Partnership Establishes “Scriptorium” for UWM Dissertators

Dissertators meet in the new "Scriptorium"
Dissertators meet in the new “Scriptorium,” located on the first floor east wing of the Golda Meir Library, during the Graduate School’s Dissertation Boot Camp.

The UWM Libraries and the Graduate School have partnered to create a dedicated space on the first floor east wing of the Golda Meir Library for PhD students who are writing their dissertations.

Students attending a Dissertation Boot Camp sponsored by the Graduate School and hosted by the Libraries, met briefly on June 1 in their new room, which has been dubbed “The Scriptorium.”

“In this new home,” says Graduate School Dean Marija Gajdardziska-Josifovska, “dissertators will find a community of peers from other programs and support from the Graduate School.”

Institutions across the country have recognized that dissertators face unique challenges as they look to cross the finish line to the Ph.D. degree. A 2003 study of national data by the Council of Graduate Schools showed that over 40% of students who began doctoral studies were ultimately unable to complete them within the ten-year cycle.

The final phase of a research degree is in many ways the most difficult, because it requires dissertators to produce a substantial piece of independent, original work. Yet doctoral students contribute significantly to the research mission of UWM, and are a crucial part of the university’s “R1” Carnegie classification.

“Along with our outstanding resources and research services, we are thrilled to be able to contribute to student success at UWM with this new space,” says Libraries Director Michael Doylen.

“Our goal is to eventually create a fully-realized Research Commons,” Doylen says. “The Scriptorium joins another pilot program now in its fourth year, our Digital Humanities Lab, as we fine-tune the Research Commons plan.”

Dissertators interested in using the new space should contact the Graduate School’s Doctoral Retention Specialist Shane Haensgen haensgen@uwm.edu

–Steve Burnham