Doctoral Support Center & Doctoral Programming Blog

DSC Summer Programs

Summer is a time for fun in the sun, but for doctoral students this is also valuable research and writing time.  Maximize your summer time with programs from the Doctoral Support Center.  Here's the events on our calendar.  Make sure you check often for updates!

June

  June 2 – 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH B49

  June 11/12 – Writing Group Workshop WPH B49

  June 12 – 1 pm Preparing for your Proposal Defense WPH Rm. B49

  June 16 – 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH B49

  June 23th – June 26, 2011 - ODA Writing Retreat

  June 30 – 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH B49

 July

  July 7 – 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH B49

  July 16/17- Writing Group Workshop WPH B49

  July 28 – 5 to 9 pm Thursday Night Write Location WPH B49

Deadline: Summer Dissertation Submission

While the 2011 Summer Deadline for dissertation submission to the Graduate School isn't until July 1st, the date is coming up fast.  Don't wait until the last minute to get your submission ready.

In order to submit by that deadline, you must have had your dissertation defense and had any revisions approved by your committee.  Once you've done this and reviewed the formatting guidelines, you can begin the Graduate School's submission process.   For more information on Graduate School submission, you can download a DSC presentation from DSC on BlackBoard.

So how can the DSC help?  Annemarie worked as a thesis editor for USC's Graduate School for several years.  Once your manuscript has been formatted, she can review your PDF (please do not send in .doc form) for any errors prior to your uploading to the Graduate School.  Contact her by emailing <rsoedsc@usc.edu>.

Congratulations on reaching this stage in your doctoral journey!

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Photo credited to: Alan Cleaver

 

DEADLINE EXTENDED 6/3! Dissertation Writing Retreat (ODA) Summer 2011

Dissertation Writing Retreat (ODA) New Format

When we held the Dissertation Writing Retreat early in the Spring semester in its new format for the first time, the response was great and all students who attended reported that they made great progress. So we are holding another retreat at the end of June.

If you need some structured and quality time to write your dissertation chapters then apply today for the dissertation writing retreat. As some of you may already know with the new format we no longer offer the residential component, which minimizes any costs involved with this service. Please click on the application link below for further details.

ODA stands for "Operation Dissertation Acceleration" and is designed for doctoral students who need/want to set aside a serious block of time to make a significant push towardthe next step of their dissertation.

The retreat is targeted toward
students who:

• Have research question(s) but have not been able to
  complete chapters 1, 2 and 3 (the proposal); OR


• Have defended their proposal and collected data, but
  have not yet completed chapters 4 and/or 5.

 

Retreat participants will be selected and assigned to work directly with a DSC writing adviser. The ratio of advisor to students will be 1-to-5, meaning students will have a great deal of support and interaction on their project. In addition, participants will exchange papers and support each other through peer-to-peer feedback.

• Retreat Dates:
  Thursday June 23th – Sunday June 26, 2011


• New Format:

Thursday, 06/23/11 9 AM – 9 PM

Friday, 06/24/11 9 AM – 9 PM

Saturday, 06/25/11 9 AM – 9 PM

Sunday, 06/26/11 9 AM – 5 PM

• Application Deadline: June 3, 2011


• Acceptance Notification: June 10, 2011
• Fee:
  $200*
  
  Due: June 17, 2011
  
  (*The new fee amount covers three meals for four days per student)

 

If you are interested in testimonials of past dissertation writing retreat participants please access
the following online-presentation here.

You will need to enter the username and
password:

Username: rsoedoctoral

Password: doctoral1234

Applications may be downloaded here: Download ODASummer2011

For more information email Dr. Gokce Gokalp.

DSC Hooding Reception

Please join us for an informal reception in the DSC on Thursday any time after 12:00 noon, before the Ed.D. Hooding Ceremony!  We'd love to see you in your robes and offer you refreshments. 

All of us in the office are so proud of you!

K-12 Leadership Development Conference

Save the Date!

July 14^th, 2011

The USC Rossier Dean’s Superintendents Advisory Group will sponsor the

K-12 Leadership Development Conference

The Courage to Lead – Being an Administrator in 21^st Century Public Education

This conference, with career advice and networking opportunities for those who are interested in school site administration, district office positions, and in becoming a Superintendent, will feature panel presentations by current superintendents and site administrators, and a keynote address by Dr. Rudy Castruita.

The event will be held at USC’s Davidson Conference Center from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Watch for more details and registration information.

Cohort of 2009 End of Semester Updates

Dear Cohort of 2009,

      Hello! I hope your dissertation writing is going well. The following are a few updates as you prepare for the summer 2011 semester:

Summer 2011 Semester:

The summer semester officially begins on Wednesday, May 18. You will be taking your final two concentration courses and EDUC 790: Research in the summer 2011 semester. The official start date for the session 1 courses will be May 18 (Wednesday nights), May 19 (Thursday nights), May 20 (OC Weekends), and May 24 (Tuesday nights). If the class is using materials found on ARES, please remember that you must add the new course to your ARES list in order to access the articles. Please feel free to contact me if you need an additional copy of your summer book list.

