Online Learning

Upskilling Graduates for Success

The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies offers a series of free online, graduate-level upskilling courses. 

These courses were developed through a partnership with five Ontario Universities (Western University, Queen’s University, Ontario Tech University, University of Windsor, OCAD University) and were funded by eCampus Ontario. The courses offer Ontario graduate students self-paced professional development to ensure they are prepared to enter a rapidly evolving labour market, locally and globally.    

Each course contains 3 modules and will take roughly 12-hours to complete. The modules do not need to be completed in one seating. 

Your research skills and content knowledge can only take you so far. Invest in your graduate degree and in your future career with skills that will never become obsolete. 


Cultivating Wellbeing in Workplaces and Communities

This 3-module course promotes lasting success by delivering practical, concrete strategies you can use to build a strong foundation of wellness.

  • Module 1: Assess your skills and knowledge in cultivating mental health at a personal and professional level.
  • Module 2: Customize strategies to manage stress, overcome procrastination, challenge imposter syndrome, and ask for help at work.
  • Module 3: Practice answering interview questions about your role in cultivating well-being at work.

By taking this course, you will be able to:

  • Contribute to decreasing the stigma associated with mental health and mental illness by building your vocabulary and challenging misconceptions.
  • Take an anti-oppressive approach to analyzing and proposing solutions for mental health disparities in the workplace and other communities.
  • Build your personal and professional network to support your wellbeing at work.
  • Customize the strategies you use to stay well, respond to challenges, and recover from setbacks at work.
  • Articulate how you identify and personally contribute to healthy workplace cultures.

Graduate students can access this free module here.


Fostering Inclusivity in Workplaces and Communities

This course focuses on community building, intercultural communication, and equity knowledge and skills to promote inclusive workplaces and communities.

This course supports you in identifying the skills you gained during your graduate program that can support you in fostering an inclusive workplace after graduation. Throughout the course, you will reflect on your positionality within the many dimensions of inclusivity and use that knowledge to adapt your approaches to creating inclusive workplaces and communities.

By taking this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify the skills and competencies that you have and need in order to engaging diverse perspectives and foster inclusivity.
  • Confidently articulate your role in fostering inclusivity in application documents for your preferred jobs, and in the jobs themselves.
  • Identify theories (and practices) of change that suit your identities and values and that you can use to advocate for more inclusive workplaces. 
  • Use your skill sets to set yourself apart as an employee, team member, and a leader whose efforts in creating inclusive workplaces are actionable and sustainable.
  • Use your skill sets to set yourself apart as an employee, team member, and a leader whose efforts in creating inclusive workplaces are actionable and sustainable.

Graduate students can access this free module here.


Conducting Program Evaluations in Workplaces and Communities

This course focuses on the knowledge, skills, and tools required to lead successful program evaluations and encourage evidence-based practice within workplaces and communities. 

This course introduces you to and provides guidance on conducting program evaluations. Throughout this course, you will have the opportunity to draw connections between the lessons, your skills, and your experiences in research. 

By taking this course, you will be able to:

  • Describe program evaluation and communicate its value to stakeholders and employers
  • Identify and use common evaluation tools
  • Use case studies to apply your learning to practice scenarios
  • Consider contextual factors that impact the implementation and use of evaluations 

Graduate students can access this free module here.