GSAS Writing Studio

NB: Prospectus writers in the third year or above of an Arts and Sciences PhD program are also eligible to use the Studio's resources for dissertation writers (see below). 

Prospectus Club

Information on Summer 2025 coming soon. 

Focused Writing Time

Need dedicated time to focus on writing? Sign up for Pomodoros!

Pomodoros are now fully hybrid! The Studio's Seminar Room 321 Lehman* will be open during all Pomodoro sessions for writers to enjoy coffee, tea, and in-person writing community. Can't make it to campus? We'll still have our regular Zoom open for writers joining virtually from near and far. 

Join fellow graduate students for 2-hour blocks of accountability and community with our Pomodoro sessions. A Pomodoro is a 25-minute block of work + 5-minute break. Breaking a longer writing session into a series of Pomodoros can help writers stay focused and meet their writing goals. 

When:

• Mondays, 2:00-4:00pm EST
• Tuesdays, 10:00am-12:00pm EST
• Wednesdays, 10:00am-12:00pm EST
• Thursdays, 2:00-4:00pm EST

Where: 321 Lehman Library* & Zoom

Registrants will receive a Zoom link in the confirmation email, as well as a weekly reminder of upcoming sessions.

*321 Lehman is accessible by elevator. 

All Arts & Sciences PhD and DMA students in or beyond their third year should have received an email inviting them to register a password with the booking system. If you did not receive this invitation, please email [email protected] and request that it be resent.
 

Workshops

The Mindful Scholar: Breath and Posture for Enhanced Productivity 
Date: Monday, April 28
Time: 12:00-2:00 PM
Location: 321 Lehman Library* and Zoom
Register here by Friday, April 25

Columbia doctoral candidate and yoga instructor Camila Agosto facilitates this hybrid workshop designed specifically for graduate students. Together, we’ll explore how mindful breathwork and postural alignment can enhance your focus, productivity, and overall well being while you work at your desk. Through guided interactive exercises and gentle practices, you’ll learn how to harness the power of your breath and posture to alleviate tension, boost creativity, and foster a healthier workspace. Leave with practical tools and insights that you can easily integrate into your daily routine, empowering you to navigate your dissertation journey with clarity and ease, all within a supportive community of fellow thinkers and creators.

*321 Lehman Library is accessible by elevator.

Events

Student-Parents Coffee Hour
Date: Wednesday, April 30
Time: 12:00-1:30 PM
Location: 321 Lehman Library*
More info and RSVP here

Are you a student-parent writing a thesis or dissertation thinking about how to do this over the summer? Want to get to know other student-parents in GSAS? This event is an opportunity for you to share your experience and connect with other student-parents to build accountability and support that works for you. We will lightly focus this session around how to write and live the student-parent life over the summer — when the whole family may have different daily rhythms — but feel free to come with whatever is on your mind. 

*321 Lehman is accessible by elevator.

Dissertation Writing Retreats

Early Summer In-Person Retreats
Dates: Monday, May 19 - Thursday, May 22 or Monday, June 9 - Thursday, June 12
Time: 9 AM - 4 PM, daily
Location: Studio Mezzanine (319M Lehman) and Seminar Room (321 Lehman)
Apply here for both retreats

Start your summer dissertating off with a week of immersive writing! While the main goal is to provide dissertation writers ample time to write, brief goal-setting meetings will help frame the day’s work. We will also offer a slate of afternoon workshops and activities to complement and explore a variety of writing practices. To support focus, we will provide a light breakfast and lunch as well as coffee, tea, and snacks throughout the day. A dietary survey plus more information about workshops will be sent to admitted participants.

Application Deadline: Friday, May 9. Writers will be notified of acceptance for both retreats by Tuesday, May 13.

Summer Remote Retreats
Dates: Thursday, July 10 - Friday, July 11 or Thursday, July 31 - Friday, August 1
Time: 9 AM - 4 PM, daily
Location: Zoom

More information and application to come.

