Workshops & Retreats

Tues., Dec. 15 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Zoom | Registration coming 

Thurs., Jan. 28 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Hybrid – 2124 Lee or Zoom | Registration coming 

Fri., Feb. 12 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Zoom | Registration coming 

The annual Three-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT) challenges students to communicate the significance of their research projects to a non-specialist audience in just THREE MINUTES! Please visit the 3MT webpage for more information. Join us for the workshop to help you prepare for the competition or just to hone your communication skills. 

Fri., Feb. 19 from 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. | 5109 McKeldin

Preparing a 3MT talk is supposed to be a challenge, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be fun and communal! Join us for an afternoon of writing, polishing, and getting feedback from Oral and Writing Fellows on your 3MT script and visual before the submission deadline.

Graduate School's Fall Job Document Support  

• Document Review Sessions: Fri., Sept. 11 from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Virtual); Fri., Sept. 18, 1-3pm (5109 McKeldin)
• Preparing for a First/Zoom Interview: Fri., Sept. 18 from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (Hybrid: Zoom or 5109 McKeldin)
• Preparing for Campus Interviews & Job Talks: Fri., Oct. 2 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (Virtual)

Planning on graduating in the 2026-2027 academic year and pursuing an academic position in higher education or a postdoctoral position? Join the Graduate School's Center for Writing & Oral Communication and Office of Career and Professional Development to learn more about the job application process and draft your documents.

If you attended our summer retreat, the fall workshop schedule provides additional support for document review and workshops on interviewing. If you were not able to attend the summer sessions, plan to watch the Beyond the Professoriate webinars before attending other events.

Deadline to Apply: 5:00 PM (ET), Fri., Sept. 4, 2026 

This series is aimed at doctoral students who have at least 1 year left in their programs--that is, it is designed to help you be prepared for an academic job search after May 2028. For the best learning outcomes, please plan to attend both sessions.

Part 1 - Spring 2027 Dates TBD

In this session, we’ll focus on the hidden knowledge that is critical for doctoral students interested in faculty careers. You will learn about the various types of higher ed institutions and typical faculty appointment types. We will share expectations by institution and appointment type to help you think intelligently about how to construct your CV during the rest of your Ph.D. years.

Part 2 - Spring 2027 Dates TBD

In this session, we’ll focus on understanding trends in your field, from reading job descriptions to benchmarking yourself against recent hires. We will provide an overview of academic job documents needed for most faculty or postdoctoral positions. We’ll conclude with making a plan for your upcoming academic years that help you be ready for the academic job market when the time comes.

Thurs., Sept. 10 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. | Hybrid: 2124 Lee or Zoom | Registration

Wed., Sept. 23 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Hybrid: 2124 Lee or Zoom | Registration

Applying for fellowships and grants is an essential skill for 21st century academics. Many–but not all–fellowships and grants are for doctoral students, often aimed at supporting dissertation completion (and many have late October/early November deadlines). Join us for this workshop to find ways to search for available fellowships and grants and to understand how to craft an application.

Thurs., Dec 3 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. | Hybrid: 2124 Lee or Zoom | Registration coming soon

Mon., Dec 7 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Hybrid: 2124 Lee or Zoom | Registration coming soon

Fri., Dec. 11 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Zoom | Registration coming soon

The Graduate School offers two popular fellowships for doctoral students: the Semester Dissertation Fellowship and the Summer Research Fellowship. Applications for both are due early in the spring semester. Join us for this workshop to learn more about the fellowships and how to write an effective application.

Tues., Sept. 22 at 12:00 p.m. | Zoom 

Zotero is a free, open-source citation management software useful for keeping track of bibliographic information and generating citations and bibliographies. This workshop is designed for new users of Zotero and will cover creating bibliographies.

Tues., Sept. 29 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Zoom

New to research writing at the graduate level, or getting ready to write your first literature review? Not sure how to start the process of a literature review? Join us for this workshop to understand the fundamentals of a literature review.

Tues., Oct. 6 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Zoom 

You’ve collected your articles—now you have to read them! Join us to learn more about reading for writing, effective note taking, and writing brief summaries for literature review process.

Tues., Oct. 27 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Zoom

Generative AI can be a powerful tool in your research writing, offering ways to streamline your finding and summarizing of sources and your composition. But you should have a lot of questions before putting your research into the hands of generative AI, questions such as what tools work effectively, how do I protect my own intellectual property when using generative AI, and where is the line between using and plagiarizing with generative AI. Join the Libraries and the Center for Writing and Oral Communication to have your questions answered.

Date TBD

Here you are at a Big 10, Land Grant, Flagship State University – but what does any of that mean? How do universities really work? How do budgets get decided? Who makes what kinds of decisions? How do you – as a graduate student, a postdoc, a future faculty member or professional – fit into the organizational structure? Join us as we try to pull back the curtain and explain a bit about the inner workings of a large institution of higher education. This event will be hybrid and not recorded.

Presenting at academic conferences is a mainstay of an academic career. Conferences are places where you share early findings, get valuable feedback, and hone your communication skills. In this series, we’ll demystify the idea of going to a conference, starting with the why and how and then moving through the steps of writing an abstract, preparing a talk or a poster presentation, and refining your delivery, and being prepared to network.

The Why and How of Academic Conferences – Wed., Dec. 2 from 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. 
Hybrid: 2124 Lee or Zoom | Registration
In this workshop, we’ll address the starting questions about academic conferences: Why should you attend academic conferences?  When should you go? How do you select a conference and submit an abstract? How do you fund conference travel?  What is a CFP?  What’s the difference between submitting a poster or a paper? Can graduate students organize panels?  How should I dress? Hear from a panel of graduate students about their experiences attending conferences.