Writing Services

Thesis Bootcamp 2024: Graduate Student Writing Retreat

Presented by Writing Services

Are you a Master’s or PhD student trying to understand feedback and implement it in your thesis? If you are currently writing your thesis, take advantage of this free retreat to guide you through the feedback process. Along the way, we’ll talk about how to address some of the related challenges of writing a thesis. As part of the online retreat, you will learn to implement writing feedback, benefit from dedicated writing time, and apply essential writing skills.

Dates + Times

Day 1: Wednesday, December 11, 2024
1 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. (MT)

Day 2: Thursday, December 12, 2024
8:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. (MT)

Day 3: Friday, December 13, 2024
8:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. (MT)

Application Details

Deadline to Apply: Friday, November 8, 2024

Apply Here

Preference will be given to eligible applicants who demonstrate a strong interest in and the ability to benefit from the event. Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received.

Space is limited. Apply early to increase your chance of being selected.

Participants must commit to joining for all retreat sessions.
Registration for the event is free.

If you have additional questions, please contact Bhuva Narayanan at bhuvanes@ualberta.ca. Please make sure you put “Thesis Bootcamp 2024” in the subject line of the email.

Event Details

You are encouraged to establish writing goals with your supervisor prior to the retreat.
You should come prepared to engage in focused writing, reflection, creative thinking, and discussion related to your thesis or dissertation.
You will need access to high-speed internet, a webcam, and a microphone. You should also be familiar with eClass, Zoom, and Google applications.
Our professional writing advisors—who, in addition to holding advanced degrees, have years of editorial and scholarly publishing experience—will be available to provide individualized help.
If you are unsure about whether you will be able to attend all sessions of the retreat, please contact Bhuva to release your spot to someone who can commit themselves to attending those days.
We will share a schedule with participants before the retreat.

Testimonials from Previous Retreat Participants

I am so glad I attended—it has helped me gain a lot of momentum and make a lot of healthy progress on my dissertation since I attended.

They fostered a sense of community and it was really interesting to see my peer's process of goal setting and discuss our common struggles, despite coming from different backgrounds. Obviously, the dedicated writing time was excellent and knowing that so many other people were focused and working gave me a sense of accountability and allowed me to be much more productive than I usually am on my own.

The focus on mental health and its relationship with writing and being a grad student was really important. It is refreshing to see mental health being at the front of the discussion instead of something addressed as an extra step we have to consider as students.

It was my first time engaging in a platform like this, I never knew such existed. Being a part of it changed my perspective on writing, made me feel at ease knowing I wasn't alone in my situation and gave me the strength to continue writing.

I particularly enjoyed the sense of community - and the accountability that that provides. It helps to write with others on your individual projects, it helps build momentum. I found the check ins/conversation around writing also quite helpful, I don't think we address writing fears enough. And I really enjoyed the presentations/workshops as well! Long story short, it was great!

Overall it was a great experience! With a brilliant mix of useful activities and dedicated writing time. I also love that, as a result of the retreat, we now a Whatsapp group with several off the participants, and have already had at least one writing group each day (it's a casual continuation of the retreat and helps keep battle isolation!).

This totally jump-started my thesis writing. I feel so much more confident about getting through it, and have found some lasting motivation that I'm trying to take advantage of.

I felt like I was back at school by doing something together with people. The entire session helped me to get out of isolation, as I've been feeling swayed away from the university community. This retreat was really timely organized for me. Thank you very much!