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Workshops & Retreats

The Center for Writing & Oral Communication offers workshops to help you build your communication skills across a range of academic and professional situations. All workshops are open to enrolled University of Maryland graduate students and postdoctoral scholars free of charge. A comprehensive calendar of all our workshops is available on our home page. 

Have an idea for a workshop you’d be interested in attending?  Interested in a workshop tailored to your disciplinary writing situation? We welcome suggestions for workshops and will design programs for specific disciplinary needs. Please contact Dr. Linda Macri at lmacri@umd.edu with questions or suggestions.

Applying for Funding Workshops

Applying for External Funding

Sept. 15 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
Hybrid | Registration 

Sept. 18 from 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Zoom | Registration

Did you miss this workshop? You can watch the recording (requires UMD credentials).

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

Applying for Graduate School Fellowships & Awards

Dec. 3, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. 
Virtual | Registration coming soon

Dec. 5, 2025 from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 
Virtual | Registration coming soon

Dec. 9, 2025 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
Virtual | Registration coming soon

This workshop provides students with information about how to apply for The Graduate School Fellowships and Awards. The Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship and the Summer Research Fellowships will be reviewed in detail, and guidance on how to write an effective project summary will be presented.

Considering an Academic Career?

There are many career paths available to doctoral students. If you are interested in the academic career path, join our Academic Job Document series to be ready for the hiring cycle this year. The fall workshop schedule compliments our summer retreat and provides additional support on interviewing. Using resources from both the Center for Writing and Oral Communication and Beyond the Professoriate, our goal is to provide accountability, community, and feedback on your materials as you apply for positions during the 2025-2026 cycle. Applications for most of this workshop series is currently closed. If you have questions, contact Dr. Linda Macri at lmacri@umd.edu

Virtual Workshop on Preparing for Job Talks

Oct. 10 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Zoom

We will discuss the purpose and structure of job talks in the context of on-campus interviews and help you prepare for this presentation.

Registration

Writing Literature Reviews

In conjunction with Research Education at University Libraries, we offer workshops to help get you started on research projects:

Introduction to Zotero

Sept. 16 from 12:00 p.m. - 1 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.

Registration

Understanding the Literature Review

Sept. 23 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.

Registration

Reading and Notetaking for the Literature Review

Sept. 30 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.

Registration

Ethical Concerns in Writing and Publishing with Generative AI

Oct. 30 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Zoom

Generative AI offers a wide range of efficiencies for writing and publishing your research, but there are also a number of ethical concerns that any scholar should consider before incorporating generative AI tools into their searching and writing practices.

Registration

Applying for the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (and other Postdoc programs)

President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program workshops

Aug. 26 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 15 from 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Zoom

The President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is open to scholars across disciplines at many US universities, each with a slightly different application procedure. The first workshop will be a broad introduction; the second workshop will focus on writing the statements required for the application.

Registration

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