The Graduate College's Career Exploration Fellowship Program connects doctoral students with administrative units within the university for substantive, mentored work experiences.
The main goal of the program is to enable doctoral students to gain experience and build skills beyond traditional research and teaching roles, aligning their professional development to a wider range of career aspirations. Graduate students develop a number of vital, transferrable skills through their work in research and teaching at the university, but students often tell us that they wish they also had the opportunity to get hands-on experience in other kinds of work. Such experience gives graduate students the chance to develop new skills, explore unfamiliar career options, and market themselves more effectively to employers when they graduate. You can read more about the experience of being a Career Exploration Fellow in this GradLIFE blog by a Fall 2023 Fellow.
How the Program Works
As a Career Exploration Fellow, selected students will receive the following:
- A 10-15 hour per week hourly position at a campus unit (at $25/hour). See host units below.
- A $5,000 Career Exploration Fellowship from the Graduate College, which will generate a tuition waiver for the semester.
- Professional and career development activities facilitated by the Graduate College.
The student's tasks and responsibilities as part of the hourly position will be determined by the host unit (in consultation with the student), and the host unit will provide mentoring and targeted professional development opportunities. In addition to their work with the host unit, the student are required to participate in a twice-monthly career exploration seminar, during which they will reflect on their work and engage in career development activities.
Fall 2025 Host Units
We are pleased to announce the lineup of Fall 2025 Career Exploration Fellowship hosts! Each of these units will host at least one Fellow for the duration of the Fall 2025 semester. Read more about the units and the work a Career Exploration Fellow might do for them below.
Note: additional hosts may be added during the application process.
Asian American Cultural Center
Established in 2005, the Asian American Cultural Center (AACC) provides the university and greater Champaign-Urbana with programs and resources that empower diverse Pan-Asian communities and promote cross-cultural understanding. The Career Exploration Fellow (CEF) will coordinate programming curricula and resources that support pre-professional, social development, and cultural awareness goals of students. Programs may include a network for Asian/Asian Diasporic graduate students, Lunar New Year, or Diwali. The CEF will assist in other aspects of the daily operations and administration of the AACC (eg, weekly program and occasional community outreach). Occasional evening and weekend events may be scheduled. The CEF will be working collaboratively with other members of the team but may also work autonomously on individual projects. The AACC is looking for a CEF that will be eager to learn about the Asian/Asian Diasporic communities served by the AACC, as well as embrace the vital positioning of cultural centers on university campuses.
The Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL)
The Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL), housed within UIUC's Beckman Institute, combines innovations in physical science and engineering to advance cancer research, develop new technologies and treatments, and train future leaders in the field. This mission requires comprehensive, ongoing data collection and management across research and education programs, along with demonstrated excellence in program management and mission-aligned activity development. Career Exploration Fellows will support the administrative team across various CCIL units, participating in projects focused on data collection and analysis, education and training, communications, and cancer center administration.
The Career Center
The Career Center exists to empower career choice and action. We coach and support Illinois undergraduate and graduate students as they explore their major and career options, gain experience, and build lifelong career management skills.
The graduate fellow will support the assessment and program evaluation efforts for The Career Center. They will work collaboratively with members of the Senior Leadership Team to contribute to various assessment initiatives that inform career services strategy and student engagement. Potential duties may include survey development, facilitation of individual interviews or focus groups, data analysis, documentation of findings, and presenting findings to the career services community. The fellow will engage in various assessment projects across The Career Center, contributing to research, data visualization, and program evaluation that enhance our understanding of student career outcomes and service effectiveness.
Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies (CEAPS)
The Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies (CEAPS) is the steward of campus-wide teaching, research, programming, and outreach on East Asia, as well as Southeast Asia and the Pacific. CEAPS has about 100 faculty affiliates across the campus and strives to broadly support the research, teaching, and service missions of the University of Illinois through grants, fellowships, academic initiatives, public programs, and K-12 educational outreach. The graduate fellow will work closely with CEAPS faculty and staff to manage center communication, programming, and community engagement initiatives. Responsibilities include writing content for CEAPS communication channels, coordinating logistics for talks, symposiums, and conferences, and representing CEAPS at community events or professional organizations. The graduate fellow may also work on data collection, proposal development or other individual projects based on fellow’s professional interests
Center for Social & Behavioral Science (CSBS)
The Center for Social & Behavioral Science (CSBS) is dedicated to supporting innovative social and behavioral science research to address major societal challenges, enhancing the social and behavioral science ecosystem on our campus, and facilitating public engagement initiatives to enhance societal impact. As a Career Exploration Fellow at CSBS, you will join a committed team and gain hands-on experience in Research Development (RD), including proposal development support and administration of the CSBS small grant program. You will learn about various federal and foundation sponsors, identify funding opportunities, read solicitations, prepare checklists, draft supporting documents, and review proposal drafts for clarity and compliance. You will also contribute to different pre- and post-award processes of the small grant life cycle and support the RD team with data collection, analysis, and management to improve processes and workflow efficiency. These activities will provide you with a comprehensive overview of RD as a career path and equip you with valuable professional skills.
