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Tips for Success

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  • A card sits on a table. The card reads "Ask Me Anything"

    Ask the Grad College: How Much Time is Enough Time?

    I spent about 2 hours completing my first homework assignment. After I turned it in, I learned that my friend spent 6 hours on the assignment. Should I be spending more time on each assignment?   



  • A business card sits on a table. "Ask me anything" is written on the card.

    Ask the Grad College: On Changing Career Plans in Graduate School

    I started my program thinking I wanted to go into academia, but I feel less and less interested in an academic job. I’m committed to finishing, but I don’t know what kinds of jobs I should look for. What do I do? 

  • New Year, New You: Taking a Holistic Approach to the Academic Year

    New Year, New You: Taking a Holistic Approach to the Academic Year

    New Year’s resolutions always seem out of place on an academic calendar. January is more of a pause, not the fresh start we see advertised in every grocery store checkout. Andrea Bridges is here to convince you that now is the perfect time to do some self-reflection.

  • A business card sits on a table. "Ask me anything" is written on the card.

    Ask the Grad College: On Taking Time off from a Busy Schedule

    haven’t seen my parents in two years, and I would like to plan a trip home. I have an RA in a lab with year-round research. How do I approach taking time off for this trip?

  • A business card sits on a table. Text reads: Ask Me Anything.

    Ask the Grad College: On Reading Teaching Evaluations

    The last time I read my teaching evaluations, I dealt with some complex emotions. Some of the feedback felt constructive, but a lot of it felt mean. How do I sift through the comments and find what's helpful within them?

  • A mind map graphic. The graphic reads: Mind Mapping: How it can help you, how to use it as a prewriting tool, and how to get started.

    Mind Mapping as a Prewriting Strategy

    Starting a writing project can be stressful, but developing prewriting strategies can help us be creative, build momentum, and get the most out of writing sessions. John Moist shares strategies for using mind maps as a prewriting tool.

  • Post-It notes on a desk.

    How to be Ambitious Without Getting Trapped by Perfectionism

    "Giving up perfectionism does not mean giving up ambitious goals. It means reframing our approach to ambitious goals so that we meet them without experiencing burnout."

  • A woman dancing between trees.

    Development is a Dance: Tips for a Non-Linear Journey

    "A baseball scout once told me, 'Development is a dance.' He was talking about how young baseball players don’t improve on a linear path. Some take steps forward and then back, or laterally, before figuring it out."

  • An open book on a window ledge.

    Thesis Summer Reading List

    A few years ago, we asked campus experts to recommend books for students who are working on their theses. In this year’s installment, their recommendations include books with writing tips, career exploration strategies, and stories to help you escape work to find balance. Here are their suggestions!

  • A person sits in their home and works on a laptop and takes notes.

    3 Quick Everyday Tips for Surviving & Thriving on Zoom

    Zoom fatigue is real. We share a few quick tips for before, during, and after online meetings that you can do to avoid burnout.

  • People sitting and concentrating at tables with paper and laptops by a white board with the text Writers Workshop Grad Writing Productivity Group.

    How Good Writing Habits Lead to Short- & Long-term Payoffs

    The Illinois Writers Workshop's Carolyn Wisniewski answers 5 questions about the Workshop and shares why writing is an essential part of the research process. 

  • Asian woman wearing glasses, with her hand on her chin, looks quizzically at a laptop screen.

    What Happens After You Submit a Job Application?

    You may not see it, but a whole world of people evaluate your job application, writes Derek Attig, who describes all that happens after you push Submit.

  • A comic about naming and resaving a document.

    How to Keep Track of Your Stuff or Four Horror Stories in Two Parts

    PART I: My file management horror stories and how they taught me to manage my data like a pro. 

  • A computer file directory with funny names.

    How to Keep Track of Your Stuff or Four Horror Stories in Two Parts

    PART II: My file management horror stories and how they taught me to manage my data like a pro. 

  • Person with compass on campus at the Hallene Gateway.

    Creating a Roadmap for Graduate School Success

    Grad school is stuffed with opportunities. This blog will help you start creating your roadmap in 4 simple steps!

  • Person in blue sweater sits at desk with pens, paint brushes, and notebook ready to write something.

