McGill.CA / myPath / About the IDP / IDP Requirements

The purpose of an Individual Development Plan (IDP) is to enable students to establish meaningful goals and create a strategy for how they will accomplish these goals. IDPs have been implemented at many graduate institutions in North America, the majority of which have made it mandatory to submit an annual IDP.

Doctoral degrees offer considerable freedom for students to chart their own path, and it can be difficult to decide what to prioritize.  The myPath IDP tools are designed to help you not only plot your academic goals, but also your personal aspirations and professional/career objectives. Having a holistic IDP can help you to stay focused on your priorities by ensuring that your goals align with what matters most to you (and avoiding goals that don’t!)

 

Annual requirement for all PhD students admitted from fall 2019:

  1. Submit the IDP Verification Form by June 1st each year.
    • The verification form for the 2023-2024 academic year will be available by the end of the fall semester.
    • You will need to be logged into your McGill student account to access the form.

* Please note that PhD students admitted from Fall 2019 onward who wish to apply to GPS's Doctoral Internship program must have created an IDP. Please contact myPath [at] mcgill.ca for assistance.

 

Recommendations for all PhD students:

Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is strongly endorsing the use of IDPs at McGill.

  1. Participate in a myPath IDP workshop or program each year
    • Take advantage of the workshops to learn about the tools and get started with creating your IDP
  2. Create an Annual IDP using any myPath tool 
    • We recommend that all students establish a new IDP at the start of each academic year and that they review and make adjustments at the start of each semester.
    • Creating a holistic IDP BEFORE completing your Progress Tracking Form will provide you with the context you need in order to be clear about which academic objectives you want to pursue in the coming year.
    • While we recommend that you seek guidance from trusted mentors, your IDP is a personal document and you are not required to share it with your department or GPS

 

Back to top