks, with class sizes of between 10 and 15 students.

Let's Get Ready is a one-day volunteer event where you work closely with a small number of students to help them complete their college applications, find a first job, or choose a career track. You can also tutor students for the SAT.

BioBus offers PhD students and postdoctoral fellows a chance to work with students of all ages, helping them deepen their understanding of both scientific principles and careers in science. Opportunities include teaching, assisting with grant writing, and more.

iMentor matches high school students from low-income communities with college-educated mentors. As a mentor, you empower a student to graduate from high school, succeed in college, and achieve career goals. Mentors commit three to four years to a single student and can choose to continue that mentorship through their college years.