As of the fall 2007 semester, graduate students will pay the $8 per semester fee which gives them access to services provided by the University Writing Center. "Although we were established to support undergraduate writing-intensive courses, there has been interest all along in what we could do to support graduate student writing," explained Dr. Valerie Balester, Executive Director of the UWC. "While we have always tried to accommodate as many graduate students as possible, they have not been able to make appointments, but could only be served on a walk-in basis," she added. But that has changed. Graduate students may now make appointments at either the Evans Library or West Campus Library writing center locations.

Graduate students are encouraged to come to the UWC early in their academic careers. UWC consultants are prepared to help with graduate seminar papers, thesis or dissertation proposals, and articles for publication. They can help with dissertations and theses as well, but individual consultations on dissertations will be limited to five total. Graduate students and their advisors should keep in mind that UWC consultants do not proofread or edit and that consultations last only 30-45 minutes. Consultants will not have time to review every word of long papers or articles. Although consultants cannot edit, they do help writers learn to edit and proofread themselves. Consultants can also help writers brainstorm, narrow or refine topics, and organize research.

In recognition of our new clients, The University Writing Center is planning a series of workshops for 2007-08 which will cater to graduate student writing needs. Look for announcements throughout the year. Workshops being planned include reviews of grammar and punctuation, academic integrity, dissertation and thesis proposal writing, and writing in specific disciplines such as education or science.  

If your department or graduate student organization is interested in workshops geared to a specific topic or discipline, contact the UWC Executive Director, Dr. Valerie Balester at v-balester@tamu.edu.