Groups

Coffee and Conversation

This support group is designed for returning students (25 years of age and older) who are returning to the university after an absence. The group meets every Monday from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. We invite you to join us for coffee and conversation in South Campus Dining Hall. We are there to share experiences and important information with you over brown bag lunches. Drop in, have a cup of coffee (on us!) and meet other returning students.

Dissertation Support Group

Many bright and otherwise capable graduate students somehow reach a "deadlock" while working through the dissertation process. Some students feel overwhelmed by the size or scope of this academic task. Many experience difficulties balancing their competing personal, professional and academic roles. Others may appear to procrastinate due to actual underlying concerns about graduating and facing the "real" world. Whatever the reason, this "deadlock" problem plagues graduate students everywhere. Because of the pervasiveness of this "dissertation deadlock problem," staff at the Learning Assistance Service has developed dissertation support groups specifically designed to help students:

• build skills relevant to completing the dissertation
• explore concerns associated with graduating
• subdivide the task into manageable goals
• complete their research projects

Staff do not advise students regarding the content of the dissertation; that is clearly the domain of the faculty advisor and the academic department. Rather, the goal is to alleviate difficulties regarding the process of completing the dissertation.

Support groups meet in the Learning Assistance Service of the Counseling Center, Shoemaker Building. Groups meet BI-weekly throughout the calendar year. They are FREE to all UMCP graduate students who are working on either a master's thesis or a doctoral dissertation.

To join a dissertation support group, register online at https://lasonline.umd.edu or call (301) 314-7693.