Workshops and Development Series
The Graduate School offers several writing, teaching, communication, and professional development workshops and series. All workshops and development series adhere to the Attendance Policy and the Synchronous Zoom Workshop Policy. Both policies are posted at the bottom on the page.
Development Series
Development Series are non-credit course-style workshop series that provide sustained support, practice, and feedback on key aspects of teaching, communication, writing, and career management. Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at any stage of their careers and in any discipline should enroll in these Development Series to improve their teaching, writing, speaking, and presentation skills, and preparation for industry. Development Series are non-credit bearing and free of charge (although some may require materials or refundable deposits).
Development Series that count toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate are indicated by an asterisk (*). Development series that count toward the Writing Certificate are indicated by a plus sign (+). Development series require compliance with the attendance policy. Email questions about Development Series to the instructor listed.
Spring 2023
Professional Portfolio Design
Tuesdays, January 17- April 25 | 1 p.m.- 3 p.m.| in-person, Engineering Building I, Room 2015
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Build your professional brand while you enhance your writing and visual design skills. In this multi-week development series, participants will craft a variety of job application materials and personal statements that they can use in future job searches and to create an engaging online portfolio of their work.
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
You may apply up to 44 hours from this workshop series towards the Teaching & Communication Certificate OR Graduate Writing Certificate.
Registration opens December 1
Writing Works-in-Progess
Wednesdays, January 18-March 8| 1 p.m.- 3 p.m.| in-person, College of Textiles Building,Room 2116
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Do you want to make progress toward revising your own article manuscript or research paper? In this development series, you will practice strategies for writing productivity, editing articles, and responding to reviewer feedback, alongside dedicated time for revision and feedback. Formerly called “Late Stage Journal Article Series,” this series is designed for participants who are currently in the process of writing and revising a journal article or research paper.
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
You may apply up to 16 hours from this series towards the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Registration opens December 1.
Writing Retreat
Monday, May 15-Friday, May 19 | in-person Talley Student Union
Save the date for our return to an in-person writing retreat! The writing retreat offers you an opportunity make progress on a major writing project through dedicated time to practice new productivity techniques in a supportive community. As with the past virtual retreats, you can also learn about campus writing resources through information sessions.
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
Additional information and registration link coming in March.
Workshops
Workshops that count toward the Teaching and Communication Certificate are indicated by an asterisk (*). Workshops that count toward the Writing Certificate are indicated by a plus sign (+). Workshops can only be counted for credit once unless otherwise indicated. Please be aware of the workshop attendance policy (below).
Spring 2023
Engineering Café: Writers’ Toolkit
Thursdays, Jan. 26 & Feb. 2 | 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. | Zoom
Facilitator: Katie Homar
In this two part workshop, we’ll focus on strategies for planning and managing a writing project, as well as fundamental tips for structuring engineering writing. You will clarify your writing goals for the summer and learn strategies to implement on current and future writing projects. We will use different genres of engineering writing projects as case studies, so participants will also gain tips for summarizing, paraphrasing, and synthesizing their writing projects.
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
You may apply 4 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate. Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to earn certificate hours. Note: Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to earn certificate hours.
Registration Opens December 1.
Engineering Cafés: How to Write in User-Friendly Ways
Thursday, Feb. 9 | 10 a.m.-12 p.m.| Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Get a head start on your next research report or paper with this 2-part interactive Zoom workshop. Explore strategies for effectively organizing information for your readers, such as structure reports for technical and non-technical readers, building data commentary sections, writing clear sentences and more.
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
You may apply 2 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate. Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to earn certificate hours.
Registration Opens December 1.
Engineering Cafés: How to Write Concisely
Thursday, Feb. 23 | 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. | Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Do people say that your writing is wordy? In this interactive workshop, we’ll address the challenge of building clear, concise sentences that represent your science to diverse stakeholders. Using Richard Lanham’s famous “Paramedic Method” and other approaches, participants will leave the session with strategies for “user-friendly” sentences in reports and other workplace documents.
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
Participants may apply 2 hours towards the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Registration Opens December 1
Engineering Cafés: How to Research & Design Lit Reviews
Thursdays, March 2 & March 9 | 10 a.m.- 12 p.m.| Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
In this two-part workshop, we’ll go through the process of composing comprehensive literature reviews (papers, chapters). Explore best practices for literature searches with the NC State Engineering Libraries Team in the first session and then learn how to write about literature and organize the lit review in the second meeting.
Open to all grad students and postdocs.
You may apply 4 hours from this development series toward the Graduate Writing Certificate. Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to earn certificate hours. Note: Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to earn certificate hours.
Registration Opens December 1.
Writing Workshop: How to Synthesize Literature Reviews
Wednesday, March 22 | 1 p.m.- 3p.m.| Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
You’ve gathered lots of articles and other sources. What next? In this workshop, we address tips for effectively structuring and synthesizing sources (“literature”) in journal articles and research papers, as well as other ways that academic writers use literature in their work.
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
Participants may apply 2 hours towards the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Registration Opens March 1
Writing Workshop: How to Structure Results & Discussion Sections
Wednesday, March 29| 1 p.m.- 3 p.m.| Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Write up the results! There’s more to it! In this workshop, we explore how to create strong results, discussion, and conclusion sections. You’ll learn strategies such as how to options for structuring these sections of research papers, how to write data commentaries, and answer the “so what question” (impact) about your research.
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
Participants may apply 2 hours towards the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Registration Opens March 1
Writing Workshop: How to Craft Abstracts and Introductions
Wednesdays, April 5| 1 p.m.-3 p.m.| Zoom Webinar
Facilitator: Katie Homar
Where to start? In this workshop, we tackle the challenge of composing two key components of a research article: Abstracts and introductions. You’ll learn how to use and adapt several types of abstracts and the famous Create a Research Space (CARS) model for introductions.
Open to all graduate and postdoc trainees.
Participants may apply 2 hours towards the Graduate Writing Certificate.
Registration Opens March 1
Accessibility
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Requests can be served effectively if notice is provided at least 10 days before the event. Direct accommodation requests for professional development programs to professional-development@ncsu.edu.
Synchronous Zoom Workshops Policy
Unless otherwise noted, our online workshops and development series are synchronous Zoom meetings. These events are designed to facilitate discussion of the material through interactive exercises, polls, small group discussions, and other activities. When you register for a workshop or series, you are indicating that you are able to participate in a Zoom call at the scheduled date(s)/times(s). Only participants who attend the Zoom session(s) will receive access to workshop materials.
If you have a schedule conflict, you should drop the workshop or series using REPORTER to allow participants from the waiting list to enroll.
Attendance Policy
Participants who cancel their registration for any Professional Development event (e.g., workshops, seminars, symposia) more than 24 hours before the first session of an event will not be penalized. Registrants who fail to attend an event or who cancel their registration less than 24 hours before the first session of an event will be marked as a “No Show” for the event. Those with two recorded “No Shows” will automatically be dropped from all future Professional Development events for the remainder of the semester in which the two “No Shows” occur.
This policy is in place to encourage students to practice time management and professionalism. The instructors create materials and activities based on attendance so this information needs to be as accurate as possible in order for participants to get the most out of the session.
For development series, please review the syllabus for the attendance policy specific to your course.
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Digital Badges
The professional development team is pleased to announce new opportunities for digital credentialing. We will be issuing evidence-based badges through the Graduate School NC State account at Badge List. You can display the badges you’ve earned on your LinkedIn page. Create an account to get started, then join our group using this code: gradpack. We will add new badges throughout the year, so check back often.