August Retreat
Dates: Dates: Monday, August 25 - Thursday, August 28
Time: 9 AM - 4 PM, daily
Location: Studio Mezzanine (319M Lehman) and Seminar Room (321 Lehman)

More information and application to come. 

Facilitated Dissertation Writing Groups

Registration for Spring 2025 Facilitated Writing Groups has now closed. To inquire about open groups, please email [email protected]. 

Focused Writing Time

Need dedicated time to focus on writing? Sign up for Pomodoros!

Pomodoros are now fully hybrid! The Studio's Seminar Room 321 Lehman* will be open during all Pomodoro sessions for writers to enjoy coffee, tea, and in-person writing community. Can't make it to campus? We'll still have our regular Zoom open for writers joining virtually from near and far. 

Join fellow graduate students for 2-hour blocks of accountability and community with our Pomodoro sessions. A Pomodoro is a 25-minute block of work + 5-minute break. Breaking a longer writing session into a series of Pomodoros can help writers stay focused and meet their writing goals. 

When:

• Mondays, 2:00-4:00pm EST
• Tuesdays, 10:00am-12:00pm EST
• Wednesdays, 10:00am-12:00pm EST
• Thursdays, 2:00-4:00pm EST

Where: 321 Lehman Library* & Zoom

Registrants will receive a Zoom link in the confirmation email, as well as a weekly reminder of upcoming sessions.

*321 Lehman is accessible by elevator. 

One-on-One Consultations

Make an appointment by using the Studio's booking system.

Schedule a forty-five-minute, one-on-one consultation with one of the Studio’s trained consultants. We can help you make a writing plan, organize a chapter, develop a concise articulation of a big idea, or revise an existing draft. Bring us whatever you're working on and we'll jump right in!

Room Reservations

The GSAS Writing Studio offers meeting space to PhD students in Arts and Sciences departments for dissertation-related group work. All rooms are equipped with whiteboards. Reservations are available until 6:00pm daily. PhD students are also welcome to use any empty room on a drop-in basis.

Please note that these rooms are to be used for dissertation work only. They may not be used for grading, by organizations, to make phone calls, or for meetings with people other than peers.

Groups of 2-3: Reserve Room B or C in the Studio’s upstairs mezzanine space (319M Lehman Library). 

Groups of 4-8: Reserve Room A in the Studio’s upstairs mezzanine space (319M Lehman Library). Room A seats eight and is equipped with a media screen.

Groups of 9-16: Reserve the Studio’s downstairs Seminar Room (321 Lehman Library), which is equipped with a media screen. This room is accessible by elevator.

Reserve a room by using the Studio's booking system.

Prospectus Club

Information on Summer 2025 coming soon. 

Dissertation Templates

GSAS has developed dissertation templates in Word and LaTeX, based on the existing guidelines required for formal deposit.

• Word Template
• LaTeX Template

For more information on effectively using the Word template, see this series of short how-to videos from the Studio. Note that you must be logged in via Lionmail to view.

Dissertation Copyright Information

The GSAS Writing Studio and Copyright Advisory Services at Columbia University Libraries have developed a copyright management tool. It offers dissertation writers whose work will include multiple images a way to collect and organize rights-related information throughout the research process, enabling them to assess on a use-by-use basis whether their uses are fair uses or whether permission to use the works will be necessary.

Download the copyright management tool by clicking here.

The use of this worksheet is governed by a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.  Attribution should be given to the GSAS Writing Studio at Columbia University and Copyright Advisory Services at Columbia University Libraries, representing the Trustees of Columbia University, rightsholders.

Director of Copyright Advisory Services, Rina Elster Pantalony, has also put together a series of short, informal videos to address frequently-asked questions around copyright and the dissertation.

• Do I need to register copyright in my dissertation?
• Do I need permission to include a published journal article in my dissertation? What if I co-authored the article?
• Can I include data sets generated by other researchers or organizations in my dissertation without permission?
• Do I need permission to include underlying copyright-protected works such as photographs, images, graphs, or charts in my dissertation?

For further information on how to navigate copyright issues surrounding dissertation research and related publication, please visit the Copyright Advisory Services website.

