Intensive Course in Research Writing

2024 Course

We are pleased to announce the 16th Texas A&M University Intensive Course in Research Writing. This course will be available both in person and on Zoom. It will meet in January through April 2024.

The course will run about 15 weeks, with one approximately 3-hour session per week. The sessions will be on Mondays from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. US central time. The first class session will be on January 22, and the last session will be on April 29.

This course is designed mainly to help researchers to increase their proficiency in writing and publishing scientific papers. It also includes instruction on related topics, such as giving oral presentations, preparing poster presentations, and writing grant proposals.

In the main version of the course, each participant drafts a scientific paper and then revises it based on feedback from a mentor. Thus, participants should have research that is fully analyzed and ready to write up (or, better yet, a paper already rough-drafted). Participants should plan to spend at least several hours per week on homework.

A “light” version of the course also is available. In it, participants do a series of exercises instead of writing and revising a scientific paper.

The instructor for the course is Barbara Gastel, MD, MPH. Dr. Gastel is a professor at Texas A&M University and lead author of How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 9th edition. The course also includes guest presentations.

This course is open to both US and international participants. To enroll, international participants must provide evidence of English proficiency. As in past years, the fee to attend the main version of the course is $1,500 (US). The fee to attend the “light” version remains $750 (US).

The course is intended largely for early-career researchers, including postdoctoral fellows and new faculty members. It also can aid science editors. Experienced faculty members sometimes attend in preparation to give similar instruction to their own students.

The main application deadline for the course is December 1, 2023. If space still exists, applications may be accepted later. Given the format of the course, the number of spaces is limited.

We welcome requests for further information about the course.

Prospective participants should contact:
Barbara Gastel, MD, MPH | Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences | b-gastel@tamu.edu

Information also is available from:
Roberto Tuda Rivas, PhD | Facultad de Contaduría y Administración | Unidad Torreón
Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila | México | hbpe55@gmail.com