Annual Review/Individual Development Plans (AR/IDPs) are documents designed to support doctoral students and postdoctoral trainees in developing career plans and trajectories. The AR/IDP provides a structure to identify concrete steps towards long-term goals and a framework for constructive conversation between students and their mentors/advisors.

For Ph.D. students, the AR/IDP is a companion to the Plan of Work, which focuses on academic coursework and program milestones. 

Because of the importance of an AR/IDP in a trainee's career development and mandates from federal agencies, an annual AR/IDP is required for all doctoral students and postdoctoral trainees regardless of funding status. The AR/IDP should be submitted annually between April 1 and October 15 each year.

Tools to help with individual development planning

• Imagine PhD a free online career exploration and planning tool for graduate students, postdocs and their mentors in the humanities and social sciences.
• MyIDP is a free online career exploration and planning tool for graduate students, postdocs and their mentors in the sciences.

How to approve an Annual Review/Individual Development Plan

• Ph.D. students and postdocs use an electronic form. Once they have completed the submission, the faculty mentor will receive an email notification they can click to review, comment and approve or return for revision.
• Once the AR/IDP is approved by the advisor, the graduate director will receive an email notification to review and approve, or return for revision.

Contact phdstudents@wayne.edu with any questions about this process.