    Three Simple Ways to Ease Into the New Semester

    I’ve always found the transition between break and the start of the semester to be particularly tricky. Help your body and mind ease into the new semester with these three tips! 

  • Student in dark shirt with stars sits on the quad and studies.

    5 Ways to Not Get Intimidated & Overwhelmed When Applying to Graduate School

    University of Illinois bioengineering graduate students share their top five tips for applying to graduate school.

  • Nitasha Zoom Friends

    How to Defend Your Dissertation, Virtually: Tips on Preparing, Presenting, and Celebrating from a New PhD

    On March 24, one day after in-person meetings and instruction at the university were halted and moved online due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nitasha Mathayas earned a new title: PhD. She delivered her dissertation defense—on students’ sensemaking using gesture-augmented simulations—via Zoom to her committee of Curriculum & Instruction faculty, her family, and friends. Over the next several weeks, many doctoral students will face the same situation. Here, Nitasha shares her experience and advice for holding a successful virtual dissertation defense.

  • cartoon of women working at laptop while giving a biscuit to her dog

    Working from Home: Take a Breath

    Like many of us, I’ve recently and suddenly found myself working from home. While the work I’m doing is pretty different these days, working from home is bringing back memories of writing my dissertation on fellowship. With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, I would spend days (and nights) hunched over my laptop. 

  • Lights on a wall read "work and play."

    Maximize Your Sleep, Rest, and Work

    In our first post on sustainability and productivity, Daniel Wong outlined three principles for a sustainable and productive life and introduced how they can apply to each of three key areas of your life. In this post, we’ll explore some actionable ways that you can implement these principles in the areas of sleep, rest, and work.

  • Time Management Strategies

    Graduate school is full of exciting new experiences and challenges as you develop advanced skills and use them in new ways. Graduate school takes time, and finding the right way to balance your time is critical to accomplishing your goals. In this video, I give you some time management tips that will help you with prioritizing, setting goals, and creating a plan. Prefer to read the content of the video? The full transcription is below so you can access the material in the way that works best for you. 

  • Person rides a magic carpet shaped like a dollar bill trailed by money led by a piggy bank over the University of Illinois campus.

    Funding Graduate School

    Graduate school is one of the most important investments in your future you can make, To ensure that you invest wisely, it's essential thatyou identify your main expenses, as well as develop a funding plan and a budget. Think of this as planting the seeds for a successful financial future in graduate school. It’s important to start thinking about these financial questions early and to seek out University resources that can help answer your questions.  

  • What to Do Immediately After an Interview

    You just finished a job interview. Moments ago, you hung up the phone or arrived back at your hotel room. What should you do next?

    In his most recent article for Inside Higher Ed, Derek Attig talks about things you can do in just 15 to 30 minutes to set yourself up for success in the next stages of the hiring process and beyond. This advice applies to any kind of job search -- whether in or outside academe.

  • Building Community in Graduate School

    By starting a graduate program at the University of Illinois, you have joined a large, vibrant community of people committed to exploring and understanding the world. You’re surrounded every day by tens of thousands of fascinating, dedicated, and creative people.

    Within such a large and dynamic community, though, it can sometimes be challenging to connect with others. You may be wondering how to find those connections and build relationships with people around you. Good news, though: everyone else is wondering the same thing.

  • Misty Road and Hot Air Balloons

    Roots, Routes, and Returns: Discovering an Effective Writing Process as a Graduate Writer

    It might surprise you if I were to share that first as an MA student and now as a PhD student in English (Literature emphasis) here at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, I have accumulated several 9 x 12 or 8.5 x 11 spiral-bound sketchbooks and that they have played a central role in helping me discover an effective writing process. So too have I used up the last drops of ink in a fair number of colorful pens and markers when writing across these surfaces. Thinking and writing for me, then, are inextricably linked in a visual and tactile process.

  • Getting Ready for Your First Conference Presentation

    Conference presentations are a curious genre. While they can draw from seminar papers, lab reports, and/or research proposals, moving from a written text to a spoken one—and delivering your work—can present a range of unique challenges. 

    Below are some tips and tricks that can help you get in the mindset of giving a conference talk, especially if you’re new to sharing your work in this way.

