As a graduate student at the University of Toronto, you will receive world-class training in how to carry out research and communicate your findings in traditional scholarly formats such as journal articles and monographs. To complement the resources supporting traditional forms of knowledge production and mobilization, the Centre for Graduate Professional Development (CGPD) has resources to encourage approaches that engage the public, in research, and communication strategies that connect graduate students with audiences outside of traditional academic settings. Our offerings are designed to support the process of engaging the public in the production, dissemination, and implementation of scholarly work.
Public engagement in research is transforming the scholarly enterprise, and research communication skills are a critical skill for you as a graduate student. CGPD encourages all graduate students to consider taking part in our public scholarship programming.
The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) is a research communication program in which graduate students can practice the important skill of explaining their thesis research in terms that are understandable to a generalist audience. Being able to explain complex research and articulate its significance to people who are not specialists in your field is an important skill that you will also draw on for example, when applying for funding or interviewing for jobs.
The Connaught PhDs for Public Impact fellowship is a cohort-based program that offers doctoral students support to create their own public scholarship initiative and connect with other doctoral students working on publicly engaged scholarship.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Storytellers Challenge is a research communication program in which students explain in three minutes or 300 words how their SSHRC-funded social sciences or humanities research project affects our lives, our world, and our future for the better.
CGPD Programs