Yogyakarta, December 17th 2025 – The Performing Arts and Fine Arts Doctoral Program (PSPSR) at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) successfully held an intensive Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Coaching Clinic on December 13th – 14th December 2025. This strategic activity, aimed at accelerating and improving the quality of S3 students’ dissertation proposals. It took place at the Wibisono Meeting Room, The Jayakarta Yogyakarta Hotel & Spa. The venue, located on Jl. Raya Solo – Yogyakarta No.km, 8, Kalongan, Maguwoharjo, Sleman. It was chosen to allow participants to concentrate fully without campus distractions, ensuring a comfortable and productive environment for proposal development.
The preparation of a dissertation proposal is a crucial stage in the doctoral education process. Based on academic experience, many students face complex challenges , particularly in formulating the research gap and effective novelty (originality). Other difficulties are weak justification of the chosen methodology, obstacles in constructing a well-integrated conceptual framework and theoretical thinking. Some students still struggle to connect theory, variables, and empirical phenomena. This combination of constraints often leads to delays in proposal completion and a decline in the quality of the academic substance produced.
The Coaching Clinic, overcoming these issues, was designed as an intensive mentoring program provided by the program’s faculty. Participants in this activity were S3 PSPSR UGM students who had not yet taken the comprehensive proposal exam. Students who participated in this session included Debby Dwi Elsha, Citra Dewi Utami, Michael Bezaleel, Anwar Hidayat, Nicolas Anderson Sobreira Tavares, and Hanafi Husni Mubaroq.
The series of events began on Saturday, December 13th 2025, with registration at the hotel. The session was opened at 08:00 AM WIB by the Chief of the S3 PSPSR Program, Dr. Budi Irawanto, S.IP., M.A.. Subsequently, Dr. G.R. Lono L. Simatupang, M.A., provided a session reinforcing the Concepts & Methodology of Doctoral Research at PSPSR. The core activity was the individual Coaching session conducted in parallel, where participants received feedback and guidance from faculty coaches. In addition to Dr. Budi Irawanto and Dr. G.R. Lono L. Simatupang, Dr. Rr. Paramitha Dyah Fitriasari, M.Hum., also played a significant role as one of the clinical supervisors in this session. During this coaching session, participants were guided to clarify the problem formulation, strengthen the theoretical foundation, and design the appropriate methodology.
In the late afternoon and evening, students were encouraged to undertake Independent Work for Proposal Revision in the meeting room. A crucial session, the Follow-up Plan (RTL), was held from 06:30 PM to 08:00 PM WIB. In this session, participants drafted a revision plan and timeline for completion , making the proposal more mature and ready to be submitted for a comprehensive proposal seminar or exam. The activity concluded on Sunday, December 14th 2025, with an Independent Work session in the hotel area before check-out at 11:00 AM. All funding for this activity was covered by the budget of the Performing Arts and Fine Arts Doctoral Program.
This Dissertation Proposal Coaching Clinic was expected to be a strategic step to improve the academic quality of doctoral students , accelerate the completion of their studies, and produce high-quality research relevant to the needs of science. The specific benefits anticipated include the development of a more focused and higher-quality dissertation proposal , and increased self-confidence among students in defending their research ideas.
Author: Berlian Belasuni