This Summer at the Thesis Office we are offering several of our perennial programs to help you complete your thesis or dissertation. Some of these were not offered in the Spring session, so here is your chance to check them out! In addition, some programs we offer are now online or hybrid online/in-person formats to make them accessible to all. If you would like to attend any of these workshops, please register here.
Create and Nurture a Productive Thesis/Dissertation Committee
Tuesday, June 4, 4PM
In this online presentation and Q&A, learn methods for creating a functional committee and making work with your committee count. Hear about best practices for common committee blunders and difficulties. Participation and sharing is encouraged!
Demystifying the Thesis/Dissertation Submission Process
Monday, June 10, 4PM
In this online presentation, Thesis Office advisor Carolyn Law will explain the ins and outs of submitting your completed thesis or dissertation. NIU has strict requirements for the "final product," and those requirements can keep you editing even after you've defended! Know what to expect and how to prepare for the final step of the process.
Tables/Figures/Pagination for Theses and Dissertations
Tuesday, June 11, 2PM
If your thesis or dissertation includes tables or figures, this is definitely the workshop for you. And if it doesn't include them, this might be the workshop for you anyway! One of our most common complaints from students is about page numbers, which can be a huge bugbear if your document is not set up properly. Come get it all straightened out in this workshop -- bring your laptop and be prepared to do some good work. This is an in-person event with ample time for workshopping, in Adams Hall room 103.
Writing Your Thesis/Dissertation Proposal
Tuesday, June 18, 4PM
This hybrid workshop will be an in-person presentation and discussion that is Facebook Live fed to our Facebook group. This interactive workshop will address typical characteristics of a successful thesis or dissertation proposal as well as offer practical strategies for organizing the key elements. Breakout sessions will allow for generous time for questions and small-group discussion. Bring your laptop and specific questions to maximize the workshop’s effectiveness!
Last year we had more attendees than ever at these events. Please keep taking advantage of them! We're here to help.
Register for any of these events at The Graduate School's workshop calendar.
Showing posts with label proposal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label proposal. Show all posts
Friday, May 31, 2019
Friday, September 1, 2017
Announcing Our Fall Programs
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| Adams Hall, home of the Graduate School and the Thesis and Dissertation Office. |
Basics
Brown bags will start in the second week of September and meet Wednesdays from 12 to 1 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103. Presentations and workshops will start in the last week of September, and most will will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the same Adams Hall location on a Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Note that two presentations meet at different times, locations, and/or days. For details on each program, see below.
Registration
No registration required for brown bags. Registration is required for a presentation or workshop. Register via email at thesis@niu.edu. Include the name of the presentation or workshop you want to attend in the subject line or message. We do have space limitations for events in Adams 103 (12 seats maximum). Register early!
What to Expect
Plenty of important information regarding completion of your graduate degree. After running these programs over several semesters, we’ve learned that most students who attend presentations and workshops are blown away by how much they didn’t fully know about meeting various deadlines, submitting the proper paperwork to the proper place, or formatting the long document. At all our events, expect thorough coverage of common concerns as well as time to address individual questions.
Brown Bag Sessions
Breaking Through Writer’s Block (and Other Obstacles)
Wednesday, September 13 (12 to 1 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
Informal discussion on common obstacles that slow or entirely halt progress on one’s thesis or dissertation. Carolyn Law, Thesis/Dissertation Advisor, will facilitate the discussion and offer practical strategies. Students only, please.
Committee Relations
Wednesday, September 20 (12 to 1 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
Informal discussion on choosing committee members, creating productive working relationships with them, maintaining good communications, and managing feedback throughout the process. Graduate School policies regarding committees will be reviewed. Faculty and students welcome.
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| Robyn Byrd leading a brown bag discussion in Adams 103. |
Wednesday, September 27 (12 to 1 p.m. in Adams Hall,
Room 103)
Discussion will address typical characteristics of any strong thesis or dissertation proposal (sometimes called a prospectus) as well as aspects unique to proposals in various disciplines. Faculty and students welcome.
The Balancing Act: A Life in Grad School
Wednesday, October 4 (12 to 1 p.m. in Adams Hall,
Room 103)
Informal discussion on the complexities of managing life as a graduate student, balancing family responsibilities, personal health, outside work, and the pressures of a dissertation or thesis. Session will be facilitated by Thesis Office GA Robyn Byrd, doctoral candidate and mother of two. Students only, please.
Faculty Q & A
Wednesday, October 11 (12 to 1 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
(Grad students, you might want to bring this one to the attention of your director or other faculty members in your department.) Carolyn Law, Thesis/Dissertation Advisor, will introduce the functions and services of the Thesis Office and answer questions about Graduate School requirements and standards for theses and dissertations. Faculty who are directing a thesis or dissertation at NIU for the first time are especially encouraged to attend, but all faculty and staff are welcome.
Presentations
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| Carolyn Law presenting on the submission process in Wirtz Hall. |
Tuesday, September 26 (5 to 7 p.m. in Wirtz Hall, Room 104)
This presentation is for students preparing to submit a thesis or dissertation to the Graduate School for December 2017 graduation. Carolyn Law, Thesis/Dissertation Advisor, will walk students through the steps of the process: defense, electronic submission, and final approval.
Monday, October 2 (2 to 4 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
Designed for all doctoral students enrolled in 799 in any department. Staff will walk students through the Graduate School’s specific requirements for dissertations and cover a wide range of the most troublesome issues dissertation writers frequently encounter.
