Applications for the 2026 cycle have now closed. Please check back in the fall for information about the 2027 cohort.
Overview
The PhD Career Exploration Initiative (CEI) helps doctoral students learn about and experience non-faculty careers through networking experiences and mentorship relationships with advanced-degree professionals. This unpaid opportunity allows students to cultivate a stronger professional profile, grow their network, and gain a better understanding of day-to-day life in a number of career fields, including museums, libraries, pharmaceutical companies, tech companies, consulting firms, nonprofit research institutes, administrative offices, law firms, and more.
Last year, the program featured mentors from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Duolingo, Merck, Janssen, GSK, Lumanity, Amazon, LinkedIn, DuPont, the Franklin Institute, Bloom Funding, Penn Libraries, the Beeck Center for Social Impact—and many more! A complete list of participating employers can be found here.
This program runs from February to May and typically entails a time commitment of ~20 hours total (or 1-2 hours per week), split evenly between meetings with the student’s mentor, informational interviews with other professionals, small projects, professional development workshops, and community-building events.
Please note that this is a hybrid program, requiring in-person attendance at certain events; as a result, we are unable to accommodate students living outside of the Philadelphia area.
What to Expect
Students will meet with their mentor at least four times during the spring semester to 1) learn about the host’s career path and current position, including specific responsibilities, work culture, and challenges/rewards of the position, and 2) share their own professional interests, values, and short- and long- term career goals so that the host can offer targeted advice and guidance. Depending on the student’s career stage, the host may offer feedback on resumes, assist with interview prep, discuss how the student can translate their academic skills for other industries, and/or help the student identify logical next steps to meet their career goals.
Each mentor will facilitate additional informational interviews with colleagues and other members of their network whose career path and interests align with the interests of their mentee.
Additional opportunities, like attendance at meetings and the completion of small projects, may also be available. Last year’s participants had the opportunity to develop workshops, museum exhibits, pitch decks, and AI tools, and to conduct case interviews, case studies, and drug development projects. More information on specific opportunities and projects offered by individual host organizations is available in the 2026 Host Description Packet.
In addition to meeting with their individual host, students are required to attend:
- The CEI program orientation
- A mid-program check-in, designed to help students reflect on what they’ve learned so far, set concrete goals for the remainder of the program (and beyond), and share resources and advice with their peers.
- Three professional development programs organized by Penn Career Services. These sessions are designed to enhance career readiness competencies and build community across schools and departments.
Finally, all participants must complete a pre- and post-program survey and write a blog post about their CEI experience to be featured on the Career Services website at the end of the program.
To read about students’ experiences in the 2026 program, visit the CEI Spotlight Series on the Career Services blog. Interested in hearing what kinds of projects past participants have worked on with their host? View our project database. You can also connect with CEI alumni here.
Participating Employers for 2026
Participating organizations for 2026 represented a wide range of career paths, including higher ed administration, biotech/pharma, consulting, cloud computing, ed tech, social impact work, patent law, UX research, instructional design, medical writing, museums, and more. Detailed descriptions of last year’s confirmed host offices can be found here. When applying, each student must indicate their first, second, and third choice host.
Eligibility
Doctoral students in any department or school at Penn may apply, including international students. Participants must be living in the Philadelphia area or able to commute to Philly for required in-person events. CEI alumni are not eligible to participate again, though applicants from previous cycles who were not selected are welcome to reapply.
Application Deadline
TBD (late fall 2026)
Application Instructions
Candidates should prepare the following materials:
- A list of your top three choices of hosts
- A resume or CV
- 2 short essay responses (see prompts below)
You will submit these documents through our Qualtrics application form.
Essay 1 (500 words max)
Please explain your specific, concrete goals for the CEI program, including why you selected each of your top 3 hosts and what you hope to learn from them. Consider the following:
- What do you hope to accomplish during your time in the CEI program? Be as specific as possible about the skills, knowledge, or experiences you aim to gain.
- How do these goals connect to your broader academic, professional, or personal aspirations?
- What gaps in your current experience or knowledge are you seeking to fill through this program?
- What is it about your selected organizations’ work, mission, approach, or impact that draws you to them? Alternatively, what is it about your selected mentors’ background or career trajectory that draws you to them?
We encourage you to reference specific projects, learning outcomes, or biographical details listed in the Host Description Packet.
For full consideration, be sure to also address any preferred qualifications listed in the Host Description Packet.
Please note that we are looking for thoughtful, personalized responses. While we encourage you to familiarize yourself with the overall aims of the CEI program (as described above), simply repeating the program description is not sufficient to receive full consideration.
Essay 2 (250 words max)
This initiative requires a time commitment of approximately 20 hours total, or 1-2 hours per week, from mid-February to mid-May. To ensure a positive experience for both students and mentors, we ask that you only apply if you are confident you can meet this commitment.
With this in mind, please address the following:
- Your other commitments: What are your anticipated time commitments during the spring semester? This may include coursework, employment, research, teaching, extracurricular activities, job searching, or other obligations.
- Your participation plan: Given these commitments, how do you plan to allocate time for this program? What strategies will you use to balance your responsibilities and ensure you can fully engage with the program?
- Your motivation: Why is participating in this initiative a priority for you at this point in your academic journey, despite your other commitments?
We are looking for thoughtful reflection rather than a perfect schedule. We want to understand how you think about time management, prioritization, and what this experience means to you. Please be honest about your commitments—we are asking this question to help ensure the program is a good fit for both you and your potential host.
If you have any questions about this program, please contact Dr. Alison Howard at alhoward@upenn.edu.
