Welcome to FASE’s Graduate Communication Initiative, 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.
Please contact Dr. Fiona Coll, Assistant Professor of Graduate Communication in Engineering at ISTEP and at the GCAC with questions, comments, or ideas for new programs.
Winter 2025 Courses and Workshops
Curious about how to write persuasively about complex engineering topics? Wondering how to frame your fascinating research for different audiences? Interested in improving your writing process? This winter, FASE's Graduate Communication Initiative is offering several courses and workshops for everyone who’d like to learn more about writing clearly and effectively. Join the FASE Graduate Writing Community Quercus site for updates and announcements.
Mondays We Write!
Virtual
Start your week on an excellent note by sitting down and writing in the (virtual) company of your peers. This guided writing group will combine structured writing time with short discussions of technical writing tips, strategies for overcoming writing challenges, and questions that might emerge about your writing experience.
• Mondays, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, January 13 – April 14 (no meeting on February 17)
Learn more and register to receive the Mondays We Write! Zoom meeting link.
Dissertation Writing Feedback Groups
In-person
These Dissertation Writing Feedback Groups (DWFGs) are open to doctoral candidates who have completed coursework and qualifying exams and who are actively drafting or revising a dissertation chapter or manuscript draft. DWFGs will meet once per week for six weeks to share structured feedback on draft writing, discuss process-related aspects of writing a dissertation, and improve participants’ ability to set and meet writing goals.
• Thursdays, January 9 – February 13, from 10:10 am – 12:00 pm
• Wednesdays, February 26 – April 2, from 3:10 – 5:00 pm
Learn more and apply to a Dissertation Writing Feedback Group.
Writing a Strong OGS Plan of Study Workshop
In person
Writing a strong OGS Plan of Study can be a challenge, not least because of the limited amount of space the application gives you to explain your proposed research project or planned studies during the award period. This two-part workshop will guide students through best practices for making the most of this limited space and drafting an effective, compelling Plan of Study.
• Wednesdays, January 15 & 22, from 3:10 – 5:00 pm or
• Thursdays, February 27 & March 6, from 10:10 am – 12:00 pm
Learn more and register for the Writing a Strong OGS Plan of Study Workshop.
Engineering Your Writing
In person
This four-week, in-person course will offer an overview of foundational strategies for writing clearly and concisely about engineering topics at the graduate level. Students will complete weekly exercises and receive feedback on their work.
• Thursdays, January 23 – February 13, from 2:10 – 4:00 pm or
• Thursdays, March 6 – March 27, from 2:10 – 4:00 pm
Learn more and register for Engineering Your Writing.
Thesis-Writing in the Physical and Life Sciences
Virtual
This five-week course, offered through the GCAC, introduces participants to disciplinary expectations around the thesis and to the rhetorical and structural decisions needed to effectively organize and communicate the complex details of an advanced research project. Over five weeks, participants will work with examples and exercises designed to hone thesis-related genre, process, and motivational skills.
• Fridays, January 17 – February 14, from 10:10 am – 12:00 pm
Learn more and register for Thesis-Writing in the Physical and Life Sciences.