A&S Support for Graduate Student Development

The Faculty of Arts & Science supports graduate students within and across academic units through the Milestones and Pathways funding program, as well as other writing and professional development services:

If you are a graduate student, join our Quercus site for resources and information about up-coming workshops.

Important Note: Given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and the government health and safety guidelines, we will be hosting sessions online.

Graduate Writing Support

Dr. Daniel Aureliano Newman (Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream) offers a variety of writing supports to graduate students in the Faculty of Arts & Science, such as the following:

  • Workshops on specific genres (e.g. grant proposals, literature reviews), style (e.g. strategies for clear scholarly writing), and process (e.g. revision strategies).
  • Roundtables, featuring a small number of faculty and/or graduate-student panellists, discussing a given topic (e.g. “Publishing Your Work as a Graduate Student”).
  • Writing Groups, in which graduate students regularly share and offer feedback on work-in-progress.
  • Peer-review Sessions that allow students to get feedback on pre-circulated drafts of their writing (e.g. grant proposals, post-doctoral applications, cover letters).
  • Writing Camps offering participants 2-3 days of structured writing time.

Visit his website for upcoming events and workshops.

Dr. Newman also works directly with academic units to help graduate students improve their writing skills and overcome obstacles to writing. Contact Dr. Newman with ideas, suggestions or requests for activities in your unit.

Graduate Professional Development Support

Dr. Joel Rodgers (Coordinator, Graduate Student Professional Development) supports the academic, non-academic, and pedagogical development of graduate students in the Faculty of Arts & Science through a variety of faculty-wide and unit-specific activities.

He coordinates the A&S Pathways for PhDs workshop series that introduces A&S doctoral students to strategies and resources for finding meaningful work outside the traditional academic job market. Join our Quercus site for information about up-coming workshops.

He also works directly with graduate units to create or develop professionalization activities. For example, he is available to

  • Facilitate professional skills workshops (academic or non-academic), including tailored versions of A&S workshops (e.g. “Pathways for PhDs in Linguistics”).
  • Contribute to existing unit-level activities (e.g. offering guest presentations to professionalization courses, arranging alumni speakers for career panels).
  • Advise on new or existing program offerings (e.g. the creation of curricular or co-curricular professionalization courses).
  • Assist and offer feedback on the development of public-facing resources (e.g. alumni and career resource pages for unit websites or Quercus).

Contact Dr. Joel Rodgers to discuss and request support for activities in your unit.

Graduate Mental Health and Wellness Training Opportunities

As part of a commitment to enhancing the student experience, the A&S Mental Health team offers a variety of programming, resources and training that promote mental health literacy and encourage help-seeking. The mental health team can support graduate student wellbeing through:

  • Mental Health Education — Workshops and training on a variety of mental health topics to both enhance personal wellbeing and to build mental health helping skills.
  • Mental Health Wayfinding — Mental health resources and confidential assistance in navigating campus and community resources that can help when dealing with a mental health challenge.
  • Wellness Programming — Minds Redefined is a collection of A&S events, programs and initiatives that promote mental health and foster a culture of caring.

Other Important University Resources for Graduate Students