Dissertation Coaching for Ph.D. Students

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Ph.D. and Dissertation Coaching

Are you feeling lost or overwhelmed trying to earn your PhD? Are you spinning your wheels, stressed out, and frustrated? Do you need someone to answer your questions and provide support? You might need PhD coaching, and you are not alone. Many bright and talented doctoral students struggle to complete their degrees. In fact, between 25% and 50% of PhD students drop out, with the majority citing the lack of support as a major contributing factor in their decision to leave academia. That’s what PhD and dissertation coaching is for and why I founded Graduate Student Success: to provide academic and dissertation help to students struggling to complete their degrees.

Click here to schedule a free online PhD or professional degree coaching consultation

Help for Doctoral Students

Sometimes grad. school feels like someone dropped you off on an alien planet with an incomplete translation dictionary and a travel guide from the ’80s, but it doesn’t have to be this way. There is help! That’s why I started Graduate Student Success Coaching, because too many capable graduate students, like you, were struggling to finish their PhD with their sanity intact. Worst of all, they weren’t struggling because they lacked talent, skills, or dedication, but because they weren’t getting the support and advice they needed to make it through. Data suggest that between 25% and 50% of PhD students don’t finish their degrees, with most citing lack of support as one of the major contributing factors in their decision to leave.

No matter what stage of a PhD you are in (completing coursework, studying for quals or prelims, developing your dissertation idea, conducting your research, or writing the darn thing), I can teach you the strategies you need to succeed more efficiently and with less stress.

Confident Ph.D. student thanks to graduate student coaching and dissertation help.
Dissertation Help is an Easy Click Away!

It Is Not Your Fault

You knew going into it that graduate school was going to be a lot of work. What they didn’t tell you is that suddenly you’ll be expected to balance courses, exams, research, TAing, family, and possibly a job, all while trying to complete a dissertation; the largest project you may have ever undertaken. It’ll be taken for granted that you’re great at planning, productivity, problem-solving, and project management, even though you may never have been taught these skills. It even has a name, The Hidden Curriculum.

Even students who have developed these skills struggle. Advisors often don’t have the time to give every student the attention they need. After all, they have their own research, teaching, and family responsibilities. And heaven forbid you’re neurodivergent, trying to succeed in a system that often ignores your needs, with advisors who often don’t understand.

That’s what dissertation coaching is for, and that’s why I’m here. Whether you are trying to balance more responsibilities than you’ve ever had, have had a setback that has left you second-guessing yourself, are struggling with stress, perfectionism, or impostor syndrome, or are fighting against procrastination, I can help you lower stress, improve productivity, and get you moving through your degree efficiently.

How A Dissertation Coach Can Help

Graduate school is challenging, but it doesn’t have to consume your life. You can be a graduate student and still be happy! It doesn’t have to be a constant battle against stress and fatigue. You don’t have to give up having fun. PhD coaching can help you with:

The Graduate Student Mindset

  • Reduce feelings of overwhelm
  • Improve confidence
  • Manage test anxiety
  • Overcome burnout
  • Reduce feelings of isolation
  • Preserve work-life balance
  • Defeat the perfectionism demon

Productivity Coaching

  • Improve time and energy management
  • Prioritize and strategize
  • Increase efficiency
  • Develop organizational skills
  • Keep you accountable

Dissertation Coaching

  • Strengthen research skills
  • Improve your writing
  • Clarify your research questions and methodology
  • Organize and make your dissertation manageable
  • Defeat writer’s block
  • Deal with challenging advisers or committee members
  • Handle feedback with grace and aplomb
  • And most of all: FINISH! FINISH! FINISH!
Click here to schedule a free online PhD or professional degree coaching consultation
Graduate Student Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed

Ph.D. Coaching: I Can Help You

Picture of Dr. Cristie Glasheen, academic success coach providing dissertation help for graduate students.
Dissertation Coach
Dr. Cristie Glasheen

With a BA. in psychology, a master’s in Public Health, and a PhD in Epidemiology, I know the tricks to navigate academia. After 10 years in research as a Mental Health Epidemiologist, balancing anywhere from 5 to 12 research projects simultaneously, I’ve developed numerous strategies for efficiency, planning, and organization. Now it’s been over a decade of providing PhD and dissertation coaching to graduate students from around the world.

I know that I can teach you the skills, tricks, and techniques for succeeding in graduate school faster and with less stress. I’ve helped students just like you overcome the challenges of graduate school so you can finish your degree.

These are just some of the problems I’ve helped clients overcome:

  • Students whose test anxiety caused them to fail all or most of their comps/prelim exams
  • Students who worry they don’t belong in graduate school
  • Single parents are overwhelmed with work, school, and family care
  • Students with ADHD who needed help with organization, prioritization, and time management
  • Students who procrastinate so badly that they can’t start anything until just before it’s due
  • Students who have become so lost in the weeds on their dissertation that they’ve been spinning their wheels for months (longer in some cases) with little to show for it
  • Students with absentee advisors and little guidance on how to move forward
  • Students receiving vague, unconstructive criticism on things like writing or research skills
  • …and many more

I’m so confident that I can help you finish your degree that I offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, no questions asked. So, if you’re ready to get started, all you have to do is schedule a free PhD coaching consultation. We’ll meet online and chat about what you need and how I can help. No muss, no fuss, and no pressure.

