University at Buffalo (UB)
Research and Research Impacts Resources for PhD Students
Research in your discipline is an important skill you will develop throughout your program. The professional development skills in research that you gain in your degree program will be unique to your discipline. You will cultivate discipline-specific research skills through completing courses, degree requirements, research roles, and through more applied experiences like internships or field rotations.
Graduate students typically take research methods classes as part of their degree program at UB and have research requirements like producing a master's thesis, project or doctoral dissertation.
But, there are multiple skills to learn, disciplinary research and research skills beyond your discipline. How can you gain research skills or build upon your current skills?
Write a fellowship.
Fellowship applications are an important part of developing research skills. In a fellowship application, you may have to outline your research proposal and justify why this research is important. Being able to write a strong fellowship application is a transferrable skill. Clear writing, articulating your disciplinary research approach, based on your research goals, is a way to develop research skills.
The Office of Fellowships and Scholarships can assist you with finding fellowships that you are eligible and qualified to apply for and support you as you apply. Two important fellowships for graduate students are the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Fulbright. Be sure to establish a fellowship search strategy early in your graduate studies.
Write a grant.
Grant writing skills are critical to completing and disseminating your research and a mark of success in academic and professional careers. To gain these important skills, students can assist faculty with grant proposals, attend a grant writing workshop hosted by the Graduate School or submit a grant on their behalf.
Graduate Professional Development offers grant writing workshops for graduate students in STEM disciplines and Social Sciences/Humanities. Workshops are offered online and live twice yearly and recorded for additional access.
Complete training in responsible conduct of research.
All students admitted to a PhD program for the fall 2009 semester or thereafter are required to document successful completion of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training when they submit their PhD Application to Candidacy form for their PhD degree. This training requirement may be fulfilled by either (1.) Enrolling in and passing with a grade of B (3.00) or better LAI 648 Research Ethics or RPG 504 Responsible Conduct of Research or BMS 514 Intro to Scientific Investigation and Responsible Conduct or RSC 602 Research Ethics for the Health Sciences or (2.) Completing a Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) online Responsible Conduct of Research course with an average score of 80 percent or higher, or (3.) Successfully completing UB's Responsible Research micro-credential. Students opting to complete the CITI online course or the Responsible Research micro-credential must supply proof of completion with their PhD Application to Candidacy.
Serve as a Research Assistant (RA).
Faculty with research grants or contracts hire graduate students as research assistants (RA). The RA assignment and funding are tied to the faculty member's work. Discuss research assistantships with your faculty mentor or director of graduate studies.
Present your research.
Any time you present your research you improve your communication skills. Present in your research group, at department talks, and to groups outside of your discipline. Each type of research talk is valuable to your professional development.
Every year in April the University at Buffalo hosts a campus-wide student showcase of research as part of the Celebration of Academic Excellence. Departments nominate graduate students to present their research posters for the showcase. Attend the showcase to learn about the research happening across the university and apply to present your research.
Attend research talks in and out of your department.
Take advantage of all the public research talks in and out of your department. Even if the research is not something you're familiar with, you can learn about the wider research in your discipline and pick up communication tips. Asking questions of experts and getting to network with the speaker and attendees is also important for professional development.
Think about how your research fits into diverse career paths.
Your research does not necessarily lead you into one specific career path. Take time to explore how your research interests and skills can be applied to multiple career paths, both inside and outside of academia. Online Individual Development Plans (IDPs) and platforms, such as MyIDP for STEM disciplines and ImaginePhD for humanities and social sciences, give you a way to assess your skills and see how they match to opportunities. UB also subscribes to Beyond the Professoriate, which helps graduate students and postdoctoral fellows understand and articulate how their research skills match with career and job opportunities.
Through UB's Social Impact Fellows program, MBA and MSW students from the School of Management and School of Social Work, along with graduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences create social innovation in Western New York. Together, students collaborate, address pressing issues and make an impact.
Featured Partners: The Office of Fellowships and Scholarships and University Libraries
Fellowships and scholarships are among the most valuable forms of aid you can receive during your college career and are designed to support students who have exceptional academic records and potential. Meet with the Office of Fellowships and Scholarships to discuss scholarship opportunities.
University Libraries offer an outstanding array of information resources, technologies, services and people to support the academic and creative achievements of our students.
- Research Bootcamp—Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Research Design (BERD)
- SUNY Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development
- Build Your Research Community is a free course consisting of five modules offered by the Science Communication Lab. This course guides science trainees through identifying mentors and building and maintaining strong mentoring relationships.
- The University Libraries offer research support. They have compiled Research Guides by discipline, Research Tips on locating materials, and Workshops to assist students, including Endnote, Microsoft Excel, database searching and more.
- Google Scholar Profiles is a way to showcase your academic publications. If your profile is public, you will appear here when people search for your name.
- Research Gate is a free platform that connects science and research communities. Connect with experts in your field.
- Research Rabbit is an innovative citation-based literature mapping tool available online.
- Connected Papers is a tool to help researchers and applied scientists find and explore papers relevant to their field of work in a visual way.
The Graduate Brief
Every Wednesday during the semester, the Graduate School emails the "Graduate Brief" to all graduate and professional students, which is a weekly selection of news and happenings within the Graduate School and its partnering offices. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please contact grad@buffalo.edu.