  • New Year - New Thesis Goals

    It’s February and your New Year’s resolutions have started to become habit… or fallen by the wayside. Fortunately, there’s still 11 months in the year to make your thesis a priority. The start of the new year and the new semester is a great time to think about what direction you would like your thesis work to go and to make plans accordingly. Below are five tips to help you set (and stick with) thesis-writing goals.

  • Get to Know the Scholarly Commons

    During open hours, the Scholarly Commons provides the technology and digital scholarship expertise you need to succeed in your research. We’re also a quiet comfortable study space where you can sip your coffee and use software like STATA, Photoshop, and SAS. Come to our workshops during the school year and go from Regular Boring Researcher to Savvy Researcher.

  • An Insider's Guide to Acing Your Thesis Format Review

    When writing a thesis, most students are focused on the content – and rightfully so! You want to make sure chapters are well researched and well written, the citations are placed correctly, and all of the data is recorded and analyzed. Formatting is probably one of the last things you think of. But paying careful attention to the overall look of your work is a key element to creating a polished and professional-looking thesis. The Graduate College Thesis Office is here to help!

  • Get an Early Start on this Year's Fellowship Applications

    Are you thinking of applying for an external fellowship or grant this fall? If so, summer is a great time to strengthen your application’s foundation. There are many things you can do over the summer to give yourself an all-important competitive edge.   

  • What I Wish I Had Known while Writing my Thesis: Tips and Advice from Grad College Staff

    When Emily began working at the Graduate College, she had just taken her final exam and was revising her dissertation. This task coupled with working full-time ended up being much more stressful than she could have imagined. Little did she know that Coble Hall is full of talented individuals who knew first-hand the struggles of completing a thesis and were happy to share their stories and advice. Read on for some of the feedback she found helpful!

  • The Art of Proposal Writing: Proposal as Roadmap

    In an earlier blog post, I wrote about the proposal as a genre — the story of your journey into uncharted intellectual territory, driven by a vision of your contribution to your discipline and beyond. Your reviewers are excited! They want to help you complete your journey! But, they want some details. The proposal is the roadmap you provide.

    There is no right or wrong way to structure a proposal. There may be disciplinary norms or funder guidelines, which is why it is essential to look at successful proposals in your discipline and read the program solicitation carefully.  Regardless of the structure, there are some commonalities in proposals across all disciplines and funders. Here are some tips for putting together a good roadmap for the reviewers...

  • Thesis Summer Reading List

    No matter if you’re studying for exams or working on your thesis, chances are your summer reading list is full of books and articles that pertain to your research area. But why not mix things up a little by adding a few to help with your writing and research skills?

    Emily asked several campus experts to recommend books that could help students who are working on their theses. Their suggestions range in topic from strengthening your writing and research skills to conquering productivity to finding relaxation. Check out their suggestions!

  • The Art of Proposal Writing: Proposal as Genre

    Mystery and suspense, a hero going on a quest…why am I talking about this in a blog post about proposal writing?  Because when you write about your research, you’re writing a story of ideas that explores uncharted intellectual territory. As you’ve developed your skills and knowledge of the field, you’ve identified a gap in what we know and a means by which you believe you can fill it. That’s what makes proposal writing a special genre.

  • Applying for Fellowships: Telling the "Story of You"

    When applying for fellowships, you may be asked to provide a personal statement, professional goals statement, or something similar.

    A personal statement gives you an opportunity to elaborate on and offer context for information contained in other documents, such as a résumé, CV, research statement, or letters of reference. It gives you a chance to write the story of you:  experiences that have motivated you, people who have inspired you, ideas you’ve pursued, and choices you’ve made. I’ll offer some strategies for approaching these kinds of statements, but first are some suggestions for what to avoid.

  • Copyright and Your Thesis

    Copyright can be a tricky topic for students working on their theses. With complex contractual language and so many rules and exceptions, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Luckily, University of Illinois Copyright Librarian Sara Benson is here to help!

