4 Sunday Mornings
Summer 2006
June 18, July 16, August 13, September 10

8 Sunday Mornings
Academic Year 2006-2007
Oct 8, Nov 5, Dec 3, Jan 14, Feb 11,
Mar 11, Apr 8, May 6

WHERE: Center for Culture & Diversity

Note: Missed meetings will not be rescheduled

FINISH! is a monthly seminar (over 7-8 months) for doctoral students in education and the social sciences who want to make actual, concrete progress in completing the next phase(s) of the dissertation project.

WHY: Work on a dissertation while completing coursework and fulfilling clinical or training placement obligations is an enormous challenge to your time and energy resources. Research methodology and literature review can often be mystifying tasks for the first-time researcher.

Most students encounter fallow periods of feeling "stuck", avoidance, and procrastination as well as difficulty with specific tasks that can be confusing, tedious, or challenging. The FINISH! seminar will assist the student with identifying strengths and "areas for growth" in making progress and completing this singularly personal and challenging work.

HOW: FINISH! is designed to provide assistance with structure and planning for task management, demystifying the process, and tailoring support for the student to meet her/his specific needs. We will assist the student in setting realistic goals and in obtaining support for accomplishing concrete progress.

We can provide methodological support for both quantitative and qualitative projects.

The seminar didactic will augment the research methodology courses taught in your graduate program by directing you to additional materials for theoretical and practical guidance, offering efficient methods of scanning, collecting, and evaluating existing literature, and connecting with on-going on-line groups of professionals with topical expertise in your subject area. This can greatly assist in the literature review process as well as providing a source of subjects in some cases.

WHO: We will accept up to 8 students from local graduate programs who are serious about working on their projects and could benefit from support and structure to work through the obstacles that are commonplace in the dissertation process.

You can be at nearly any stage of the lifespan of the dissertation, from the conceptual beginning, formulating research questions, to selection of an appropriate methodology, proposal preparation and defense, HSC approval, sampling & data collection, data analysis, the Writing Of It , to final defense.

WHAT TO EXPECT: A student in the FINISH! seminar can reasonably achieve the completion of a next milestone or two within a year. Few students can complete the entire dissertation process from start to end in a single year while also completing coursework or satisfying a full-time clinical assignment. Students in the early process can be assisted in completing the work necessary to defend their proposal. Students in the data collection/analysis stage or the writing stage can expect to draw near to the final defense meeting. Peer support and technical assistance can be invaluable in this once-in-a-lifetime endeavor.

HOW TO ENROLL: To enroll or for more information, call us at 510/978-0221 or email us at finish@cultureanddiversity.com.