Why Do Bright Students Need a Dissertation Coach?

You might be wondering, “But I’m a PhD student, shouldn’t I be able to do this without coaching?” Lots of bright, talented students need PhD coaching or dissertation help. Sometimes:

  • School has come easily so far, but now the sheer volume of work is overwhelming.
  • Students are trying to earn their PhDs while balancing multiple responsibilities, like caregiving or employment.
  • Students aren’t getting the kind of advisement they need to succeed because, let’s be frank, good researchers don’t always make good advisors.
  • A student is neurodivergent and struggles to navigate a convoluted academic system, with unwritten rules, which wasn’t built with diversity in mind.
  • Students are overcoming a setback or have otherwise stalled in their degree and need help getting back on track.
  • Students just want to become more efficient so they can finish their degrees faster and move into their careers.

Whatever your reasons for seeking out PhD coaching, I’m here to help. Schedule a free consultation with me today by clicking the calendar button below. It’s quick, easy, and confidential, and might be exactly the help you need to finish your dissertation and earn your degree.

Click here to schedule a free online PhD or professional degree coaching consultation

M.H., Ph.D. Toxicology

Dr. Glasheen! I passed with barely any revisions requested of me. I am able to submit my dissertation tomorrow morning […]!
Thank you for all your help!

A.M., Postdoc, Atmospheric Science

Hi Cristie, I just wanted to let you know that I finished my presentation on time… one day ahead of schedule! That’s a first for me. Thank you for your help keeping me on track with our coaching sessions!

A.S., Ph.D. Public Health

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. Candidate, Industrial/Organizational Psychology

I PASSED [the oral comprehensive exams]. Thank you so so so so so much! I could not have done this without you! [redacted for privacy] I can’t believe it’s over […] The beginning of the end is finally here! I’m so happy!!!

S.C., Professional Development Coaching

It’s so very evident how much Dr. Cristie cares about my progress and successes. It gets me through the hard days knowing how much she is genuinely routing for me. She’s gone out of her way to be responsive and supportive and help me get past the blocks I kept running into. She really did help get me unstuck and now I’m staying that way.

T.N., PhD. Evolutionary Biology

I’m a doctor!!! Wooo! The presentation went well […]. Thanks so much for all of your help getting to this point! I really appreciate it!

I.M., Ph.D. in Economics

What’s been the most helpful? “It has been useful to look at problems from a different/more helpful perspective. I like that I have been able to work on my thesis sustainably without burning out, considering that I have a full-time job. I usually feel very motivated to work on my thesis after the meeting with Cristie, and having weekly meetings helps me be accountable and drastically reduce my procrastination. I also really appreciate the knowledge sharing of resources and the work smarter, not harder approach (e.g. AI suggestions, Andy Stapleton videos, Focusmate, programs that help with identifying duplicates, etc).”

R.H., Admissions Coaching for Master’s Higher Education Admin

“Hi Dr. Cristie! (…)

I’m happy to report I got into all the programs I applied for!

  • [Redacted] University: fully funded, plus $24,000 stipend & health care (…)
  • University of [Redacted]: no scholarship offered, did not apply for GA positions.
  • [Redacted] University: offered 50% tuition, GA position offered up to 66% tuition. (…)”

*Some content redacted for privacy.

K.G., Ph.D. Public Health

Just got this in my email – [Dissertation] Approved with no restrictions! THANKS, COACH!

A.M., PhD Student, Economics

Successfully submitted my online [grant] application! It was an unknown journey for me, but what I now do know is that it was possible greatly thanks to you. So thank you so much!

A.S., Ph.D. Epidemiology

I don’t know how other people who are balancing work and family manage to finish their dissertations without a coach, but I am so glad [other client] told me about you. This was the best decision I could’ve made. I’m so thankful.

F.N., Ph.D. in Environmental Economics

What’s been the most helpful? “Breaking down tasks that overwhelm me. Navigating many difficult decisions that are crucial towards achieving my PhD. Getting feedback on my work. And tracking the work in progress which is often invisible.”

“I think Dr. Cristie does an amazing job. I have tried the free coaching provided by my institution and I would rather pay Dr. Cristie.”

H.N., Masters in Public Health

Just want to appreciate the incredible Cristie and how wonderful of a mentor she is. I’d want to be your student and to learn from you over and over again! There’s absolutely no one half as good as you’re. Thank you for being a part of my journey. My heart is SO full now that I’m done with my degree and I reflect on the huge role that you played in making it true. What a gem!

Alex, Ph.D. Environmental Science

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.

K.H., Doctor of Physical Therapy Student

It has been a crazy semester but it is going really well. Just finished 2 of my courses and feel really good about them. I feel like I have been able to use so much from working with you the last year to make this semester go amazing.

G.G., Ph.D. Bioinformatics

I just wanted to let you know I successfully defended and will be graduating in a couple weeks!
Thank you again for all your help […]!

Graduate Student Coaching Satisfaction Guaranteed