Fall 2011 Registration: In the fall 2011 semester students will enroll in EDUC 794a: Dissertation. Students receive d-clearance for EDUC 794a once they pass their qualifying exam. The permit to enroll form for EDUC 794a is apart of the Report on the Qualifying Exam form.

Room Reservations for Proposal Defense:Once you have scheduled your proposal defense please contact Margaret Cyrus at (213)740-9323 or via e-mail at cyrus@usc.edu and she can help you reserve a room and parking for your outside member.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Fight On!

Nadine Singh

Celebrations

As the academic year comes to an end it's time to recognize achievements.  This year the Ed.D. Program Office and Doctoral Support Center have much to celebrate.  We would like to recognize the following staff members, all of whom are graduating this year:

Melisa Carson (M.E. Educational Psychology)
Rocke DeMark (Ed.D. Educational Leadership)
Roberto Montero (B.S. Industrial and Systems Engineering)
Annemarie Perez (Ph.D. English)
Nadine Singh (Ed.D. Educational Leadership)

In keeping with the schedule of graduation celebrations, the Ed.D. Program Office and Doctoral Support Center will have limited hours on Thursday, May 12th and Friday, May 13th.  Please contact the office before coming in to make sure that we're open.

So tell us, what are you celebrating this May?

 

Cohort of 2010 - May 2011 Updates

Congratulations on completing your core courses! You will now begin the next phase of the Ed.D. Program. Here are some important items you should be aware of for May.

Preliminary Review: As you should be aware, your Preliminary Review paperwork is due on Friday, May 6 at 5:00 PM. Please remember to send me your final core course papers electronically. If you need more information beyond what was described in the email, please let me know.

Summer 2011 Semester: The summer semester officially begins on Wednesday, May 18. Students in the Cohort of 2010 will be taking their first concentration course. The official start date for the session 1 courses will be May 18 (Wednesday nights), May 19 (Thursday nights), May 20 (OC Weekends), and May 24 (Tuesday nights). If the class is using materials found on ARES, please remember that you must add the new course to your ARES list in order to access the articles.

Summer 2011 Registration: Registration for the summer semester is currently open. Students should be registered in their first concentration course and Inquiry Methods I. Please note that the deadline to register will be on May 26 (for the EDUC 716 course in Orange County) or May 27 (for all other courses). 

Fall 2011 Registration: Registration for the Fall 2011 semester is now open. By now, you should have received a registration memo with complete details on the Fall 2011 semester. If you have not received a memo, please let me know. A booklist will be available later in the summer.

Summer Conference: The Ed.D. Program Office will be holding its Summer Conference from 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM on Saturday, August 20, 2011 at the Davidson Conference Center on the University Park Campus. The event will give you the opportunity to learn more about your thematic dissertation topic choices. The faculty chairs will be on hand to present on the various topics and answer any questions you may have. You will be receiving much more information in the coming months. You can also expect a brochure featuring the various dissertation groups by late-July or early-August.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you very much!

Hello Cohort of 2008,

Congratulations on your success!  Here are the May 2011 updates:

The Rossier Dissertation of the Year Awards encourage high quality research relevant to the field of educational leadership and recognize outstanding dissertation research conducted by doctoral degree recipients.  The winner of the 2011 Dissertation of the Year award is Sumun Pendakur.   Ms. Pendakur’s dissertation,   The Search for Transformative Agents: The Counter-Institutional Positioning of Faculty and Staff at an Elite University was chaired by Dr. Rey Baca.   A faculty selection committee chose her dissertation from others nominated by dissertation chairs, and the Rossier School of Education will recognize her at the doctoral hooding ceremony.  Congratulations to Sumun Pendakur, the recipient of this distinguished honor. 

Commencement: Graduation regalia is available for rental at the USC Bookstore through May 13, 2011.  If you cannot come in person, please contact the bookstore at 213-740-8997 for information on ordering over the phone.  Regalia rentals include the gown, hood, and mortarboard. Unfortunately, all Commencement Tickets have been distributed.  The Ed.D. Commencement facebook page is a great way to connect with students who might have extra tickets available. Parking is free on Thursday and Friday on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating for guests is also on a first-come basis. Line-up begins at 2:00 p.m. and the processional begins at 3:00 p.m. After the ceremony, a reception will be held next to Founder’s Park and Taper Hall.

Summer Registration:  Please note that, if you have completed all coursework, you are not required to register for summer.  If you choose, you can register for dissertation courses if you still need EDUC 792, 790, 794A or 794B.  After passing your qualifying exam, you are required to register every fall and spring semester, but not during summers.

Graduate School Deadline:  Summer graduates must upload their committee-approved dissertation to the Graduate School by July 1, 2011.

Fight On!

Melisa Carson

mcarson@usc.edu

213-821-1516

 

 

Accessing Archived Dissertations

Since USC started online submission of student dissertations five years ago, the libraries have amassed a sizable online archive of research from former students.  As a USC student you can access this archive through the .

To access dissertations from all over the country, go to the USC Library Website.  On the right side of the page, under research support, click on Find Theses and Dissertations.  This will allow you access to ProQuest which archives all dissertations from USC and other universities.

But if you just want to look at USC dissertations go to the USC Digital Archive.  Under "Advanced Search" check "USC Thesis".  You can then search by keywords.  

Happy researching! Someday your dissertation will be there too.