Sign up for the Writing Up Stage Skills Week, starting 1st September
This year, the Doctoral College are running Skills Weeks to offer specialist training tailored to where you are in your doctorate.
Are you currently writing your thesis, or starting your writing up year in September? We know it can be daunting taking on this task. You might feel nervous or confused about what to do next. But imagine if you had a whole week’s worth of training specifically designed to help you get the most out of the final phase of your doctorate?
From 2-5 September 2025, the Doctoral College is running a Writing Up Stage Skills Week for PGRs in their writing up year. We’re offering a series of workshops, both online and in-person, to help support you to make the most of your last year of your doctorate. If you are currently in your writing up year or will be from September, please join us!
The sessions are split across five days from Monday 2 September to Friday 5 September, so we hope that you’re able to join as many sessions as you can. This is in response to hearing from our PGRs that it can be difficult to hold an entire day in your calendar for training.
Please see the events below:
Writing Up Stage: Writing your thesis
Tuesday 2 September, 11am-1pm | Room GC222, Graduate Centre, Mile End | Sign up now
This workshop will give you a grounding in how you can approach taking on a large writing project by helping you break down the structure and style of your thesis. We will consider the writing process, how you approach writing, and how to develop confidence in your writing ability. This session is open to PGRs in the Writing Up phase of their doctorate only.
Writing Up Stage: Preparing your thesis for submission to the Library and Repository
Tuesday 2 September, 2-3pm | MS Teams | Sign up now
In this session, our expert librarians will equip you with the knowledge you need to prepare the version of your thesis that will appear on Queen Mary Research Online (QMRO). This will help you submit your thesis successfully to QMRO the first time, without needing to make amendments or adjustments to the formatting or presentation.
Writing Up Stage: Making progress with your writing
Wednesday 3 September, 10.30am-12.30pm | MS Teams | Sign up now
Writing a thesis is a challenging task and can feel even more daunting when you are not doing it alongside active research. How do you manage your time and your motivation when your main academic focus is only writing? This practical workshop will help you understand how to plan for and make progress with your thesis during your writing up year. This session is open to PGRs in the Writing Up phase of their doctorate only.
Writing Up Stage: Finding your career direction after your doctorate
Wednesday 3 September, 2-4pm | MS Teams | Sign up now
This course is designed to support PGRs and postdocs in identifying and exploring potential career directions by increasing their self-awareness, broadening their understanding of career options, and providing tools to take the next steps in their career planning journey.
Writing Up Stage: Preparing for your doctoral viva
Open to Writing Up PGRs only"
Thursday 4 September, 1-4pm | Room GC222, Graduate Centre, Mile End | Sign up now
This interactive workshop at QMUL offers comprehensive guidance on thesis submission, covering the pre, during, and post-viva stages. With a focus on active participation, participants practice presenting their work publicly and handling various question types.
Writing Up Stage: Writing Up Year writing retreat -
Friday 5 September, 10am-3pm | Graduate Centre, GC222 | Sign up now
This in-person writing retreat is designed to help you kickstart your thesis writing as you enter your writing up year. This is not a taught workshop; rather, it is an opportunity to dedicate time to your writing in a working social environment. The writing retreat will give you the chance to meet and work with other PGRs in the writing up year, to identify specific goals for yourself, and to discuss challenges and share successes. This session is open to PGRs in the Writing Up phase of their doctorate only.