Office of Inclusive Excellence, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
As a Career Exploration Fellow in the LAS Office for Inclusive Excellence, you will be crucial in advancing the college’s commitment to fostering an inclusive environment. Your responsibilities will include collaborating with the LAS Inclusive Excellence team to develop and implement projects and events that promote inclusive excellence. Essential duties may involve conducting research on best practices, assisting in the planning and execution of diversity-related programs and initiatives, and engaging with various campus community partners to ensure inclusivity. You’ll have the opportunity to contribute to creating educational materials, workshops, and awareness campaigns. Furthermore, as a career exploration fellow, you will be expected to actively participate in meetings, workshops, and training sessions provided by the LAS Inclusive Excellence office. In summary, you will foster a culture that values and celebrates diversity, promotes equity, and ensures an inclusive environment for all campus community members.
Graduate College Strategic Communications and Marketing
The Graduate College at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign serves over 20,000 graduate students across various academic and professional disciplines, catering to a wide range of educational goals, interests, and needs. The Strategic Communications team within the Graduate College collaborates with all units in the Graduate College and programs across campus to create and disseminate content relevant to graduate students and faculty.
The Strategic Communications and Marketing Fellow will join our collaborative team, which includes expertise in communications, IT, and data. The fellow will assist in developing and executing a digital content strategy across multiple platforms, including the GradLIFE blog, GradMENTOR blog, news articles posted on our website and some social media. This role offers an opportunity to gain professional experience by contributing to long-term strategies for digital content management (e.g., SEO tagging, updating media to meet accessibility standards, and tracking metrics). Specific activities may vary based on the fellow’s skills and interests.
Office of Research, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
The LAS/OR champions research across more than 60+ diverse disciplines represented in the CLAS. Our mission is to foster both disciplinary and collaborative interdisciplinary research tackling local, regional, and global challenges. As a Career Exploration Fellow in the Office of Research, you will join a team committed to advancing LAS research through the strategic management of resources, research infrastructure, and programmatic support. As a Fellow, you will engage with staff across the College (MarCom, Advancement, Public Engagement) to gain insight into their roles, understand how our teams work together to facilitate and celebrate LAS research, and explore diverse career trajectories. You will also attend meetings and help plan events, such as the Research Resource forums, which provide researchers with professional development tools to help them navigate institutional policies, funding-agency requirements, and develop their collaborative networks. The LAS/OR engages with a wide range of offices and researchers, and this gives us the ability to tailor the fellowship to your interests. So, if you think you might enjoy engaging with researchers in the humanities, social sciences, life, physical, and mathematical sciences, who take diverse approaches to addressing grand challenges, all while dipping your toes into the world of research development, join our team as a Fellow this year!
Graduate College Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Check back for more information soon!
If you work at a unit on campus and are interested in hosting a Career Exploration Fellow in Fall 2025 or later, please contact us at gradsuccess@illinois.edu.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be enrolled in good standing in a PhD, DMA, EdD, or AudD program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
- Applicants must be graduating December 2025 or after.
- During Fall 2025, Career Exploration Fellows may not hold more than a 25% appointment (or equivalent) in addition to their hourly position and Fellowship. Any additional employment must be confirmed in advance by the Graduate College. The number of hours a Fellow can work at their host site may be impacted by visa status.
- At the finalist phase, applicants must confirm their participation with their advisor or Director of Graduate Studies before they can be selected.
- Career Exploration Fellowship activities typically happen primarily in-person, on campus. (If you will be working remotely during Fall 2025, you are still eligible to apply though host units may consider that when making their decisions. If you will need to work remotely, please indicate it in your response to Question 21 of the application.)
- Career Exploration Fellows must commit to attending eight to ten 90-minute professional development sessions hosted by the Graduate College Career Development office throughout the Fall semester.
Application
Applications consist of the following items:
- A completed application form
- A professional resume (see this handout for more information about resumes, and consider making a career advising appointment to work on yours)
- Fellowship Application Statements (no more than 500 words each)
- Statement 1: How do you feel participating in the Career Exploration Fellowship will contribute to your career and professional development? How could it help you clarify or pursue your goals?
- Statement 2: A key part of the Career Exploration Fellowship is a collaborative professional development seminar, during which participants share with and learn from one another. In this response, 1) describe your commitment to diversity and inclusion in the academic, professional, or civic realm through your work experience, volunteer engagement, or leadership of student or community organizations, and 2) discuss how that commitment will help you contribute to the intellectual and collaborative community of the Fellowship.
- Host Site Selection Statements
- Rank your top 3 host sites
- Statement 1: Indicate why are you interested in the host sites you ranked (3-4 sentences per site)
- Statement 2: What are some of the key skills, experiences, or perspectives that you would bring to your host site? What strengths have helped you succeed in previous academic or professional experiences? (300 words max)
- Statement 3: What are some skills you would like to develop or refine during your work with a host site? (300 words max)
In order to provide more comprehensive answers to these questions, we encourage you to to use tools that can help you reflect on your career goals. Consider engaging with individual development plans (like myIDP or ImaginePhD) or self-assessments (like our skills worksheet and values worksheet).
The deadline to apply for the Fall 2025 Career Exploration Fellowship is 11:59 p.m. Central on Sunday, March 16.
Questions?
Contact us at gradsuccess@illinois.edu.