Dissertation help workshops can jump-start your doctoral

If anything could embody the concept of a love-hate relationship, it would be the dissertation process of a doctoral program. At once central to the experience and immensely challenging, writing a dissertation requires a host of skills (research, organization, critical thinking, writing) while also depending on the absence of a select few (hello, procrastination!). The kicker? Writing a dissertation is only one part of the doctoral challenge. Publishing a dissertation, or any research project for that matter, is a whole other beast.

Dissertation help is available

Doctoral students and graduates inside and outside of University of Phoenix can get dissertation help with three distinct opportunities. Known as the Dissertation to Publication workshop, Research to Publication workshop and Fellows in Residence program, each offering seeks to establish connectiveness between students and their doctoral degrees.

Here’s how doctoral students and graduates can get started. 

Dissertation to Publication workshop

Designed to help people turn their dissertations into publishable manuscripts — and then find homes for those manuscripts — the Dissertation to Publication (DTP) workshop occurs virtually each fall and spring. It’s open to students across academic disciplines, and attendees don’t have to be enrolled at University of Phoenix to participate and receive dissertation help. UOPX students do, however, enjoy the workshop on a complimentary basis while non-UOPX students pay a nominal fee.

The reason for the workshop? That all-encompassing goal of publication. Mansureh Kebritchi, PhD developed the dissertation help workshop with the express goal of publication. Today, she continues to manage the workshop with the help of a committee of CEITR faculty and fellows.

Participants include both doctoral graduates and doctoral students close to graduation. During the workshop, participants identify which peer-reviewed journals might be a good fit for their dissertations, and they receive dissertation help, advice, and guidance on the process of turning an academic paper into a manuscript worth publishing (and reading).

The workshop also includes committee review by experienced faculty members and synchronous virtual monthly meetings. More than 500 dissertations have been successfully placed since the workshop’s inception in 2016.

Research to Publication workshop

Similar to the DTP workshop, the Research to Publication (RTP) workshop offers dissertation help, focusing on how doctoral students and graduates can create a publishable manuscript out of a completed research project.

Each six-week RTP workshop follows the same format as the DTP workshops: participants identify potential peer-reviewed journals to pitch to, then draft the three primary sections of the article (introduction, methods, and results).

The only major difference between the DTP and RTP workshops is that RTP workshops focus on general research rather than dissertations. Eligible projects should be completed and be significant enough for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

Fellows in Residence program

Beyond dissertation help and available to qualified doctoral graduates, the Fellows in Residence program is a little bit like an unpaid internship at a big corporation: In return for research and assistance, participating fellows gain valuable experience and CV-boosting credentials.

Practically speaking, those opportunities include:

• Contributing to the University’s research periodical, Phoenix Scholar
• Participating in the planning committee for UOPX’s annual Research Summit
• Applying for research grants under the leadership of University faculty
• Producing academic blogs

There are more tacit advantages too, such as the fact that participants can add the program to their resumé. The Fellows in Residence program kicked off in 2020 with a handful of participants. Today, each of the University’s three research centers oversees its own cadre of fellows — and the success has been impressive.

Several of the fellows have been selected to present at the International Leadership Association’s [ILA] annual conference in Geneva, were published in the Journal of Leadership Studies and applied for research grants. They have also presented at the University of Phoenix Annual Research Summit.

Learn more about University of Phoenix dissertation help workshops

While each of these dissertation help programs offers distinct advantages to doctoral students and graduates, another opportunity nearly everyone can take advantage of is the University’s Annual Research Summit. This three-day, virtual conference features University and guest presenters as well as Dissertation of the Year winners for a conference experience that underscores the value of how research can remediate or impact a current issue.

From workshops to programs to conferences, the opportunities to enhance the doctoral experience at UOPX are both dynamic and diverse. You just have to know where to look.