Digital Tools for Writing *NEW*

Our Digital Tools for Writing guide orients thesis and dissertation writers to software options ranging from the familiar (Scrivener, Zotero) to the unexpected (OmmWriter, Forest). Whether you are just starting a project, encountering writer's block, or looking for new ways to stay focused, you'll find tools to support your writing process in this guide. 

Peer Writing Groups

For all students wishing to start their own peer-feedback or accountability writing groups, the Studio offers these resources:

Our Accountability Partners Guide offers guidance on how to work effectively with a writing accountability partner.

Our Writing Group Checklist takes you step-by-step through the questions to consider when setting up a new group.

Our Peer-Feedback Guides offer tips for getting the most out of working with fellow writers:

• Seeking Peer Feedback: A Guide for Academic Writers
• Reading Others' Work: A Guide for Peer Readers

Goal-Setting and Time Management

For both groups and individuals, developing and stating specific goals at the start of a writing session can help structure and frame the time effectively.

GSAS Writing Studio Worksheets:

• Writing Session Goal-Setting Worksheet
• Project Deadlines Goal-Setting Worksheet

Work-from-Home and Wellness

The Columbia Office of Work/Life has compiled an excellent collection of resources related to working remotely and maintaining physical and mental health.

The GSAS Writing Studio is located inside Lehman Library, in the SIPA building. Click here to view a map of Lehman Library.

• The Studio’s mezzanine space is located on the west side of Lehman Library, in 319M (West Reading Room). Once you pass through Lehman Library’s main turnstile, turn right. The stairs up to the mezzanine level are located at the near end of the reading room.
• The GSAS Writing Studio Seminar Room is located on east side of the library, in 321 Lehman. Once you pass through Lehman Library’s main turnstile, turn left. This room is available by reservation only; the keys may be obtained from Lehman’s circulation-desk librarians after you have reserved the room online (see above). This room is wheelchair accessible.

From 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday, the GSAS Writing Studio's physical space is restricted for use by PhD students in Arts and Sciences departments who are already in the dissertation phase of their program.

General Policies

• The GSAS Writing Studio's events, programs, spaces, and services are restricted for use by GSAS graduate students in these Arts and Sciences departments.
• Students from all other programs, departments, or schools are ineligible to use the GSAS Writing Studio or to participate in its programs. A list of writing support resources available to students outside of GSAS may be found here.
• Certain GSAS Writing Studio programs are reserved for doctoral students in the dissertation-writing phase of their program. Currently, these programs include retreats, dissertation-writing groups, one-on-one consultations, and room reservations. 

Room Use Policies 

• Arts and Sciences dissertation writers may reserve meeting room space for one to four hours at a time, in hour-long blocks.
• Arts and Sciences dissertation-writing groups may reserve space for up to four hours per day, and up to ten hours per week.
• GSAS Writing Studio spaces may be used for dissertation-writing only. They may not be used as classrooms, recitation rooms, lecture rooms, or TA grading rooms; for office hours; or as venues for social gatherings or student organization meetings.

One-on-One Consultation Policies

• Arts and Sciences dissertation writers may make appointments for one-on-one consultations with trained Studio consultants.
• Writers are limited to two appointments per week (1 scheduled appointment + 1 drop-in OR scheduled appointment, if available); no more than one visit per day; and no more than eight visits total per semester.

No-Show and Lateness Policies 

• A writer or group is considered a no-show if they have not arrived or communicated with us by 15 minutes after the start of the appointment, room booking, or event, according to Studio clocks.
• Writers who miss two one-on-one appointments without canceling in advance lose their appointment-making privileges for the remainder of the semester. They are still welcome to make use of drop-in appointments, when available.
• Writers who no-show three times for events, appointments, or room bookings will not be considered for a GSAS Writing Studio Dissertation-Writers' Retreat and may be automatically placed on the waitlist for other events.

To share any questions or suggestions, please write to [email protected]. The GSAS Writing Studio Director Lauren Sperandio Phelps or Interim Assistant Director Anna Waller will be happy to help you.