Doctoral Completion Cohort Program

Are you in the final stages of doctoral thesis writing? Are you hoping to submit your thesis this spring in anticipation of Fall convocation?  

If so, consider joining our informal, online, cross-disciplinary cohort of doctoral thesis writers. The goal of the Doctoral Completion Cohort Program is to provide a space for doctoral thesis writers to gather and support one another through the intense process of finishing a thesis. The cohort will be facilitated by Rachael Cayley, Director of the Centre for Graduate Professional Development and Associate Professor, Teaching Stream at the Graduate Centre for Academic Communication.

Starting on January 22, we’ll gather online on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons for goal setting and reflections. The cohort will last for 12 weeks, ending on April 12. Throughout, our aim will be to create a mutually supportive community of doctoral writers committed to building healthy writing routines.

The program will take place online and will be accessed via Quercus. The Quercus site will be a place to ask questions, post accomplishments, share resources, and arrange co-writing times. Joining this cohort is a low stakes way to connect with others who are going through a similar experience. And if you have specific questions about thesis writing, you can join the Wednesday lunchtime Q&A session with Rachael. Should you edit as you go? How should you plan your writing time? Can freewriting help when you’re stuck? How can you convince yourself to let go of your writing? Should you set qualitative or quantitative writing goals? Or anything else you are wondering about.

Registration for the Winter 2024 cohort is now closed. If you have questions, please email cgpd@utoronto.ca.