Dr. Carter opened yesterday’s Summer Dissertation House at UMBC with a discussion on how to improve your working relationship with your advisor.  Tips included being on time for scheduled meetings, being prepared with written results and goals, and respecting the nature of the relationship by not treating it like a casual friendship.  The afternoon speaker was Dr. Jay LaVelle Ingram, Director of University Counseling Services for UMBC. Dr. Ingram took the group through some exercises and incorporated humor throughout her “counseling session.” The top discussions dealt with sleep deprivation and balance.

Some highlights from Dr. Ingram included the following points:

• If you don’t decide to stop, you WILL finish your dissertation.
• Have a vision of yourself as Dr. ________.
• You are running a marathon, not a sprint.
• Know the difference between necessities and luxuries. Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Food is a necessity. Exercise is a necessity.
• Learn how to say “no” without explanation, and learn how to say “yes” when people volunteer to help you.

Adhering to the doctor’s advice to take a “real” break every two hours, and to engage in something completely different from your work, members of the DH went downstairs and took an “ice cream break” around 3 PM to enjoy the free ice cream and waffle bowl cones that the university sponsored as one of the summer activities in the Commons.

Dr. Carter opened yesterday’s Summer Dissertation House at UMBC with a discussion on how to improve your working relationship with your advisor.  Tips included being on time for scheduled meetings, being prepared with written results and goals, and respecting the nature of the relationship by not treating it like a casual friendship.  The afternoon speaker was Dr. Jay LaVelle Ingram, Director of University Counseling Services for UMBC. Dr. Ingram took the group through some exercises and incorporated humor throughout her “counseling session.” The top discussions dealt with sleep deprivation and balance.

Some highlights from Dr. Ingram included the following points:

• If you don’t decide to stop, you WILL finish your dissertation.
• Have a vision of yourself as Dr. ________.
• You are running a marathon, not a sprint.
• Know the difference between necessities and luxuries. Sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. Food is a necessity. Exercise is a necessity.
• Learn how to say “no” without explanation, and learn how to say “yes” when people volunteer to help you.

Adhering to the doctor’s advice to take a “real” break every two hours, and to engage in something completely different from your work, members of the DH went downstairs and took an “ice cream break” around 3 PM to enjoy the free ice cream and waffle bowl cones that the university sponsored as one of the summer activities in the Commons.

This morning, we launched the first round of the Summer Dissertation House on UMBC’s campus. The day included introductions and goal-setting. Dr. Janet Rutledge, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education, was the afternoon speaker.  Dr. Rutledge discussed rules and regulations regarding defense preparation and graduation requirements. She also discussed the importance of putting in the work to develop a strong, professional, long-term relationship with your mentor.  In this case, your mentor is your advisor, and your relationship should be collegial and should be built to last.

The Dissertation House is comprised of a series of workshops, meetings, and seminars that are held on college campuses and at conferences to facilitate successful completion of the doctoral degree. The workshops emphasize writing the dissertation, preparing for the defense, and communicating with faculty. The Dissertation House is a program of the National Science Foundation’s PROMISE: Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) and is supported by the Graduate Schools at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), the University of Maryland College Park, and the University of Maryland Baltimore.  Growth of the program is also attributed to the Council of Graduate School’s Ph.D. Completion Project.

Greetings to all graduate students who are working on dissertations. Dr. Carter has posted the Summer 2011 Challenge!  We will have Dissertation House sessions in Maryland this summer, but anyone — in any state, in any country — can join us online. Click here to join us: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2011-challenge/ .  If you’ve participated in our challenges in the past, or if you are still working with us in the Winter 2011 Challenge section, we invite you to join us in the summer section.

Good luck … we look forward to supporting you!

We are in the process of planning for our summer sessions of the Dissertation House (DH).  DH sessions are being planned for the University of Maryland Baltimore (Medical School Campus) in June, UMBC in mid-summer (July 5-8, 2011), and UM College Park at the end of July. All of the dates and specific rooms on each campus will be announced soon. Please stay tuned.  In the meanwhile, please continue to participate in the Online Dissertation House: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/winter-2011-challenge/