UMBC’s grad students stated that they enjoyed the Dissertation House experience and were pleased with their progress. The week included discussions by the counseling center, an elevator pitch exercise, a writing exercise, and mini-lectures on organization and working with your advisor.  The next Dissertation House will be held at the University of Maryland College Park from tomorrow until Friday.

Students from Gerontology, Information Systems, and Psychology participate in a goal-setting exercise on Day 1 of the UMBC DH.

All students at the UMBC Dissertation House enjoy a daily buffet lunch in UMBC's Skylight Room.

Each mini-lecture includes discussion and feedback. Mini-lectures are scheduled daily between 9 and 10 AM, and between 1 and 2 PM. These students are from Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, and Psychology.

Following two successful Dissertation House sessions at the University of Maryland Baltimore (Medical School, Downtown campus), and  UMBC campuses, we are looking forward to welcoming UMCP’s  students next week. This is the first summer that we are hosting Dissertation Houses on all three of the public doctoral research campuses in Maryland and the students say that they appreciate the convenience of having local sessions.  UMCP’s DH will be held in the  Pyon Su  Room 2108 of the  Adele H. Stamp Student Union. Sessions will start at 9:00 AM sharp. Breakfast, lunch, and a snack will be provided free of charge to all participants.

The Dissertation House at UMBC is sponsored by the UMBC Graduate School and PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. The Dissertation House addresses graduate school retention, a core value of UMBC.

• $3.80 in change, mostly quarters from the late 1970s

• One vial with gold dust from the “pan for gold” attraction at Knotts Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, California

• A small folded booklet with the Los Angeles Dodgers schedule for the 1980 season

• 68 baseball cards from 1978-1980, mostly of players who were already famous in 1980 (Reggie Jackson, Steve Garvey, Mike Schmidt, etc.)

• The Haunted Fort, book #54 in The Hardy Boys series by Franklin W. Dixon

• A copy of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson that was undoubtedly already starting to decay before I put it in the time capsule, taken from my parents’ shelf; my Great Aunt Janet’s maiden name is scrawled inside

• The sports section of the Los Angeles Times from May 17, 1980, with a lead story highlighting the heroics of the Lakers rookie Magic Johnson in a playoff game against Julius “Dr. J” Erving and the Philadelphia 76’ers.  The story begins like this:

“When they erect a statue of Magic Johnson in some prominent location in L.A., as they surely will soon, chiseled on the pedestal will be Magic’s favorite saying: ‘It’s winnin’ time.’  That’s what time it was Friday night in the Spectrum when Magic, a 20-year-old rookie, led the Lakers to one of the true upsets in National Basketball Assn. playoff history, a 123-107 win over the 76ers.”

• 40 issues of Sports Illustrated from 1979-1980, including this one (Orioles manager Earl Weaver on the cover), this one (Willie Stargell and Terry Bradshaw), this one (Larry Bird as an Indiana State student) and this one (Earvin “Magic” Johnson as a Michigan State student)

• 20 comic books featuring The Incredible Hulk (5), Captain America (4), Superman (2), Howard the Duck (2), John Carter, Warlord of Mars (2), Batman, Red Sonja, The Flash, Doctor Strange, and Dracula

• A note signed by me, dated Saturday, July 12, 1980:  “Tonight I seal the time capsule I have spent a month preparing.  The Presidential election is 4 months away.  Hostages have been held in Iran for 251 days.  Enjoy the contents of this time capsule.  They have monetary value, and value to those who read—and remember.”

Dr. Janet Rutledge, UMBC's Graduate Dean, talks with doctoral candidate participants at the July 2009 Summer Dissertation House on UMBC's Campus. Participants came from a variety of departments across campus including Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Information Systems, Public Policy, Mechanical Engineering, Gerontology, and Psychology.

Following a successful Dissertation House session at the University of Maryland Baltimore (Medical School, Downtown campus), we are looking forward to welcoming UMBC’s students next week. This is the first summer that we are hosting Dissertation Houses on all three of the public doctoral research campuses in Maryland and the students say that they appreciate the convenience of having local sessions.  UMBC’s DH will be held in Room 329 of the Commons. Sessions will be at 9:00 AM sharp. Breakfast, lunch, and a snack will be provided free of charge to all participants.

The Dissertation House at UMBC is sponsored by the UMBC Graduate School and PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. The Dissertation House addresses graduate school retention, a core value of UMBC.

The Dissertation House at UMB ends today.  We thank the staff of the Writing Center (Gerry Lardner, Jane Sellman, and Almeta Sly-Thompson) and the Counseling Center (Douglas Chay.) The following photos give you a glimpse of the activities that students participated in over the past few days.

UMB Dissertation House Group June 2010

Dr. Pollack works with Almeta Sly-Thompson of the UMB Writing Center

Lunch in the DH @UMB

Jane Sellman from the UMB Writing Center brings gifts

Dr. Carter coaches a student in a one-on-one session

Dr. Pollack talks with guest speaker, Dr. Calvin Williams (UMB Alum, Former PROMISE Peer Mentor, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology)

UMB opened the summer season of the Dissertation House on Monday with several students in the on-campus session, and others joining online.  The day opened with comments by Dr. Judith Pollack (PROMISE Coordinator at UMB), Dr. Renetta Tull, Dr. Erin Golembewski, and the Dissertation House’s own Dr. Wendy Carter. UMB’s Writing Center provided the afternoon mini-lectures on “Keeping it simple” and “Overcoming Writer’s Block.”Thanks to Gerry Lardner and Jane Sellman for their time.  Sellman also provided students with gifts from the Writing Center — good old-fashioned pens and paper … in various colors to stimulate the brain.

The UMB campus is preparing for it’s first Dissertation House.  We are looking forward to welcoming participants to the SMC Campus Center, Room 353 at 9 AM. The UMB Writing Center is co-sponsoring this event with PROMISE.

UMB Dissertation House announcement

Items to bring:

• Computer
• Power Strip  for your computer (there are never enough wall outlets for everyone’s computers.)
• Casual clothing for writing
• Hard copy of the draft that you will be working on.
• Jumpdrive to transfer your files when you need to print.
• CD player/iPOD if you like to listen to music while you work with earphones
• Books and articles necessary for your writing project
• Style sheet you will be using for your project–MLA, APA, etc.
• UMB’s guidelines/templates for writing dissertations (Reference UMB’s Writing page.)

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