Dissertation Writing Retreat

• Will be able to do focused, sustained work on their dissertations in scheduled blocks of writing time
• Will have access every day to optional individual Student Writing Support consultations  with retreat co-leaders    
• Are expected to participate in daily warm-up writing activities at 9:00 am Central time. These writing warm-ups are designed to facilitate the day's work and to expand participants' repertoire of writing strategies, all in community with other writers.
• Are expected to participate in daily closing writing activities at 3:30 pm Central time. This closing session is designed to facilitate reflection, to maintain momentum, and to expand participants' repertoire of writing strategies, all in community with other writers.
• Are expected to participate in a weekly 30-minute check-in meeting (scheduled in advance) with one of the retreat co-leaders. These check-ins are designed to reduce the isolation of a remote retreat experience and to help each participant tailor the retreat to their own needs.
• Are expected to participate in two 15-minute assessments of the program during the course of the retreat (to help make the retreat as useful as possible for current and future participants)
• Pledge to limit other internet use to essential dissertation-writing tasks during the dedicated writing hours of the retreat. (To be clear, we encourage participants to use music or other streamed content that helps them work! This internet pledge is about deliberately cutting off one's own access to online avoidance/procrastination-methods during the hours of the retreat.)
• Must have no other teaching or research responsibilities during May Term

If you are selected, you will gather with other retreat participants Mondays through Thursdays, May 18–June 4 (no session on Monday, May 25, Memorial Day), between 9:00 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. Central Time in a designated online Gather space (learn more about Gather).

• If you need a designated space on campus to participate in this online retreat, we will work with you to find one.
• The full group will be in Gather for opening warmups at 9 am and for a closing writing activity at 3:30 pm every day.
• We encourage breaks throughout the day, and we build in a scheduled break for lunch from 12:15–1:15 Central Time each day.

Retreaters must commit to participating synchronously in the 9:00 am opening and 3:30 pm closing sessions for the full 11-day retreat schedule; while we encourage retreaters to do all or most of their work in during retreat hours, they will not be required to be in Gather all day long (unless that's what works for them!). So, for example, if you need to spend some time away from the computer in order to focus, or if you are working in a very different time zone, or if you have caregiving responsibilities, or if there are other schedule-related changes you need to make, we will do our best to help you develop a writing schedule that suits your needs and still forwards the goal of creating a supportive group setting for all participants.

All UMN–Twin Cities doctoral graduate students who have passed their prelims and whose dissertation prospectuses (if required by the department) have been approved—or will have been approved by Monday, May 4, 2026—are eligible to apply. Because so much of the retreat is devoted to sustained writing time, writers who have not yet passed prelims and whose dissertation prospectus (if required by their department) will not yet have been approved before May 4 should wait until next year to apply.

Past participants have told us that the retreat was “invaluable”:

• The structure and positive environment of the retreat made my work feel less burdensome and POSSIBLE! This is what I have needed most in my dissertation writing process: hope and confidence. The retreat has given me both of those things.
• I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to participate and work with the awesome consultants. This is only the beginning to me becoming a more confident writer. I'm that much closer to being a Ph.D. graduate.
• I gained some important trials (successes and failures) in carving out space for writing (or other dissertation work). I gained important daily structure that helped me place boundaries between work and life time (which was super helpful, coming so soon after prelims).
• Prior to the retreat my dissertation seemed huge and overwhelming. This retreat has given me skills to take on small chunks and work through my writing difficulties. I would like to thank you especially for providing us with resources that we can use now and in our careers. Because of this retreat I have learned to enjoy writing as much as research.
• The retreat has helped me to be even more organized about the dissertation process, particularly with respect to setting reasonable and flexible goals. Moving forward, I feel that I can even more clearly share my goals with my advisors.
• I feel like I gained: 1) joy in writing, 2) days of structured writing work, 3) sense of belonging, 4) many written pages, 5) aha! moments regarding my own struggles with engaging with the dissertation (to name a few).

