U of T ENGINEERING

Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice (ISTEP)

Graduate Communication Initiative

About

Welcome to FASE’s Graduate Communication Initiative (GCI), a partnership with the University of Toronto’s Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC) to bring engineering-specific communication training to graduate students. The GCAC offers advanced cross-disciplinary training in academic speaking and writing for native and non-native speakers of English through non-credit courses, workshops, writing-intensive programs, and individual writing consultations. FASE's Graduate Communication Initiative builds on the GCAC's offerings by providing further communication training that focuses on the conventions and particular requirements of communication in engineering disciplines.

Here, you'll find information about programs and initiatives available to support your graduate-level writing.

Students and instructor at a communications workshop.

What program should I take?

Students interested in developing writing foundations

Students seeking support for using English as an additional language

Students ready to develop a sustainable writing process

Students writing engineering-specific deliverables

GCAC Graduate Writing 1

GCAC Academic Conversation Skills

FASE Writing-Process Strategies Workshop Series

FASE Qualifying Exam Proposal Workshop Series

GCAC Graduate Writing 2

GCAC Advanced Grammar On-Demand Workshops

FASE Mondays We Write! Guided Writing Group

FASE Graduate and Dissertation Writing Groups

Programs and Registration

The GCI provides communication supports for students at all stages of their graduate studies. See below for information and registration details.

Mondays We Write!

Mondays We Write! is a guided writing group that combines structured writing time with short discussions of technical writing tips, strategies for overcoming writing challenges, and questions about the writing process.

Who's this for for?

All graduate students who could benefit from dedicated time to make steady, sustainable progress on a writing project.

Session Details & Registration

Visit the GCI Quercus Page for up-to-date information about session dates and registration.

Writing-Process Strategies Workshop Series

Writing requires us to metabolize ideas and information in distinctly different stages, but many people enter graduate school without having learned what these stages are or how to leverage them into an efficient, sustainable writing practice. To address this knowledge gap, each workshop in this series will focus on one distinct stage of the writing process—pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing—and share strategies for building writing capacities.

Who's this for?

Graduate students interested in developing a more efficient and less stressful writing process.

Session Details & Registration

Visit the GCI Quercus Page for up-to-date information about session dates and registration.

Graduate and Dissertation Writing Feedback Groups

The Graduate and Dissertation Writing Feedback Groups offer unique opportunities for students to learn effective writing strategies while also making progress on writing longer manuscripts. This group will meet in person at regular intervals through the semester to share structured commentary on draft writing, discuss technical aspects of writing a dissertation, and learn how to set and meet writing goals.

Who's this for?

Graduate students currently working on a major piece of writing (other than the dissertation) or doctoral candidates who have completed coursework and qualifying exams and are actively writing a dissertation.

Session Details & Registration

Visit the GCI Quercus Page for up-to-date information about session dates and registration.

Writing a Strong OGS Proposal Workshop

Writing a strong OGS Plan of Study requires the efficient use of a single page to explain your proposed research project or planned studies. This two-part workshop will guide you through best practices for making the most of this limited space to draft an effective, compelling Plan of Study.

Who's this for?

Students applying for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Session Details & Registration

Visit the GCI Quercus Page for up-to-date information about session dates and registration.

PhD Qualifying Exam Proposal Workshop Series

This workshop series is designed to support students writing a PhD Qualifying Exam Proposal over the summer. Individual workshops focus on proposal-drafting strategies, tackling a literature review, and developing a sustainable writing process.

Who's this for?

Students preparing to write a PhD Qualifying Exam Proposal. Other graduate students interested in individual workshop topics are also welcome to attend.

Session Details & Registration

Visit the GCI Quercus Page for up-to-date information about session dates and registration.

Program Contact

Dr. Fiona Coll, Assistant Professor of Graduate Communication in Engineering at ISTEP and at the GCAC

fiona.coll@utoronto.ca