The Graduate School hosted a thesis and dissertation boot camp to help students in the final stages of completing their master’s and doctoral programs on Feb. 13.
Students finishing their theses and dissertations can find the process overwhelming, causing them to panic. It is important to have a sense of community during such times. The Graduate School’s thesis and dissertation boot camp worked not only as an important resource to help students better understand the thesis template, but also provided a community to work alongside.
The event was split between a lecture, where students learned about templates used in different fields, and a writing session, where students could work on their documents and ask for help if needed. Tutors from the Writing Center were also available during the writing sessions. The event was come-and-go to accommodate the busy schedules of graduate students.
“I noticed that once you get one question, it often snowballs and other students have related questions,” said Kayla Schreiber, graduate document specialist. “I would encourage any student that are working on their project at any stage of the writing process to attend because we have the citation librarian and the writing center director to help with the writing process from start to finish.”
Students attending the boot camp were provided with various handouts to help them. One handout contained a list of deadlines for the semester, and another included support and mental health resources. Another contained guidelines for dissertations and theses from the dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Katie Anthony. The 48-page document from Anthony included information for completing the thesis, including citation management, templates, appendices, styles, submission and publication.
Students attending the boot camp said they found it helpful..
“The boot camp really helped me,” said Nazmul Hosen, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “In-person bootcamp is more personal and convenient than a recorded bootcamp.”
The Graduate School hosts a thesis and dissertation bootcamp every semester to help graduate students who are in the process of writing their theses. The Graduate School is also hosting a writing camp, where students have a place to sit down and work on their writing.
