Princeton Graduate Students: Make your Spring Break a productive one by joining our Dissertation Boot Camp! This small cohort-based program is designed to help you develop and maintain effective writing practices as well as build community with your fellow graduate students during the unstructured time that a week away from coursework and teaching responsibilities offers. All the central elements of a productive Boot Camp—space to write, focused writing time, camaraderie, and the opportunity to reflect on the writing process—are available to you in a virtual format. Build and maintain momentum by developing and refining healthy habits and practices around work and writing with colleagues from across the disciplines.

Dissertation Boot Camp runs over the course of one week and is typically offered four times per year: in October, during Fall Break; in January, usually during the week preceding Wintersession; in March, during Spring Break; and once during the summer in either June or July.

Weekly Schedule

The Spring Break 2025 Dissertation Boot Camp will run in a virtual format from Monday, March 10 through Friday, March 14. The launch and plenary debrief sessions are required, plus participation in at least 5 of the 10 writing sessions & debriefs.

Application

Enrollment in Dissertation Boot Camp is limited. Priority consideration is given based on applicant's proximity to graduation and year in program; other considerations include prioritizing first-time applicants and disciplinary diversity among participants.

Dissertation Boot Camp is free of charge for Princeton graduate students, but a motivational deposit is required for participation. If you are accepted into the program, you must sign a form indicating your agreement that $50 will be charged to your student account if you do not complete the requirements of Boot Camp.

The application deadline for the Spring Break 2025 Dissertation Boot Camp was Thursday, February 27 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time.

Questions? Please write to Benjamin Fancy at [email protected].

A joint initiative of the Princeton Writing Program and the Graduate School.