Welcome Page

PHYS 4604: Professional Development

Fall 2026 | CRN #94323 | 1 credit hour

Fridays, 4:00–4:50 PM · Howey Physics L3 · Weekly in-person attendance required

1 Welcome

Welcome to PHYS 4604: Professional Development. This course is designed to help you prepare for life after your undergraduate degree, whether you are planning to apply to graduate school, pursue industry positions, develop a professional network, or explore multiple possible career paths.

By the end of the semester, you should have several tangible professional materials that you can use immediately, including a resume or CV, an online professional profile, a research proposal in the style of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, and either a graduate school personal statement or job cover letter.

Note

Review the full syllabus on Canvas as the home page is a truncated version (with the exception of the Course Schedule which will remain updated here if anything changes during the semester).

2 Course Description

In this course, we will discuss practical skills for post-degree success. Topics include selecting graduate schools, understanding career options with a B.S. or Ph.D., applying to graduate school, applying to industry jobs, developing a professional network, and preparing a research proposal suitable for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

There are no formal prerequisites, but the course is typically taken in the final year of the B.S. program in Physics, Astrophysics, or Applied Physics.

2.1 Learning Outcomes

  • Write a resume or CV.
  • Identify career opportunities, practice networking, and apply to industry jobs.
  • Choose and apply to graduate M.S. or Ph.D. programs.
  • Write a research proposal in the style of the NSF GRFP.

3 Instructor Information

Instructor Andrew J. Steinmetz
Email ajsteinmetz@gatech.edu
Office Howey W204
Office Hours By appointment

4 Course Schedule

The course meets every Friday of the semester except holidays, from August 28 through December 4. The schedule below may be adjusted as needed throughout the semester.

Date Tentative Topic / Focus Major Due Dates
Aug. 28 Course introduction; resumes and CVs -
Sept. 4 Resume / CV review and revision workshop -
Sept. 11 Career paths with a physics, astrophysics, or applied physics degree Resume due
Sept. 14–15 Fall 2026 All Majors Career Fair -
Sept. 18 Professional networking and online presence -
Sept. 25 Guest lecture; NSF GRFP overview Online professional presence due
Oct. 2 Research proposals and NSF GRFP-style writing -
Oct. 9 Research proposal review and revision workshop Research proposal due
Oct. 16 Graduate school pathways; selecting programs/advisors NSF GRFP reference letters due by 8:00 p.m. ET
Oct. 23 Graduate school application materials NSF GRFP application deadline - Physics & Astronomy; Chemistry; Geosciences; Mathematical Science. Due by 8:00 p.m. ET
Oct. 30 Graduate application workshop -
Nov. 6 Guest lecture -
Nov. 13 Industry interviews; cover-letters -
Nov. 20 Interview practice; cover-letter workshop Personal statement or cover letter due
Dec. 4 Course wrap-up and reflection External participation due

5 Assignments and Grading

There are no exams in this course. Your grade is based primarily on attendance and participation, along with a small number of professional-development assignments. Written assignments should be submitted on Canvas in PDF format by 11:59 PM ET unless otherwise specified.

Assignment Due Date Weight
Attendance / participation Weekly 52%
Resume September 11 10%
Online professional presence September 25 4%
Research proposal, GRFP style October 9 15%
Personal statement or cover letter November 20 15%
External participation December 4 4%

5.1 Assignment Descriptions

  • Attendance / participation: Attendance is mandatory. Participation will be scored through sign-in sheets and hand-submitted in-class activities. One missed class is dropped from the attendance grade.
  • Resume: Prepare or revise a professional resume suitable for job, internship, research, or graduate school applications.
  • Online professional presence: Set up a complete LinkedIn profile, improve a pre-existing LinkedIn profile, or document appropriate professional use of LinkedIn. GitHub pages, personal websites, or other professional portfolios are also encouraged.
  • Research proposal: Write a two-page research proposal with references in the style of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. This assignment should be completed in LaTeX.
  • Personal statement or cover letter: Write a graduate school personal statement or a job application cover letter, depending on your professional goals.
  • External participation: Participate in a professional-development event such as a Georgia Tech Career Center workshop, official career fair, industry interview, internship activity, research symposium, conference, grant submission, or another instructor-approved activity. Written or photographic documentation is required for credit.

7 A Few Important Course Notes

  • Attendance is mandatory. One missed class is dropped from the attendance grade. If you will miss class, please email the instructor as soon as possible.
  • No textbook is required. Course materials and assignment information will be provided through Canvas.
  • Collaboration is allowed within reason. Peer review, feedback, and advice are appropriate, but submitted work must be your own.
  • Limited generative AI use is permitted. AI may be used only within instructor-approved boundaries and must be documented with an AI Usage Statement when used.
  • When in doubt, ask. If you are unsure whether a resource, collaboration, or AI use is appropriate, contact the instructor before submitting.
TipNext steps

Review the full syllabus on Canvas, then take the Syllabus Quiz. Note the major assignment due dates listed in the Course Schedule and begin thinking about which post-degree pathway you want to prepare for this semester.