Are you dating a PhD student, or married to one? Watching your spouse go through the PhD process can be confusing at best and downright terrible at worst. Your partner may have to be away for hours (or days) at a time. And even when they are home, they have Read more…
If you do an online search for finding an academic job you will find many, many websites with advice on how to find a job. You will also see a great deal of information about how few jobs there are and the ever increasing number of PhDs looking for those Read more…
Anyone who has a doctorate or who knows someone who went through the process knows that it can take over your life. But it shouldn’t take away from your life–at least not the core of passion that makes it worth living. Unfortunately, is not uncommon to see graduate students go Read more…
Interviewing for an academic job is exciting. You have made it through the hundreds of CVs that were submitted and now you have been contacted for an interview. In this article, I’ll go over what you can expect during the academic job interview process, and give you some sound advice Read more…
What should you name your dissertation? This is an important question as your dissertation title will stay with you forever. You can’t go back and change it after the fact. It will be part of your legacy, so you want to take some time and make sure that it communicates Read more…
Who among us has not had moments where thoughts like “They are going to figure out that I don’t know what I am talking about”? These feelings have become known as the impostor syndrome, which some describe as an inability to recognize one’s accomplishments. This is not a recognizable condition Read more…
Many people go into the process of getting a doctoral degree with big plans and even bigger dreams. Perhaps you want to do research that will change the world. Maybe your goal is to be a guide for the next generation. Or, you may be planning to show those in Read more…
The dissertation journey can be a lonely one. Even if you are in a close cohort of people, there are still many times when you are on your own. Your dissertation committee may be helpful, but they are responsible for many students and may not be able to give you Read more…
How long does it take to write a dissertation? The most accurate (and least helpful) answer is, it depends. Since that’s probably not the answer you’re looking for, I’ll use the rest of the article to address the realities of how long it takes to write a dissertation. How Long Read more…
Chapter 2 of your dissertation, your literature review, may be the longest chapter. It is not uncommon to see lit reviews in the 40- to 60-page range. That may seem daunting, but I contend that the literature review could be the easiest part of your dissertation. It is also foundational. Read more…