  • Putting the Break Back into Winter Break: Managing Work and Play During Winter Break

    Semester breaks are the perfect time for some relaxation, spending time with friends and family, and filling up on delicious holiday snacks. But for graduate students working on their theses, winter breaks also mean ample time to get some research and writing done. During my seven-year career as a graduate student, I’ve spent plenty of time trying to achieve the best of both worlds. Though balancing data analysis and cookie baking can be difficult, below are a few tips to help you maximize your research time, and still have fun during the holiday season.

  • A view of Fellowship Finder.

    How to Find Fellowships That Are Right for You

    Let’s talk funding.

    Maybe you've heard someone say, “There’s a lot of money out there, you just have to look for it,” and thought to yourself, "Great, but where do I look?" Don't worry - we've got you. Our brand new Fellowship Finder database is now live. It showcases over 1,100 fellowship and grant opportunities that help students fund their graduate studies, and it features a new search process, with lots of options to make your search quicker and more precise.

    Fellowship Finder specializes in awards offered by external funders: government agencies, private foundations, corporations, and other entities outside of the university. We also include a handful of campus opportunities such as those offered by the Graduate College. Best of all, Fellowship Finder is a curated database, meaning that real people (we here in the Office of External Fellowships) make sure that the listings we include are truly useful to graduate students.

    How does the database work? Let’s take a look.

  • Learn a New Skill (or a New Language!) for Free this Summer

    Summer “Break” can be a definite misnomer when you are a grad student. You may not be sitting in class or teaching section, but experiments, research, and writing don’t stop just because the academic year has come to a close. Even though you’re still busy, the change of schedule for summer can make it a great time to develop skills you need to be successful in graduate school. Whether you’re trying to master an old skill or need to pick up programming/conversational French/business-plan-writing or any of hundreds of other skills you can think of – the university has free and/or low-cost tools to help you get the job done. Read on for some of the services you should take advantage of before school’s back in session.

  • Making Your Skills Make Sense Outside Academia

    I’ll start with the good news: as a graduate student, you have a ton of fascinating, impressive skills. You know how to do lots of different things, and you know how to learn even more of them. The bad news really isn’t so bad, just initially frustrating: many of those amazing skills you have aren’t always going to make a ton of sense to people outside your field, let alone outside of academia entirely. At least not at first.

    Does that mean those skills aren’t valuable outside academia? Absolutely not. It just means you have to be creative and translate them. By shifting how you think and talk about your skills, you can help potential employers see the links between what you've done and what they need—and make it easier for them to hire you. And you’ll also make it easier for yourself to discover and explore broad, interesting career options.

  • The Faculty Interview

    There’s nothing quite like a faculty interview to get you tied into knots. The stakes are high, the formats can be awkward, and it’s not really like anything you’ve done before. So it’s easy to be scared, anxious, worried, nervous, apprehensive—or just plain super-freaked-out. And that’s normal. But it’s a good idea to be some other things, too. Here are some ideas...

  • Four Ways to Make Your Research Presentation Stand Out

    It’s after midnight, you’re taking a quick look at the slides for your research presentation the next morning, and you have this distressing thought: “I think my research is interesting, but will anyone else?” No one wants years of hard work to be met with blank stares or a fascinating discovery to be dismissed by wandering minds. Your research is interesting, but how do you get people to realize that?

  • A teddy bear hamster runs on a hamster wheel

    Stop the Hamster Wheel: Making Plans in Grad School

    Graduate school can sometimes feel like running on a hamster wheel, like you’re in constant motion but not really sure that you’re getting anywhere.

    There are a ton of one-week deadlines (I have to write that literature review by Tuesday!) and a few five-year deadlines (I’ll defend my dissertation!), but bridging the gaps between those can be tough. And that makes it hard to figure out whether you’re headed in the right direction. Planning can help you build those bridges effectively, preparing you to make choices with your goals in mind so you don’t just keep spinning until you’re dizzy.

    So what makes a good plan? What will help you leave the wheel to the hamsters and make the most of grad school? Here are some approaches we recommend...

  • Going on the Market? Time to Get Started on those Applications

    Back to school is almost back. Soon, it’ll be time to put away the sunscreen and dust off your research. Time to fold up that beach umbrella and pull out those freshly sharpened pencils. With the start of a new semester, you may find yourself busy to bursting with things to do—new classes to prep and new deadlines to meet—but now is also a great time to get ready for the academic job market.