Thesis and Dissertation Consultations
Graduate students working on the following types of writing may schedule sessions with the Writing Center's Thesis and Dissertation consultants:
- thesis or dissertation proposal, prospectus, or draft
- lengthy paper (15+ pages)
- article for publication
- application for a doctoral (PhD) program
Thesis/diss consultants are PhD students or advanced masters students trained to work with advanced graduate writers.
While thesis/diss consultations are offered in both synchronous and asynchronous formats, the first appointment with the thesis/diss consultant must be in a synchronous format—that is, in person or on Zoom. Your initial conversation allows the consultant to learn about your project.
Working with a thesis/diss consultant can complement the feedback you receive from your faculty advisors and your peers. A writing consultant can
- Share strategies for planning, organizing, drafting, revising, and editing
- Share strategies for maximizing writing productivity
- Help you identify and use the conventions of writing that are specific to your field
- Provide a sounding board for you to work out your ideas
- Provide feedback from the perspective of an educated general audience
Unlike other writing center sessions, thesis and dissertation consultations provide time for consultants to read your draft before they meet with you. Writers submit their draft by 9am on the day of the session, direct the consultant's attention to specific elements of the draft, then meet with the consultant for 45 minutes. Consultants can read between 7 and 20 pages, depending on the material and the roughness of the draft. If your draft is lengthy, please indicate the pages you’d like the consultant to prioritize.
To make an appointment, register with the Writing Center, log on to the schedule online, and navigate to the Thesis/Diss schedule. Attach your draft to the appointment form by 9am on the day of your appointment, and tell the consultant which elements of the draft you'd like them to focus on. You may take advantage of one thesis/diss session per week.
If you have questions about thesis and dissertation consultations, please email Janalyn Miklas at jmiklas@gmu.edu.
Thesis and Dissertation Consultants
Angela Barajas is a PhD candidate in the Cultural Studies department. Angela has taught in the Integrative Studies department for four years, focusing primarily on visual culture and society. Her dissertation research involves understanding the intersections of fanship, digital community, and merchandise. She has completed fields (qualifying exams in the form of extensive literature reviews) in culture & political economy and digital communities. Angela holds an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has presented work in the forms of papers and presentations at the Mid-South Sociological Association Annual Meeting and at the Southern Sociological Association Meeting. At the Mason Writing Center, she supports graduate writers working on their thesis, dissertation, and other academic projects. Angela is a tabletop gamer, trained in sword fighting, a violinist, and avid consumer of mass media.
Emily is a PhD student in Psychology at George Mason University, specializing in Human Factors and Applied Cognition. At the Mason Writing Center, she works with graduate students across disciplines on their theses, dissertations, and other academic projects. Emily has taught in the Psychology Department since 2022, covering subjects such as political psychology, social psychology, research methods, and forensic psychology. Her research focuses on the intersections of human-technology interaction, political psychology, and public policy, with particular interests in how political beliefs, trust, and information environments shape public engagement with emerging technologies in agriculture and space exploration. Emily holds a Master of Public Policy from George Mason University, an M.Sc. in Political Psychology and International Relations from the University of Birmingham, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Texas A&M University. Outside of the university, she works as an Aerospace Educator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where she teaches aerospace and STEAM topics to students of all ages. At the Writing Center, Emily enjoys helping graduate writers develop their academic voices, navigate complex research projects, and build confidence in their writing. In her free time, she enjoys playing tabletop games, hiking, experimenting with new recipes, and cooking for friends and family.
Kendall Bryant is a PhD student in the linguistics program. Her research uses computational linguistic methodology and quantitative analysis to research questions involving the intersection of language and media. She has presented work on how fans use the language of their fandoms and on multilingual students' university writing experiences. She has a master’s in linguistics from George Mason University and an undergraduate degree in communication and media studies from Old Dominion University. She also has a background in education, teaching multilingual students in Fairfax County. At the writing center, Kendall specializes in helping graduate writers with theses, dissertations, proposals, and publication-bound papers.
Janalyn Miklas is a PhD candidate in the Linguistics program, studying acoustic phonetics and speech science. Her dissertation research looks at pronunciation variation among first and second-language Turkish speakers. Her research uses quantitative and computational methodologies using corpus and self-collected data. She has also done previous work that included qualitative methodologies. She holds an M.A. in English with a concentration in Linguistics from George Mason University. At the Writing Center, Janalyn serves as the Graduate Writing Coordinator, working with graduate students on theses, dissertations, and other academic projects. She has experience writing funding proposals as well as preparing conference submissions and manuscripts.