Workshops
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 with questions or suggestions.
Communicating Your Research to Broader Audiences
As academics, we spend most of our time talking with others in our disciplines, but knowing how to explain our research and its impact to broader audiences is an essential skill that involves more than just translating your jargon. Join us for these opportunities to develop your communication skills!
3MT Workshop February 25, 2-3:30pm (virtual -- register here)
The annual 3MT competition is a great place opportunity to learn how to talk about your research concisely and convincingly. Join us for the workshop to learn the elements of a great 3MT talk!
Communicating Your Research to Broader Audiences April 3, 12-1:30pm (hybrid -- on zoom or in 5109 McKeldin)
Join us to learn strategies for sharing your research with audiences beyond your discipline -- just in time for GRAD! Lunch will be provided for those attending in person.
Considering an Academic Career?
There are many career paths available to doctoral students. If you are interested in the academic career path, we offer support both pre- and post-candidacy to help you succeed.
Understanding the Job Market Pre-Candidacy March 6 & 11, from 12-1:30 Register here (hybrid)
This two-session series is aimed at doctoral students who have at least a year left in their programs and will begin their academic job search after May 2026.
Academic Job Document Retreat June 3-5, 9:30am-3:30pm daily Register here (deadline to apply: May 18, 2025)
This three-day retreat-style workshop provides graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who will be on the academic job market in the 2025-2026 academic year guidance and time to write the various documents required in an academic job search, from CVs to cover letters and other supporting materials. This event is in-person and registrants should be able to commit to all three days. We'll follow up with a virtual version in Fall 2025.
Literature Review Series
In conjunction with Research Education at University Libraries, the CWOC will offer this series on understanding and developing the literature review. A literature review documents the disciplinary conversation you are joining as you embark on answering your own research questions and is generally a first step in any research endeavor. All sessions in this series will be held virtually.
Understanding the Literature Review -- Feb. 27, 12-1pm Register here
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.
Reading and Note-Taking -- April 1, 12-1pm Register here
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 the literature review process.
Formatting Fridays
March 7 and April 4, 3:30-4:30pm virtual -- register here
You've written your thesis or dissertation -- but now you have to format it to submit it and graduate! In this hour, we'll answer your formatting questions and provide some guidelines to help you survive this last hurdle!