Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Doctoral Support Center (DSC)?

We are a team of three full-time specialists­­ serving students in all of the Rossier doctoral programs: Dr. Ilda Jimenez, Dr. Christopher Mattson, and Dr. Sierra Senzaki. The DSC is here to help you grow as a researcher and writer by acquiring and developing academic writing skills.

Students in the EDL and OCL programs can directly contact the DSC specialist assigned to work with their cohort:

  • Ilda Jimenez ([email protected]) works with the 2020 EDL cohort and all Spring OCL cohorts.
  • Christopher Mattson ([email protected]) works with the 2021 EDL cohort and all Summer OCL cohorts.
  • Sierra Senzaki ([email protected]) works with the 2022 EDL cohort and all Fall OCL cohorts.

Students in the Global Executive EdD and PhD programs can contact us at [email protected] to request assistance from a DSC specialist.

2. What services do you offer?

We offer a wide range of online services, both individualized and general, asynchronous and synchronous, to support you in your writing:

  • Visit our DSC Blog and Academic Tips Doc anytime for links to online writing resources, including the Checklist for EdD Dissertations and a series of YouTube videos featuring tips for various stages in the writing and dissertating processes.
    • Pro tip: Bookmark the Academic Tips Doc in your browser so that you can easily revisit it every time you have a writing question.
  • If you’re looking for a more sustained (but still asynchronous) form of engagement, join your peers in our DSC Google Classroom. Dr. Mattson regularly posts tips and helpful prompts for you and your peers to engage with. Email us at [email protected] learn how to join.
  • You may request an appointment for an asynchronous draft review of a course paper. (Students in the EDL program may also request a draft review of a dissertation chapter.) Please be aware that the DSC does not review the same writing twice and only reviews writing before it is shared with faculty. Your assigned DSC specialist will provide feedback on aspects of your writing such as clarity, flow, logic, and general writing issues. The first year of the program is the best time for a student to seek DSC feedback—ideally for final papers or the major writing assignment for a course. Students who struggle with early class assignments should also contact the DSC for assistance. See the Doctoral Support Center page on the DSC Blog for the link to the draft review request form.
  • In need of designated writing time? Join us at our Times to Write, which provide you with time, (virtual) space, and community to support your academic writing. Students can attend on their own or gather a group of peers -- writing accountability buddies are highly encouraged! See the Events page on the DSC Blog for more information and to RSVP. Keep an eye out for email announcements about even more DSC events.
  • Do you have a writing-related question? In need of a conversation about your writing? Email your assigned DSC specialist! (You can find our email addresses below or on the Contact Us page of the DSC Blog.) We are always happy to offer support over email or schedule a one-on-one Zoom meeting.
  • Depending on availability, the DSC or your assigned specialist might offer additional events and opportunities. We are always looking for new ways to support you, so keep an eye out for emails from the DSC and from your assigned specialist.

3. Can you edit my paper?

We do not offer editing services. However, we can teach you how to revise, edit, and proofread your own writing. A good place to start is our DSC Academic Tips doc, especially the resources in these sections: “Apply proper APA 7th edition format,” “Employ APA style, academic language, clarity, and conciseness,” and “Proofread for errors, plagiarism, and potential improvements.” For more targeted help, you can ask your assigned DSC specialist to point you toward resources and strategies for addressing specific types of errors. If you are interested in receiving feedback on a paper draft, you may request a draft review. (Please read “How the DSC Can Best Help Students” to learn more about draft reviews and whether you are eligible.) You can also schedule a meeting with your assigned specialist to discuss revision, editing, and proofreading tips.

4. How long does it take to get a paper reviewed?

There are two important factors in the draft review turnaround time: your DSC specialist’s availability and the length of your draft. When you submit a draft review request, you will be asked to indicate the day your draft will be ready and the assignment due date. Your DSC specialist will check their availability and let you know which day they are able to read your draft. On that appointment date, you will email a Word document containing your best draft to your specialist to read. Most draft reviews are completed by the end of business hours on the appointment date. However, longer drafts (e.g. EDL dissertation chapters) may take longer to review.

Please keep in mind that each draft review request should be made online no later than a few days before the assignment due date. This will allow time to schedule the review and for you to revise your draft based on your DSC specialist’s feedback.

We highly recommend that you submit draft review requests early in the term because we often receive a high volume of draft review requests for the same assignments and deadlines. While we hate to turn students away due to lack of availability, it does sometimes happen. Furthermore, sometimes we don’t see last-minute draft review requests until it is too late to help if they are sent outside of business hours or while we are out of the office.

Please be aware that we only review writing prior to submission to faculty and we do not review the same piece of writing twice.

5. I already know APA 7th edition style backwards and forwards. Do I still need the DSC?

Yes! The DSC offers support far beyond sentence-level editing and APA formatting. We can help you understand and navigate the dissertation process; develop writing plans and schedules; refine your argumentation; provide tips for finding, reading, and synthesizing existing literature; and more.

