ABCs of the PHD

Getting Most out of the Comprehensive Exam

The comprehensive exam is a milestone set in the PhD programs in the Faculty of Education. If you want to know more about the exam, please join this session. Rhiannon Gainor, who completed her exams in fall 2011, will provide a general preparation checklist for the comprehensive exam based on her experience. Paula Bush, who completed her exam in winter 2010, will provide some tips for completing the written component and for handling the oral component. Lisa Trimble, who will be defending her dissertation in a few weeks, will discuss the tips, strategies, and advice she found most useful during her comprehensive exam writing process, as well as the implications the comprehensive exam can have for your doctoral dissertation.

Learning from Triple A: Publishing Articles in Academic Journals

What kind of text is the academic article? What work does it do in disciplinary communities? What are editors and reviewers looking for when they read manuscripts submitted for publication? How can you increase chances of publication? If you have thought about these questions, please join this session. Dr. Large will talk about the importance of selecting the “right” journal for your article and the steps that you might need to take for publication. He will also give you an insight into how journal editors handle your manuscripts. Dr. Paré will briefly describe what he, as a journal editor and academic author, sees as the essential qualities of a good article and explain why those qualities are important to disciplinary communities. Lastly Dr. Asghar will give you tips for converting course papers, theses, or projects into journal articles and share strategies that graduate students can use in writing and publishing their work.

Why do we put ourselves through this? Stress management and healthy living basics for graduate students

Stress and fatigue are becoming a daily reality for many graduate students. If not properly managed, both may negatively affect health and performance. Multiple demands, however, make it difficult for graduate students to find time to take care of themselves properly. In this session, we will explore several easy ways to get energized and reduce stress levels by incorporating physical activity into the daily routine, choosing healthy snacks, and improving sleep habits.

Building a Career: Part-Time Teaching

Gaining experience in teaching at the college level is an important part of preparing for an academic career. This session is designed to inform graduate students in the Faculty of Education about the process of hiring part-time lecturers. Drs. Saroyan, Côté, Riches, and Dalkir will discuss how the process of hiring is handled in each department and provide you with tips for preparing yourself to become a part-time lecturer. If you intend to teach in the Faculty or elsewhere, please join this highly informative session.

Research Ethics and Academic Regulations

This session will explain the ethics review process for research involving humans. Specifically, we will discuss the regulatory framework, what does and does not need ethics review, and issues to consider when applying for ethics approval such as confidentiality, recruitment, use of secondary data, and the consent process.

For more information please contact Kay Yang.