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Despite calls over the past two decades to develop and deploy graduate STEM education models that prepare students for a variety of careers outside of academia, few innovations have emerged to meet students at their current skill and preparation levels when entering their graduate studies while also considering students’ individual desired career paths. The U.S.’s current approach to graduate STEM education does not emphasize preparing students with the professional skills and experience outside the lab. Further, students from differing socioeconomic and underserved backgrounds are often not adequately supported. Through a National Science Foundation Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) award, the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering is creating and validating a personalized learning model (PLM) for graduate education within the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. The goal of this model is to transform and modernize graduate STEM education through a personalized, inclusive, and student-centered approach, which will, in turn, advance existing knowledge on the relationship between personalized learning and student outcomes. The principles of personalized learning guide the PLM. The PLM is comprised of five components. The first three components provide an intentional approach to learning: Instructional Goals developed for each student based on a learner profile and individual development plans (IDP), a purposeful Task Environment that breaks the traditional three-credit coursework into modules and co-curricular professional development streams, and a resolute approach to Scaffolding Instruction that leads to mastery in the student’s area of focus. The last two components provide feedback and reflection: Assessment of Performance Learning quantifies students’ progress, and Reflection and Evaluation, where improvement opportunities help the student to develop further. Incorporating personalization at every touchpoint of a graduate student’s academic journey creates an authentic, customized, student-centered approach to graduate education. This paper describes in detail the model and the literature behind its development, along with assessments used to guide students.