Why GradTLC?

“It’s hard to know when I’m making progress or if I’m doing well…Or what is even going on.”

“I don't have a sense of belonging...demographically, there are not a lot of people who look like me here.”

“‘My advisor said, ‘The only advice I can give you is write’...[I was] supposed to figure out everything on my own...”

"One of the greatest challenges for me has been time management, there's so much to do…readings, assignments, work, my research assistantship.”

Does this sound familiar? These are statements from grad students we have talked with around the country.

Graduate school is hard. As fellow former grad students ourselves and professionals who support graduate students, we (Kate and Laura) get it.

We can help. Through working with hundreds of graduate students, first at the Princeton University Center for Teaching and Learning and now across institutions, we have developed a suite of effective programs specifically designed to help you succeed in your graduate program–wherever you are, and whatever your struggles. We support international and domestic students, first-gen and BIPOC students, neurodivergent and students with disabilities, parents and caregiving students, grad students just out of college and grad students returning to school after many years.

We offer cross-institutional community and high touch, tailored support–with real people you can talk to in real-time. Based on our expertise in working with graduate students and in the field of teaching and learning, we can help you to:

Acquire new skills to meet grad education's distinctive academic demands–such as learning to prioritize and use time intentionally; write, read, and make notes effectively; and manage large and complex research projects
Cultivate productive relationships with your advisor so that you have the support you need to complete your dissertation or MA capstone or thesis
Develop effective strategies to cope with stress and multiple demands on your time
Gain accountability with cross-institutional support from a small group of grad students and increase your feelings of connection and belonging
Stay in school, complete your degree, and fully flourish as a graduate student

Let's face it: graduate school represents an incredible investment of time, energy, and money. You deserve to have the resources you need to thrive and excel. We are here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this hard. Why wouldn’t you give yourself the chance to reach your full potential at this pivotal moment?

We (Laura and Kate) founded GradTLC to support graduate students like you.

We look forward to working with you.

Our Story

At GradTLC, we help graduate students learn and thrive.

This venture began out of our experience working together at The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton University. In 2018, Laura founded Thriving in the Academy, the university's first-ever program to support graduate students as learners and emerging scholars beyond their individual programs and at each stage of their development. In 2019, Kate joined the Center as a Fellow while completing her PhD in English and worked directly with Laura to further build out the new program. She fell in love with educational development and shifted her career aspirations from a tenure track faculty member to a teaching and learning specialist.

Through our work together at Princeton and beyond, we have coached, supported, listened to, encouraged, and learned with and from hundreds of graduate students across all disciplines. We have also collaborated with faculty and administrative partners committed to graduate education on and beyond our campus, and shared aspects of our work at national conferences with leaders from across the country. In all of these interactions, it has become increasingly clear that graduate students face particular challenges beyond the disciplinary content of their programs - challenges that are rarely adequately addressed by their home departments or institutions. Students are often confused by the vast "hidden curriculum" - the many tacit expectations and assumptions about how to "do" graduate school successfully; some students experience "impostor stress" while others have difficulty balancing personal responsibilities with novel academic demands. Others, still, are burdened with the high cost of graduate education or are distressed to learn about the limitations of the current academic job market. And most report feeling ill-prepared to navigate a wholly new and unfamiliar terrain.
Such challenges can become magnified for students who are international and new to the U.S. academic context; identify as neurodivergent and/or have a disability; or experience a major life event such as becoming a parent or a spouse or managing an illness while in school.

Graduate school does not need to be this hard, or hard in these ways. Unfortunately, most universities do not offer cohesive, theoretically sound, and evidence-informed resources to support grad student learning and thriving....Fortunately, there is hope!

We launched GradTLC to provide the types of supports that graduate students desperately need and deserve to flourish as emerging scholars and professionals.
It's that simple, and that profound.

Come join us!

Get to Know Us

Co-Founder

Laura Murray, PhD

A life-long learner, educator and psychologist, Laura has worked at the intersections of emerging adult development, well-being, and teaching and learning in higher ed. for over 15 years. Prior to launching GradTLC, she founded and led an award-winning program to support all 3,300 graduate students at Princeton to learn and thrive. As Asst. Director of The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton, she partnered with diverse campus leaders, faculty, and students to develop co-curricular programs to support students through coaching, consultation, and learning cohorts. Her research and applied work explores the potential of colleges and universities to promote well-being; evidence-based and inclusive mentoring as a tool to transform higher education; and transitions to and through higher education for students with dis/abilities and/or who are neurodivergent.

Laura holds a B.A. from Vassar College, an M.A. in Communication from Stanford University, and an M.S Ed. and Ph.D. in Human Development and Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught undergraduate and graduate students at Stanford University, Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles, the University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University.

Co-Founder

Kate Thorpe, PhD

A passionate and seasoned teacher, writer, and literary scholar, Kate has over a decade of experience teaching and working in higher ed. Most recently, she was an Instructional Designer at the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton and - later - an educational developer and consultant for Princeton’s Office of the Dean of the College. She has partnered with institutional leaders, faculty, and students on myriad aspects of teaching and learning, and spear-headed learning cohorts on both course design and inclusive and equitable teaching for faculty and graduate student instructors. In addition, she has worked closely with Laura over five years to create and administer graduate student virtual writing accountability groups based on her own desire for such a group during graduate school.

Kate holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University. She is a former Fulbright scholar and published poet, and has taught at the University of Iowa, Wesleyan University, the Technical University of Dortmund (Germany), Mercer County Community College, and Princeton.

Why GradTLC?

Our Story

Get to Know Us

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