Tuesday, October 3 (2 to 4 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
Designed for all master’s students enrolled in 699 in any department. Staff will walk students through the Graduate School’s specific requirements for theses and cover a wide range of the most troublesome issues thesis writers frequently encounter.
Writing a Thesis in Engineering
Thursday, October 5 (2 to 4 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
Designed specifically for thesis writers enrolled in thesis-credit hours in the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology. Staff will walk students through the Graduate School’s specific requirements for theses and cover a range of issues that students in engineering fields often find troublesome.
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| NIU Naperville, venue for Writing a Dissertation in Education. |
Saturday, October 14 (9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at NIU Naperville, Room 119)
This one-day program at NIU Naperville is designed specifically for dissertation writers enrolled in 799 in the College of Education. Staff will walk students through the Graduate School’s specific requirements for dissertations and cover a wide range of the most troublesome issues dissertation writers in education frequently encounter.
Workshops
Tables/Figures/Pagination
Tuesday, October 10 (2 to 4 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
This hands-on workshop is designed to help writers comply with the Graduate School’s requirements for tables, figures, and pagination. Students should bring their work in progress on their own laptops. Staff will cover the specific format requirements, demonstrate helpful techniques and short-cuts in Microsoft Word, and allow generous time for individual troubleshooting and one-on-one consultation.
Thursday, October 12 (2 to 4 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 103)
This hand-on workshop will teach the documentation style of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, known as ASME journal style. Using real-word examples, students will apply the principles in real time to their own writing. ASME journal style is ideal for research documentation in all departments of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
Friday, December 2, 2016
Stop Reading and Start Writing: Good Advice?
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| The Passion of Creation, 1892, by Leonid Pasternak (1862-1945). |
This entry is dedicated to those of you working on the dissertation proposal as well as to those who’ve cleared that hurdle. At bottom it also calls out to thesis and dissertation writers in STEM and related fields.
Slouching towards Proposal’s End
It was rough, putting my dissertation proposal together. Winter merged into early spring as I ran ideas past my director and formed my committee, taught two sections of English 203, and completed an internship on campus. All the while I was steadily tracking down books and articles and even a few dissertations related to my research, reading them extensively and intensively, rereading notes and papers from courses I took last year and several years before that, compiling a colossal bibliography, staring into space, making notes and plans in my head and on paper and screen, thinking ideas aloud during long walks and bike rides, and trying to explain what my dissertation would be like to colleagues, friends, and family members whose quizzical grimaces, doubting frowns, and muffled guffaws in response to my ramblings linger on in bittersweet memories of that drawn-out span of time. The best part of it, of course, was when the actual writing happened. Once I finally entered the “zone” and was drafting and revising my proposal in earnest, things moved ever more smoothly and swiftly.
Sound familiar? Most likely you can offer up an account like the one above about your progress on your proposal (or, for that matter, your progress on just about any major writing project). Plenty of similar accounts on the proposal can be found on relevant blogs like The Thesis Whisperer (a particularly popular blog, which we here at Project Thesis recommend). Such accounts tend to convey the idea that accomplishing the proposal is like completing the dissertation in miniature. It’s a big project but not as big as the main event. It’s simply another engagement with the writing process. Many predictably advise that in order to complete it you must eventually do two very important and rather obvious things: stop reading and start writing. But, in the cold light of second thought, to what extent is that bit of advice helpful?
Stop reading?
It’ll never happen. No matter how many times others tell you to stop reading and start writing, no matter how many times you say this to yourself, those words and the message behind them won’t dissuade you from naturally turning from your writing, at some point, to read something else. Perhaps it’s a secondary source like another research article that may shed more light on your project. Perhaps it’s a book chapter you read two months ago that now seems to deserve another look. Perhaps it’s a primary source, a text or study you’re analyzing and have read countless times before but now feel compelled to return to once more. Turning to readings such as these when you need to be writing is often branded taboo. Consider, however, that in some cases this judgment may a bit too drastic. Recall the writer in the picture at the top of this page. He’s clearly engaged in the writing process but isn’t putting words down. He appears to be working out an idea in his head. What should he do next? Continue thinking with his eyes closed? Draft whatever comes to mind? Why not turn to some of the notes or books by his side?
Reading through a Writing Delay
Sometimes during the writing process writers get stuck in the drafting or revising stages and need to find a way back in. Temporarily revisiting the pre-writing stage at such times can be a constructive move. Among the various strategies for pre-writing, there is certainly a place for reading or rereading old or new sources. Yet when you do turn to reading or rereading such materials to reactivate the writing you need to do, heed these tips:
• Set suitable reading parameters
For example, if you’re proposing a dissertation on popular songs during the American Civil War,
clearly you should stick to sources within the boundaries of this topic area and avoid irrelevant
readings about, say, Modern Art.
• Read and write in tandem
Reading broadly and deeply is a fundamental component of your project, but, naturally, you do need to write in order to complete it. However, instead of thinking you should be either reading or writing, accept that, as you progress, both reading and writing can overlap.
No matter what your field is, embracing reading while working through each stage of the writing process is an idea worth considering. Certainly, however, the nature and scope of the reading involved will vary from one field to the next.
A Call to Writers in STEM and Related Fields
Incidentally, if you happen to be working on a thesis or dissertation in the sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics, or related fields, we’d be interested in hearing from you about your experiences with your project proposal (or hearing about your project as a whole). What important differences in process or approach do you notice between your own work and what you read about here (and elsewhere)? We invite you to drop ideas in the comment box below.
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