About Grad Student Success Coaching

Welcome! If you’re an aspiring or current graduate student feeling overwhelmed or confused, you are in the right place. Here at Graduate Student Success, we believe in cutting to the chase, so here’s the lowdown. Over a decade ago, Graduate Student Success Coach, Dr. Cristie Glasheen, PhD, recognized the need for better advisement along the ‘tion’ spectrum of grad school. That’s everything from consideration, through application, through graduation. So, she founded Graduate Student Success in 2014 (then called Step Strong Coaching).

When she began, Dr. Glasheen focused on helping Master’s and Doctoral students who were struggling to complete their degrees. Now, due to the huge demand, Grad Student Success has grown. In 2024, she started officially coaching prospective grad students who were stressed by the process or wanted to increase their chances of getting accepted. In 2025, she also welcomed Master’s Success Coach, Alecia M. Kipping, MSW, to join Grad Student Success and work with aspiring and current Master’s students looking for additional support.

About Academic Success Coach, Dr. Cristie

Nice to meet you! I’m your Graduate Student Success Coach, Dr. Cristie Glasheen. I’m an academic coach specializing in helping graduate students, like you, get into and get through their doctoral or professional degrees.

Graduate school is tough. Not only are you expected to perform at the highest academic level, but often you’re balancing more commitments than ever before. Between coursework, teaching commitments, research activities, and meeting family or work commitments, all while writing a thesis or dissertation, it can be overwhelming. The secret is that it doesn’t have to be. That’s why I started academic coaching for graduate students and founded Grad Student Success*. For over a decade now, I’ve helped graduate students find more efficient ways to approach studying, writing, and conducting research so that they can finish faster and with less stress.

With a bachelor’s in psychology, a master’s degree in public health, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology, I know the secrets to academic success and productivity. I completed my MPH in two years despite working two jobs and taking 18 credit hours most semesters, so I know what it’s like to do a lot of juggling and hard work. I completed my coursework and dissertation in three years while working part-time.

After a decade of professional research, I’m able to teach you the skills to be more focused, directed, and efficient, and better able to handle the challenges that come with being a grad. student. My mission is to get you unstuck and help you stay unstuck so that you can graduate on time, with as little stress as possible. I’ve helped students from around the world get into graduate school and earn their degrees, and I’m looking forward to helping you.

Due to high demand, I am only seeing prospective and current Ph.D. and professional degree students. Master’s students are encouraged to schedule a free consultation with Coach Alecia. Don’t worry, I’ve personally vetted her; she’s a great coach and we work closely together. If she thinks I’d be a better fit for you, she’ll make that happen.

About Master’s Success Coach Alecia M. Kipping

Coach Alecia earned her master’s in social work from NYU and has spent over a decade in public service. She specializes in helping prospective master’s students strategize and craft their graduate school admissions packages for maximum results. She also offers productivity coaching for master’s and non-research PhD students. She is an outspoken supporter of nontoxic productivity and embracing the strengths that come from neurodiversity. In her free time, she is an exceptional artist and the queen of frugal travel. If you ask nicely, she might even share international travel secrets.

If you’re a current or prospective Master’s student who wants help getting into graduate school or needs support getting through, book a free consultation with her today!

Get Your Grad School Questions Answered: Free Consultation

We offer highly personalized, client-focused services to students who are a great match with us. We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee and don’t take clients we aren’t right for. So, there’s no risk or high-pressure sales during our consultations, just an easy conversation answering your questions about graduate school and coaching, and what we can do for you.

Graduate Student Coaching With Us

Let’s face it, grad. school is a world unto itself. It’s got its own rules, its own customs, and even its own language. Navigating it all can be overwhelming. There’s coursework plus practicums, capstones, teaching requirements, theses, dissertations, and for many, juggling work and family. On top of all that, if you get a bad adviser or even just one who isn’t very engaged, it can feel like it’s just too much! No wonder there are so many A.B.D.s out there!

Studies have shown that mentoring is a vital component of completing graduate school. Academic coaching will give you the mentorship you need. First, we’ve been there. We know how to make it through with your sanity intact. Second, we know all about productivity, motivation, and handling procrastination. We’ve been helping people become more productive for decades, even before we started formally coaching. Third, Dr. Cristie has over a decade of professional research experience in study design and analysis – need advice on how to set up your study or do your analyses? Yup, she can help you there, too. Whatever you need to make it through your Master’s or Ph.D., we can help.

Academic coaching is done online or over the phone, making it easy for you to work with us from anywhere in the world. We’ve helped clients in countries as far away as Kenya, Turkey, England, and Japan.

Not Sure if Graduate Student Coaching Is For You?

We get it. Coaching is a commitment, and maybe you are worried about taking on one more thing, but that one more thing can be the difference between success and burnout. We are so confident that coaching will make your life a thousand times easier, we offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Here’s a small selection of our whys. You can check out more here.

Having Cristie as a coach was one of the best investments I made in graduate school. Period. She was instrumental in helping me pass my comprehensive exam and finish my research proposal, all while giving me the tools to manage two other projects I was juggling at the time. Despite being laser-focused and results-driven in helping me achieve my academic outcomes, Cristie is also very human and reminded me that graduate school is more than just academics and that you have to make time for yourself and for fun stuff

Alex, Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, 2020

Finished! My dissertation was defended on 01-July and I am an official Ph.D.! What an incredible journey. I am so grateful for our interactions and still apply [your] lessons in life.

A.S., Ph.D. Public Health

‘Just got this in my email – Approved with no restrictions! THANKS, COACH!’

K.G., Ph.D. in Epidemiology

Free Graduate Student Coaching Consult

It’s really easy to schedule a coaching consultation with one of us. Just click the button below to schedule a free coaching consultation. Easy-peasy. No hard sales or pressure tactics, just a conversation about how we can help you get into and excel in your program.

Are you still wondering if this is for you or if this is the right time to start academic coaching? Maybe you aren’t sure we’re the right graduate student coaches for you. Maybe you aren’t sure if you need a coach or a therapist. That’s OK. We can help you understand the difference and figure that out. Check out our Master’s or Ph.D. coaching services for more details. Then, just schedule a free consultation with one of us, and we’ll take the time to answer all your questions, even the ones you might not know to ask. That’s what the consultation session is for: to help you make an informed decision. No high-pressure sales or obligations!

You Deserve To Succeed.