Level Up Your Grad Game: The Decoding Graduate School Spring Series is Live.

Hello, UMBC Grad Students!

We know the feeling: the initial new car smell of grad school has faded, and you're staring at a mountain of literature or a complex research project. Whether you are a PhD student building a new castle in the sandbox of knowledge or a Master's student building a professional portfolio, as we transition from the figuring it out phase to the getting it done phase, the stakes change.  

The Office of Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Development (GSPD) is here to help you move from student to expert.  We are thrilled to announce the Spring lineup for our Decoding Graduate School series. These workshops are designed to make the implicit expectations of graduate school explicit.

Sessions 6 & 7 will be on Tuesdays, Sessions 8 - 10 will be on Thursdays.  All sessions are from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM. RSVPs are appreciated but not required.

Session 6 - Tuesday 2/17/26 (UC 115) - Decoding the Literature: From Information Overload to Critical Synthesis

Session 7 - Tuesday 2/24/26 (UC 115) - Decoding the Argument: Writing for Graduate-Level Seminars

Session 8 - Thursday 3/26/26 (UC 115) - Decoding the Room: Presenting Your Ideas with Confidence

Session 9 - Thursday 4/23/26 (UC 115) - Decoding Your Summer: A Strategic Plannig Workshop

Session 10 - Thursday 4/30/26 (UC 115) - Decoding Your Potential Venture: Innovation, IP, and Entrepreneurship

Why Join us this Spring?

• Tame the Information Firehose: Learn advanced search strategies and how to use reference management software like Zotero to organize your life.
• Write Like a Scholar: Shift from "reporting information" to constructing original, persuasive arguments for your seminars and thesis.
• Protect Your Ideas: Understand who owns what you create at UMBC (Pro-tip: You are often entitled to a share of revenue from your inventions!).
• Avoid the Burnout: Our "Summer Plan on a Page" workshop helps you balance high-octane productivity with necessary downtime.

GSPD Pro-Tip: Graduate school is a journey to generate new knowledge. Don't just survive it—decode it.

 

How to Register

Click on the links for the individual sessions to register on myUMBC. Every session includes a Resource Guide to help you implement these skills immediately.