6. I’m a good writer and I am earning all A’s in my coursework. Can I benefit from using the DSC?

Yes! Writing is hard, and doctoral-level academic writing is especially so. We firmly believe that even the strongest writers benefit from continuing to hone their craft in preparation for writing a dissertation, which is an undertaking on a very different order from anything you have been asked to produce for class. Your dissertation will require a much higher quantity and quality of academic writing than your course papers do.

7. When is the best time to use DSC services?

The short answer: Right now!

The longer answer: While you may utilize DSC services at any point in your doctoral journey, we strongly recommend that students request at least one draft review early in the program (prior to writing the dissertation proposal). The draft review process provides you with individualized feedback aimed at fostering your long-term growth as an academic writer. Improving your academic writing early in the program will help prepare you to write a strong dissertation!

8. I’m in the process of writing my dissertation. How can you help me?

We offer many resources and services to help students in the dissertation process:

  • Many of our online presentation videos (linked on the DSC Blog and the DSC Academic Tips doc) can help you before and during the dissertation process. In particular, we recommend checking out the following:
    • Never Too Early (or Late) Dissertation Preparation Guide
    • Outlining and Structure
    • Sources and Citing
    • Plagiarism, Conflicts of Interest, and Bias-Free Language
    • Reviewing the Literature
    • Reporting Findings/Results
  • Bookmark the DSC Academic Tips doc and refer to it when you run into questions while writing. If you can’t find the resources you’re looking for, email your DSC specialist.
  • Your chair can invite the DSC to deliver a presentation on DSC services and resources at a dissertation group meeting.
  • Our DSC Times to Write events are open to all Rossier doctoral students and are most frequently attended by students in the dissertation phase of their program. These online weeknight and weekend events provide you with time, (virtual) space, and community to support your academic writing. 
  • You can ask your assigned DSC specialist questions over email and/or set up a Zoom meeting with them. We do not read dissertation chapter drafts during Zoom meetings.
  • Students in the EDL program can submit a draft review request for a dissertation chapter. Students in the OCL program should talk to their academic advisor or chair about the OCL Dissertation Associates (a separate service from the DSC).

9. I am not available during Rossier’s regular business hours. Can you still help me?

Yes! Although the DSC’s regular hours of operation are M–F, 8:30–5 PST, most of our services are available asynchronously and many of our writing events are scheduled outside of business hours. Please refer to Question 2 (above) for more information about our services.

10. I am feeling stressed out and overwhelmed by my writing. What should I do?

You are not alone. We are here to help. Start by trying one of these options:

  • Peruse the “Dealing with Pressure, Stress, and Anxiety” section of our DSC Academic Tips doc.
  • Email your assigned DSC specialist or the general DSC email at [email protected] and request a Zoom appointment. We are more than happy to talk you through the specific writing-related stressors you are dealing with and suggest resources and strategies to help.

11. What role does the DSC play in final dissertation manuscript submission?

The DSC is not involved in the final dissertation submission process. After passing your defense, we recommend first celebrating (yay!) and then contacting your program office for manuscript submission instructions.

12. How should I format my dissertation? Is it enough to follow my chair’s template?

If your chair has provided you with a dissertation template, please follow that template for the content of your dissertation. The format of your dissertation (e.g. page margins, headers, front matter) needs to adhere to one of two standards:

13. How do I set up the table of contents for my dissertation to update automatically?

First, make sure that you are working in Microsoft Word. While Google Docs has similar table of contents capabilities, they are not as refined. Furthermore, you will eventually need to submit your manuscript as a Word document (if submitting to the Rossier Dissertation Center) or as a PDF (if submitting to the USC Graduate School Thesis Center) and the process of converting a Google Doc to a Word doc or PDF often creates formatting issues.

Next, you will need to use MS Word’s Styles tab to format all the information that you want to appear in your table of contents (e.g. chapter titles, Level 1 headings, and Level 2 headings). This Microsoft support video explains how to use Styles. We recommend using only the pre-set Title, Heading 1, and Heading 2 styles for the sake of simplicity.

Once you have formatted all of your chapter titles, Level 1 headings, and Level 2 headings using Styles, you can create a table of contents that will update automatically to reflect any changes made to the document. This Microsoft support video explains the process. Keep in mind that if you add any new chapter titles or headings, they will only appear in the updated table of contents if you format them using Styles.

Finally, you will need to make sure that the font, size, justification and color of your chapter titles and headings matches the formatting requirements of either the Rossier Dissertation Center or the Graduate School Thesis Center. (Don’t know which center you will submit your dissertation to? Ask your academic advisor!) As you work through your document, make sure that you are only changing the font, etc. not the selected MS Word Style. You can also adjust the font, etc. of your table of contents to reflect dissertation formatting requirements.

 

Do you have a question that we did not answer here? Email us at [email protected].