Graduate School Newsblog

Category: Succeeding in Graduate School

Articles about professional development and seminar announcements.

Thesis/Dissertation/Report Formatting Workshops – Summer 2018

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Are you working on formatting corrections for your dissertation, thesis, or report? Do you need help? Are you unsure where to submit your dissertation, thesis, or report?

Join the Graduate School (gradschool@mtu.edu) for group work hours. These workshops are provided at no charge to students working on a dissertation, thesis, or report. Staff will able to help with the changes required by the Graduate School for these documents in MS Office. Assistance will also be available for converting documents to PDF from Word and how to make simple corrections and check your document in Adobe Acrobat. The workshops will be in rooms with PCs with University software, or you may bring your own laptop. Distance students may contact gradschool@mtu.edu about remote assistance during these times via web conferencing.  If you need additional help outside of these times, please contact the Graduate School.  On a limited basis, one-on-one assistance may be available.

 Last day to submit a post-defense document to successfully complete your degree in summer is August 6 by 4pm EST!

All workshops will be held from on the following dates at the mentioned time:

  • Friday, July 20, 2018 | 3:00-5:00pm | EERC 0723
  • Thursday, July 26, 2018 |3:00-5:00pm | EERC 0723
  • Thursday, August 2, 2018 | 2:00-4:00pm |EERC 0723
  • Tuesday, August 21, 2018 |10:30am-12:00pm |EERC 0723
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EndNote Workshop at the Library

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Save time by using EndNote software to manage your citations. No prior knowledge of EndNote is required for this workshop. The session will cover: how to create and build an EndNote library, how to add references from online databases and PDFs, best practices for organizing your citations and incorporating references into a Microsoft Word document using EndNote’s “cite while you write” tool. The workshop is at 3 p.m. Tuesday, July 10 in Library 242 Register here.

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Tips for success in starting a new class

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Graduate students and faculty teaching their first course will find this recent post from Tomorrow’s Professor a quick and interesting read.  It offers practical advice on how to set up your class for success from day one, and gives advice on how to balance teaching with research responsibilities.  It’s important to have balance in our careers, and advance planning is one part of it.  Although everything about teaching a class can’t be planned in advance, the more advance planning you can do, the smoother your semester will be.

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How Not to Plagiarize

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Having trouble deciding when you need to cite a source? Not quite sure whether you should quote that paper you’re reading or summarize it? Worried about whether the passage you summarized is too close to the original? Join us from 4:05 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday (April 12) in Library 242, for a workshop on citing your sources and how to avoid plagiarism. Feel free to bring specific questions or examples.

Please note that this workshop does not focus on the nuts and bolts of any particular citation style (e.g. APA, MLA, etc.), but a broader discussion of when it’s appropriate to cite. You can register to attend.

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Create a “Board of Advisors” for your PhD

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In a recent interview with Dr. Ansley Abraham, director of the SREB Doctoral Scholars Program, he recommends forming a “Board of Advisors” to help you complete your PhD. Forming strong relationships with a variety of individuals who can support you will help your current and future career. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and don’t wait until it is too late. Read more in Tomorrow’s Professor, issue #1633.

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EndNote Workshop

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Save lots of time by using EndNote software to manage your citations! No prior knowledge of EndNote is required for Thursday’s workshop. During the session, we will cover how to create and build an EndNote “library,” add references from online databases and PDFs, and best practices for organizing your citations.

How to incorporate references into a Microsoft Word document and changing output styles will also be covered.

The workshop is at 5:05 p.m. Thursday (March 29) in Library 242 Register here.

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Career paths for PhD graduates

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Did you know that the career paths for a PhD are (probably) infinite? Since all PhD students are trained in academic environment, the assumption has been that most doctoral students enter academia after graduation. This assumption, however, is not based in current reality. Graduates can find rewarding careers in industry, government labs, and a variety of academic positions. Read more about this in the Chronicle of Higher Education, where they profile a number of participants in a Preparing Future Faculty program and see where their careers are today.

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EndNote Workshops at Van Pelt & Opie Library

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Learn how EndNote can help you easily create and manage bibliographic information and incorporate references into your writing. EndNote also offers a relatively easy way for faculty to upload citations into Digital Measures.

The “EndNote Basic” workshop will be from 1:05 to 2:15 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 26). During the session, we will cover how to create and build an EndNote “library,” add full-text documents and best practices for organizing your references. The workshop will be held in Library 242 and registration is required. Register for EndNote Basic.

The workshop “EndNote Cite While You Write” is from 2:15 to 3 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 26). Learn how to incorporate your EndNote library citations into a Microsft Word document in the particular style your manuscript requires. Attendees will also learn how to locate and import specialized output styles. Attending EndNote Basic, or prior knowledge of building and managing an EndNote library, is recommended.

This workshop is a continuation of EndNote Basic and will be held in Library 242 as well. Registration is required.

Our Library 242 instruction room has EndNote X8 installed on Windows workstations. Attendees may bring their own laptops with EndNote X8 downloaded prior to the session. Visit the library’s EndNote LibGuide to download the software and get a sneak peek at what EndNote can do for you

Click here to view all of the library’s upcoming workshops. Email library@mtu.edu with any questions.

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Formatting 101: New Summer Seminar Series

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Students preparing a dissertation, thesis, or report are invited to a new seminar series this summer designed to answer the questions we most commonly see in the Graduate School.  Faculty and staff who assist students are also welcome to attend.  The general format will be a 30 minute presentation with time for your questions.

Our first seminar will be “Formatting 101: Using the Guide and Template.”  We’ll discuss how you can use the Guide to find the formatting rules, and the template for signature/approval pages.  Additional details:

  • Date: May 24, 2017
  • Time: 2:30 – 3:25pm
  • Place: Fisher 138 or live stream

Please register to attend on campus or to view the live stream so that we can plan for your attendance.  Individuals who register for the live stream will receive log in information three hours before the event.

Dates and topics for the remaining two seminars in the series will be announced soon.  All materials (including video when available) from all Graduate School seminars are archived online.

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Keys to Graduate School Success

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In a recent article in Tomorrow’s Professor, the authors advocate that the three keys to success are:

  • Follow your passions and talents
  • Pick your advisor and lab wisely
  • Learn to write well

In the article, they expand on these ideas, and offer tips and suggestions to achieve them. One piece that particularly stood out to me is to “follow your passions.” Graduate school is challenging, but your goal is achievable if you lay a good foundation. One piece of that is to find a project that will motivate you even when the research is difficult and it seems like the project can’t be completed.

If you haven’t heard of Tomorrow’s Professor, it’s a great newsletter with tips and article for those pursuing or interested in careers in academia. It’s worth your time to read.

What are your keys to success in graduate school?  Do you agree with the authors?

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