This is the tag for discussions about the Doctor of Philosophy degree and programs that lead to this degree.
42
votes
5answers
2k views
How to become well-known in the research community while being a PhD student
This question is mainly about building useful contacts during the course of the doctorate. How does one keep the relevant community in other universities informed about his/her research work? One way ...
42
votes
7answers
2k views
What can I do to recover from a short term burnout?
Over the past few days, my advisor and I had been going really hard. We got a really good idea and the preliminary results looked good, so I started spending long days in the lab, going home only to ...
35
votes
8answers
979 views
What questions should one ask to the former/current students of a professor before deciding whether to do PhD under him/her?
Before deciding to do one's PhD under a certain professor, what questions should one ask of his/her former and current students?
Many students (including me) are not sure what exactly to ask. May be ...
30
votes
3answers
420 views
How to evaluate potential advisers on grounds other than their research/publications?
While accepting an offer to grad school, one is basically entering into a lasting relationship with one's adviser - most likely, someone whom the applicant has never met before, and the only exposure ...
28
votes
7answers
2k views
Points to consider when deciding whether to get married during a PhD
Marriage is a recurrent topic in the lives of most PhDs. The meagre pay and the burden of responsibility could make marriage in the middle of PhD look like a terrible idea. But on the positive side, ...
28
votes
3answers
1k views
How to cope when PhD advisor quits midway
How does a PhD student come to grips with the situation when his/her advisor quits midway?
What should be the student's considerations when the professor offers him a choice to move along with him? ...
27
votes
3answers
673 views
What are some options for a graduate student abandoned by Ph. D advisor?
I'm currently doing a PhD in applied mathematics, I'm about to start my final year. The problem that I've been working on for the last 2 years was originally proposed by my advisor and one of his ...
26
votes
13answers
2k views
Is it possible to work full time and complete a PhD?
Is it achievable to perform a doctorate while working in a private company
(not in college) full time (8 hours per day, 5 days per week)?.
Or is it too much work or stress?
24
votes
4answers
1k views
How do you earn opportunites to review journals or conference papers?
Critical reading is a very useful skill for most PhD students (and postdocs and researchers in general).
Instead of assuming that everything you read in a scientific paper is right, it's useful to ...
23
votes
5answers
1k views
How to deal with the frustration of doing PhD at a low-ranked university
Though I did my bachelor's at a top-notch college, because of low GPA I had to settle down for PhD at a low ranked university. Now I see that there is lack of intellectual atmosphere and very few ...
23
votes
5answers
1k views
How to acquire 3 recommendation letters to apply for jobs when working with 1 advisor?
We all know that usually when applying for a post phd academic position students need at least three recommendation letters. But what can we do if we have only worked with our advisor and we have no ...
21
votes
6answers
1k views
Who actually is a Post-Doctoral fellow?
Many of us often talk about Bachelor's and Master's students, PhD students, researchers, professors, and postdocs.
But, do we know what we actually intend when we say "Post-Doc"?
We all know that a ...
21
votes
4answers
446 views
Any suggestions to create and maintain a good research atmosphere
I am starting my PhD in Computer Science next semester in a relatively small department (around 20 faculty members). I have been to the university a few times and I noted the collaboration among ...
21
votes
2answers
399 views
How important are citations when applying for jobs or promotions?
How important is citation count for fresh doctorates? Is this number more important for joining the academia than the industry?
What is the importance of citations for someone seeking tenure? Does ...
21
votes
2answers
466 views
Is there such a thing like “18-months/half-time syndrome”?
I am about 1,5-2 years in my PhD studies in the no-man's-land between bioinformatics, systems biology and proteomics. (If you are not sure what those terms are, read: "biomedical research")
Coming ...
20
votes
10answers
1k views
I am currently debating whether to leave my PhD program- any advice
TL;DR: Young male graduate student in his first year of a PhD program who has lost his passion for the academic world. Seriously considering quitting but don't know what to do. Science background. ...
20
votes
5answers
788 views
How to tell my advisor I don't want to stay in academia
I don't want to stay in academia after finishing my PhD. My current research field is not exciting to me anymore, but also I am too old to change fields. Although my research and my interest were so ...
20
votes
3answers
908 views
When does a PhD end?
When does a PhD end? I know this is a very general question on this forum, but let us consider a CS-engineering group. What is the usual and primary consideration for letting the student finish ...
20
votes
4answers
3k views
Contacting professors for PhD vacancies
I know many master's students who get an opportunity to talk to their potential PhD advisors well before applying. In most cases this opportunity is available by the professors with whom they worked ...
19
votes
7answers
2k views
What part-time jobs are suitable for PhD students?
I know PhD is unsparing in terms of available time, but at times there may be situations that demand some extra income, for example, family situations or some medical emergency.
In such cases, are ...
