Below are the updated 2026 Graduate Writing Support programming offerings. Register for all events on our Engage page.
Dissertation Acceleration & Navigation Group (D.A.N.G.)
The Dissertation Acceleration and Navigation Group is a week of focused and dedicated writing time designed to jumpstart the dissertation writing process. If you have passed your proposal and want help jumpstarting, progressing or finishing your dissertation, we can help!
We will have structured writing time with scheduled breaks before we break for lunch (provided). The afternoon sessions will pick back up on with another presentation on an associated topic, sometimes from outside guests, before launching back into structured writing time. Each day will end with getting organized, reflecting on successes, and creating a plan for the next day.
January 2024 DANG attendees have reported an average of 24 pages drafted during the event.
When: Jan. 12 – Jan. 16, 8:45 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Where: Student Success Center
Please note that we are now only accepting participants on a waitlist for the Spring 2026 DANG week.
GradsWrite Groups
GradsWrite writing groups are our structured weekly writing groups for graduate students. Led by a Writing Center facilitator, thse community writing groups will run for 2 hours and members will be asked to share weekly goals, celebrate others successes, and receive celebrations on their own at the start of the meetings. The majority of the time will then be spent writing in a group setting.
Meetings will begin in Week 3 and will continue through Week 9.
| Available GradsWrite Groups | Time (all in Central Time) | Location | Register* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Morning Group, led by Reid | 9am – 11am | Zoom | Register here |
| Mindful Special Session Tuesday Morning Group, led by Donna Strickland | 9am – 10:30am | Zoom | Register here |
| Wednesday Evening Group, led by Kayla | 5:30pm – 7:30pm | Writing Center Space in Student Success Center | Register here |
| Thursday Afternoon Group, led by Don | 2pm – 4pm | Ellis Library 114A | Register here |
*Registering for the first group meeting will automatically register you into the remaining meetings for Spring.
GradsWork Groups
GradsWork Monday night and select Saturday morning sessions are drop-in work session where graduate students can get out of their offices, homes, coffee shops, or normal work space and be in community with other graduate students. Whether you are working on dissertations/theses, assignments for coursework, conference proposals/papers, article drafts or revisions, teaching lessons, or grading, all writers and projects are welcome.
When: Mondays, Jan. 26-May 4, 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.*
and
Saturday, February 7, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Registration coming soon.
Saturday, March 7, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Registration coming soon.
Saturday, April 11, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Registration coming soon.
*Please note there will be no GradsWork Session on Monday, March 23rd for Spring Break.
Where: Writing Center space in the Student Success Center
What to expect: We will invite participants to share goals at the beginning of the session, then work quietly and independently for the duration of the session. No general writing instruction will be provided at the sessions. We will invite participants to report progress and/or future goals at the end of the session.
No registration necessary! Please feel free to drop in.
GradsLearn Series
The Writing Center, in collaboration Campus Writing Program, will be hosting a 4-part GradsLearn series taking AI and writing as a central theme. Each week, one speaker will present on topics related to graduate research and writing processes.
We would also recommend attending Dr. Hatef Dastour’s “AI Foundations for Graduate Research Excellence” on Feb. 11, which occurs before our GradsLearn series on AI & writing kicks off on Feb 18! Register for Dr. Dastour’s talk here.
AI research tools are transforming the way we gather, analyze, and synthesize information. Join this session to go beyond GenAI and explore the capabilities and limitations of AI research tools through real-world examples from recent classroom experiences. We will discuss strategies for effective prompt generation, analyze search results, and examine the ethical implications of using AI in research, including concerns related to environmental impact and copyright. Attendees will see multiple AI research tools in action and will take away practical methods for implementation.
Speaker: Kimberly Moeller, Instructional Librarian, from our Library Information Service
When: Feb 18, 1pm-2pm
Where: Zoom
Your career in life is what you are working so hard for. In this GradsLearn session, Audra Jenkins, Career Coach, will help you learn how to leverage AI tools to streamline your job search, sharpen your materials, and stand out in a competitive market. We’ll discuss strategies you can implement at each stage of the job search from career exploration to salary negotiation.
Speaker: Audra Jenkins, Graduate Career Coach, Career Center
When: Feb. 25, 3pm-4pm
Where: Zoom
Use AI to help you tackle what may be one of the hardest parts about any writing project: creating a manageable and sustainable timeline. Join us to learn how to prompt AI to help it create an overall timeline for your writing project and set manageable goals; we’ll also talk about how you can then track and reflect on your writing time for more effective writing sessions.
Speaker: Dr. Bailey Boyd, Assistant Director of the Writing Center
When: Mar. 4, 3pm-4pm
Where: Zoom
Do you want to learn how to use AI tools to identify and analyze the features of their academic writing voice? Then this GradsLearn session is for you! We’ll discuss strategies for refining and adapting our writing voice to fit different audiences, contexts, and writing tasks.
Speaker: Dr. Christy Goldsmith, Associate Director of the Campus Writing Program
When: Mar. 11, 3pm-4pm
Where: Zoom
Thesis & Dissertation Formatting Workshops
The Writing Center will host 4 thesis and dissertation formatting workshops in Spring 2026.
These workshops will walk graduate writers through the formatting guidelines from the MU Graduate School and will demonstrate how to set up the thesis/dissertation document according to those guidelines. Participants should plan to bring their own laptops (to the in-person workshops) and documents and should already have Microsoft Word downloaded to their device.
Please note: As the focus for this workshop is formatting, no writing instruction will be provided.
When, where, and how to register:
Friday, March 13, 2026, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Townsend 111F (GradHub);
Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Zoom
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., Zoom
Wednesday, May 6, 2026, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Zoom
Finals Week Writing Retreat
The Writing Center, in collaboration with the MU Graduate School, will host a Finals Week Writing Retreat. This is an extension of our GradsWork weekly sessions, above. Lunch is provided to the registrants. We do ask that attendees pre-register at our link below, and are able to commit to the full writing day.
Please note: This retreat, like our GradsWork Sessions, are quiet spaces to work in community with other graduate writers; no general writing instruction will be provided at the sessions.