TADA Workshop

Seven current NEAGEP students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently had the opportunity to attend a dissertation workshop with Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D., at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The workshop, entitled, “TADA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished: Practical Steps to Completing your Master's Thesis or Dissertation” was hosted by MIT on Feb. 28. Carter, who holds degrees from Stanford University , Carnegie Mellon University , and University of Wisconsin-Madison , breaks down the writing process into manageable steps that are designed to make the process less daunting.

Current UMass Ph.D. student and UMass NEAGEP member Lisandra Garay-Vega said that “the motivation and organization suggestions were most helpful for me,” citing Carter's method of setting deadlines and goals for smaller portions of the larger writing project. Garay-Vega also found the tips on communication with research advisors helpful, noting that Carter recommends students plan an agenda before meeting with their advisors in order to make the meeting as productive as possible.

Destinee Chambers, UMass Ph.D. student in Neuroscience and Behavior, found Carter's presentation both engaging and humorous. “Her plan is pretty manageable,” Chambers said, and mentioned Carter's “methods journal” might be a useful tool as she begins to write. Chambers has attended numerous NEAGEP-sponsored events similar to the TADA! workshop, and says she tries to take advantage of the many opportunities for such events provided by NEAGEP.

The Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (NEAGEP) is one of 26 NSF-funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program in the US . The goal of the NEAGEP is to increase the number of domestic students receiving doctoral degrees and entering the professoriate in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We are particularly interested in recruiting, supporting and mentoring students of those population groups underrepresented in STEM fields (i.e., African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders).

Spring Recruiting Weekend

Another Successful NEAGEP Science Day

NEAGEP Spring Recruiting Weekend Draws Underrepresented Students to UMass Amherst Life Sciences