The Thesis Office Has Left the Building!

By Carolyn Law, Thesis/Dissertation Advisor

Busy Moving

Welcome to a new year! And for the staff of the Thesis Office, I mean really, really new!

In December, the Graduate School moved its operations out of Adams Hall, our home for 20 years, and into temporary offices in Williston Hall. The main reception desk is conveniently located on the first floor, so if you need to drop off forms, submit hard-copy pre-defense drafts (dissertations only), or have any other face-to-face business with the Graduate School, Williston 100 is our new “front door.”

You may have noticed that there’s been a lot of shuffling of offices and departments across the university in recent months, and that means the Graduate School is even now still in transition. Space on a large university campus is a giant puzzle: Unit A has to wait for space to be vacated by Unit B, which is waiting in line behind Unit C, and so on and so on. And there are always modifications and adjustments required in the new space to accommodate the unique needs of the new occupants, which is where the Thesis Office enters this picture, or I should say leaves it (for the time being).

Williston Hall 

Where to Put the Thesis Office?

While the Graduate School is waiting on its final location to open up, the Thesis Office is in space limbo for the foreseeable future. Effective immediately, the Thesis Office will be open by appointment only. That doesn't mean we will be any less responsive to your questions and inquiries, though, and we continue to be committed to supporting all thesis and dissertation writers from proposal stage to degree completion as best we can. We are happy to meet individual students and small groups at convenient, comfortable on-campus locations. We can even arrange to meet you off-campus in public venues such as libraries and coffeeshops. Email is the best way to reach us with questions or to request an in-person consultation: thesis@niu.edu. And of course, our website is still your go-to resource for all things thesis and dissertation at NIU. As always, you’ll find us open 24/7 at niu.edu/grad/thesis. Visit early and often.

Online Programming Doesn’t Even Need an Office!

Fortunately, one of the most valuable services of the Thesis Office doesn’t even need a physical office! The Spring 2020 lineup of informative presentations and workshops will be offered entirely online via Adobe Connect, allowing the new “virtual Thesis Office” to reach a maximum number of thesis and dissertation writers regardless of location. Do you see something here that speaks to your current or future situation? Mark your calendars for:

• · Dissertation Essentials, Tuesday, January 21, 4 to 5:15 pm

• · Writing a Thesis/Dissertation in Engineering, Thursday, January 23, 4 to 5:15 pm

• · Creating a Productive Thesis/Dissertation Committee, Tuesday, January 28, 4 to 5:15 pm

• · Thesis Essentials, Wednesday, January 29, 4 to 5:15 pm

• · Tables/Figures/Pagination, Thursday, January 30, 4 to 5:15 pm            
  

You’ll find detailed descriptions and registration links on the Graduate School’s comprehensive calendar of events at: https://www.niu.edu/grad/professional-development/workshops.shtml. Registration is required, but there is no cap on enrollment, so I hope to cyber-see many of you online.

Thank you for your patience as we sort out a new routine, and look for us to launch ever more innovative ways to assist NIU thesis and dissertation writers in the coming months.