When asked if they would recommend the retreat to other dissertators, participants told us:

• Yes! Great to connect with other dissertators, great to get some fresh perspective on how writing gets done. Great to have access to writing consultants, and to discuss my work with people outside my field.
• YES!! This is a great environment for any dissertator: the support from both the consultants and fellow writers is priceless.
• YES, because it has reminded me of my own value and voice, that I can do this thing!, and expanded what feels possible in the next year.
• Absolutely! I already did. I found it to be inspiring (in the sense of finally realizing that I could actually finish this dissertation—this is the first time I have felt like this is doable and that I WILL finish). The sense of community gave me the feeling that the worries and fears I had were pretty common and that people had worked through them and actually finished.

When asked about what Gather was like, participants told us:

• It was the best online environment I have worked in. I've seen similar attempts for virtual conferences, but this one worked the best. And it was so nice to have a break from Zoom. It also allowed for more natural interactions than Zoom.
• I was honestly pretty skeptical of the space—I imagined it would feel a lot like the energy-sucking vortex, Zoom. But the avatars, the integration of audio and chat, and something that felt like a physical space surprised me in really positive ways. I have found myself day dreaming about to recommend Gather to various online conference I am apart of in the coming months.
• I enjoyed this space, and I enjoyed having my own little "spot" each day. Haha. It was a really nice switch from Zoom and I liked how you could have conversations and walk by and sort of listen in on snippets of conversations, just like in real life. I liked that we could be cameras on, cameras off, use the chat—it was a great use of space.

What the InfoReady application form requires of the writer 

Their first name, last name, UMN internet ID, home department(s), and college that houses the department(s); the writer's commitment to participating in all 11 days of the retreat (Mondays through Thursdays, May 18 through June 4 [no session on Monday, May 25, Memorial Day]); information about the writer's DDF or IDF status; their advisor's name and email (for automatic endorsement request), and two longer texts:

1. A brief abstract of their dissertation (up to 4,000 characters, which amounts to approximately half a single-spaced page of text plus references, if you choose to include them). We ask for an abstract even though applicants are, by definition, still working on the dissertation, because the review committee would like an overall sense of each writer's project. Accordingly, even if the writer is early in their process, we ask that they please share an abstract that reflects what they currently plan for their dissertation to look like. ProQuest is a great place to find sample dissertation abstracts.
2. A statement (up to 5,000 characters, which amounts to about one single-spaced page of text) in response to the following question: During this retreat, you will be participating in a structured community of dissertators from across the disciplines, with access to support from writing consultants. How might this be different from your current writing practice, and how might it contribute to your making progress on your dissertation?

What the automatically-generated endorsement form asks of the advisor

Their first name, last name, and UMN internet ID; the writer's UMN internet ID; and a "yes" or "no" endorsement. "Yes" endorsements also require that the advisor affirm the writer's completion of prelims and (if required) departmental approval of their dissertation prospectus. Advisors must complete this form themselves; we will not accept submissions from writers on behalf of/at the behest of their advisors.

Advisors are not responsible for writing recommendations or assessing writers' fitness for the retreat—indeed, we ask that advisors NOT provide any written recommendations because we believe that writers are their own best advocates.

Confidentiality

Neither advisors nor writers will see each other’s responses. Writers may contact Katie at [email protected] to ask whether a submission is complete, but she will not initiate communications about completeness with writers, and she will not share application status information with advisors.

Selection criteria

Our goal is to accept fifteen participants from a wide variety of disciplines. Our first consideration will be the quality of each application; ultimately, in the event of numerous highly competitive applications, we will favor applications representing candidates from a diversity of disciplines to enrich the retreat.

Historically, applications that took full advantage of the space allotment for the 600-word statement were more successful than those that did not. Evaluators look for full answers to the questions that are asked.

Applicants who have not yet won IDFs or DDFs will receive preference over applicants who have already won IDFs or DDFs.

Interested? Questions?

All applicants will be notified of their status by 5 pm Central time on Friday, April 24. Given the large number of applications we receive, the review committee is unable to provide feedback on individual submissions. If you have any other questions or would like to learn more, please feel free to get in touch with Katie Levin.