Nov 28: Surviving and Thriving in Graduate School - PhD

What a great day!!  Today I hosted the first of four conversations in the Surviving and Thriving in Graduate School series.  A big thank you to Gwyneth Meyers, Educational Technology / Learning Sciences, and Tanya Mudry, Counselling, who shared their deep expertise and experiences as post-candidacy doctoral students and fielded many questions from their peers about strategies for success in preparing the research proposal and getting ready for candidacy exam.

"Keep writing - every sentence is a sentence closer to being done"

It was very exciting to attract and to engage with 25 doctoral students from across specializations in a conversation about the doctoral research proposal and candidacy exam. The conversation took place in Education Tower 114, the "Glass Oral Exam Room", in Graduate Programs in Education office. Given the interest, and range of questions, I aim to book future conversations that focus exclusively on the candidacy exam and the dissertation oral exam. Stay tuned!

Graduate Programs in Education Resources

Several resources on the GPE Website will be helpful as doctoral students navigate the development of their research proposal and prepare for candidacy.  You will find the following documents on the GPE Website that will guide the preparation of your research proposal and preparation for candidacy exam:

• GPE Guidelines for Doctoral Oral Candidacy Examination
• GPE Written Requirements Prior to Oral Candidacy – EdD 
• GPE Written Requirements Prior to Oral Candidacy – PhD

Our School of Education is unique in that we offer two doctoral program pathways:

• The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 
• The Doctor of Education (EdD)

Doctoral students in both pathways complete coursework both in research methodology and in their discipline, prepare a research proposal, sit a candidacy oral exam based on the research proposal, and then write a dissertation that is examined by committee in the dissertation oral exam.  You can study the distinctions between the Research PhD and the Professional EdD. 

Faculty of Graduate Studies

• My GradSkills provides a comprehensive range of professional and academic development opportunities to give graduate students the skills they need to succeed before and after graduation, such as academic writing, preparing for candidacy and project management: http://grad.ucalgary.ca/mygradskills.
   
• 3MT - Three Minute Thesis Competition, an internationally recognized research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland in 2008. The exercise challenges thesis based graduate students to present a compelling presentation on their thesis topic and its significance in three minutes or less:  http://grad.ucalgary.ca/mygradskills/3MT

University of Calgary Library

• Student Services:  There is a diverse array of courses offered by the Library on Literature Search (Very Important and Useful!!), Academic Writing, Thesis Formatting, Mendeley, EndNote, RefWorks, and more. I encourage all graduate students to take advantage of these great learning opportunities:  http://library.ucalgary.ca/workshops

In conclusion, this is only a start to our ongoing conversations in Graduate Programs about how to Survive and Thrive in Graduate School, and a starting list of resources - I hope you find this blog one stocked with vital resources to scaffold and support your success in the doctoral program. Upcoming conversations are listed below.

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Winter 2014

Surviving and Thriving as an Education Doctoral Student
Online, Tues, January 28 - 1800-1930

In this second session, Dr. Michele Jacobsen and two colleagues, Dr. Jennifer Lock and Dr. Veronika Bohac-Clarke, will co-host a conversation that demystifies the transition from Year 1 to Year 2 in the Education Doctorate.

Surviving and Thriving in the Specialist MEd
Online Tues, February 25 - 1800-1930

In this third session, Dr. Michele Jacobsen, and Dr. Sal Mendaglio and Dr. Jim Brandon, will co-host a conversation that demystifies the transition from Year 1 to Year 2 in the Specialist MEd.

Surviving and Thriving as a Master’s Thesis Student
March 13, from 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Graduate Programs Office, EDT 114a

In this fourth session Dr. Michele Jacobsen and Dr. Sharon Cairns from Educational Research and Educational Psychology will co-host a conversation that demystifies the transition from Research Proposal to Thesis Oral Exam.