GradProBlog

Teaching in a Cegep is a wonderful career option for graduate students who wish to stay within academia, but prefer a more hands-on approach rather than partaking in research initiatives. There are 48 Cegeps in Quebec and the good news is that even with only a Masters you can receive a full-time teaching position. This blog post will discuss three critical areas to consider when applying to a teaching position at a Cegep: the curriculum vitae (CV), the cover letter and the interview. Read more

A literature review is a fundamental component of a thesis because it grounds your research. It can also be a little daunting to start. This blog post unpacks what a literature review is, how you can start looking for useful research materials and when you should stop. Read more

The start of a new academic term is always a great time to reflect on some of your work habits. Last term you may have found useful techniques that helped you complete your assignments, but you may have also picked up some harmful routines that hindered your productivity. This blog post will give you ideas on how you can break some of your bad habits and take a step forward towards establishing meaningful goals. Read more

Statistical data may present hard-hitting facts to support a hypothesis or back up a claim, but it isn’t always the easiest or most aesthetically enticing information to communicate, especially during a presentation. This week's blog post speaks about data visualization and how graduate students can start visually communicating their statistics using a software called Tableau. Read more

Contrary to what you may think, eating well doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend a lot of money. This blog post will touch on ways that graduate students can make smarter choices when grocery shopping by creating a budget, planning their meals and doing a bit of research before heading out to shop. Read more

Putting together a bibliography or reference list can be a cumbersome process if you don’t have an organized system. Fortunately, there are three very useful reference management tools that graduate students can use to make compiling their references less of a headache. This blog post will discuss RefWorks, Mendeley and Zotero, free reference management software that can enhance productivity. Read more

This November will mark another GradProSkills Thesis Boost event, a 3-day writing retreat meant to encourage and refuel the writing process of graduate students so they can finish their thesis with confidence. As such, this blog post discusses the academic writing process and touches on three ways that graduate students can rethink their approach to writing their thesis and rekindle the intrigue that led them to their research. Read more

Similar to crafting essays, fund writing requires strategic skill and practice to develop an adequate pitch that will convince a committee of researchers that your project is meaningful. In the GradProSkills Fund Writing Strategies workshop, a variety of approaches are discussed to help create a successful funding application. This blog post will discuss three central questions that this workshop probes concerning the rules, the argument of your proposal and your communication plan. Read more

As a graduate student, you’ll find that there will always be an academic text that requires your attention. Readings in graduate school vary from those you need to do to prepare for your seminar discussions, to those you must indulge in to support your own research for your thesis, conference presentations or publications. This blog post addresses two reading methods to help you manage your academic workload: skimming and close reading (SQ3R). Read more

The GradProSkills team members were very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a workshop on classroom management with Carol Hawthorne from Concordia University’s Centre for Teaching and Learning. This workshop discussed useful strategies that can be implemented to plan and execute a meaningful learning experience. Read more