19
votes
2answers
1k views
EU Ph.D. in Germany: Calling yourself “Dr.” or “Ph.D.”
My question is about using a Ph.D. title/grade from an EU University in Germany.
Germany recognizes (properly obtained) Ph.D.s from other EU countries.
People with an EU Ph.D. are allowed to use the ...
18
votes
5answers
674 views
Value of contributions to Wikipedia when applying for academic jobs
The quality of articles in Wikipedia has grown tremendously in the last few years. A "good article" requires a big list of necessities, including coherence, readability, comprehensiveness and credible ...
18
votes
7answers
3k views
What are the advantages and disadvantages to completing a Masters program before applying to a Ph. D program?
I've been considering applying to graduate school of some form or another in Mathematics. During my undergraduate years, I did decently on my undergraduate coursework (mostly A-s, some As, a B) but ...
18
votes
2answers
593 views
What's a good way out when research is stuck?
Consider a mid-level PhD student in a STEM field (maybe 2-3 years into the program), he and his advisor are working on something relatively new and interesting but they have reached a point where the ...
18
votes
3answers
658 views
Is it possible to become a professor in a field where you don't have a PhD degree?
I am a economics major student who will be applying for PhD programmes pretty soon. I am quite interested in economics, but I find myself even more interested things related to probability theory, ...
18
votes
1answer
883 views
What to do if one has had an unsuccessful PhD (because of others' fault)?
I was talking to a friend of mine, and he just feel in a deep depression due to finishing his PhD.
He will be defending in the coming weeks, and there is a high likelihood he will pass.
In his ...
18
votes
2answers
536 views
How long before PhD graduation should I start applying for post-doc positions?
My earliest PhD graduation date is 10 months away. Funding permits me to stay 1–3 months longer, so the final date is still uncertain.
It is never too early to make contacts for possible post-docs. ...
17
votes
4answers
771 views
Details an applicant should include/exclude in an introductory letter to a prospective grad school adviser?
I'm applying for graduate school (PhD in computer science), and I'm considering writing to faculty whose research areas match with what I intend to pursue, to understand:
Whether they'd be looking ...
16
votes
5answers
695 views
How to deal with advisor not allocating time to me?
One of my advisor's students asked me how frequently I have meetings with him. And since at that time we had very few meetings I replied:
"We have a very few meetings and the advisor does not ...
16
votes
3answers
540 views
Is it acceptable to decline to review a paper due to lack of familiarity?
I have recently started my PhD studies. My advisor, as member of a program committee, has delegated a the review of a conference paper to me. This is my second peer review.
Since I have not done ...
16
votes
5answers
595 views
Reading (& understanding) a lot of papers is hard. How to deal with it?
I am a student doing my Masters (in Computer Science). I am much interested in Ph.D and I know to do Ph.D I really need to read and understand a lot of papers. (I also know that its not all about ...
16
votes
4answers
2k views
How to find a good topic for a PhD research proposal?
In many countries an application for a PhD position includes a written research proposal, so my questions is what are some advises/strategies to come up with a good topic/idea for a PhD research ...
16
votes
2answers
418 views
Women in academia
Recently, i was giving a small informal talk in a local college. The audience comprised of engineers and my talk was based on current research in engineering. One of the girls asked about the position ...
16
votes
2answers
791 views
What are some reasons to get (or not get) a PhD?
Lots of people start PhD programs, but far fewer finish (in some programs the drop-out rate is 50% or higher). Some people are motivated to get a PhD by: wanting a job in academia, wanting a job in ...
16
votes
2answers
169 views
How do multiple PhD scholarships combine?
I'm currently in the process of applying for various scholarships to fund my PhD.
Since I'm writing to many different organizations/institutions/etc., I started wondering whether these different ...
16
votes
4answers
906 views
What to do when PhD is becoming hell due to non-cooperation from supervisor?
I have a nightmare adviser, who is also the head of the Department. The problems are:
he has too many students,
never reads my chapters,
he is trying his best to sabotage TA or RA opportunities ...
16
votes
2answers
3k views
When does one go for a double doctorate?
I would love to know the circumstances under which people opt for a second doctorate degree.
Could a professor working in a university write up a thesis and submit it to his department to earn a ...
16
votes
1answer
523 views
PhD to be advised by Mr. Enfant Terrible?
I have been admitted to a generally well-regarded Computer Science PhD program.
My potential advisor's research interests match very well with mine. However, he appears to be an extremely ...
15
votes
2answers
408 views
How often do you email a supervisor?
I'm doing a PhD related to my supervisor's research area. Sometimes, I think about problems that I do not immediately know the answer to. Naturally, I come to Stack Exchange and other forums and ask ...
15
votes
2answers
534 views
Priority of application materials for admission decision
As I've already saw, many people here are related to admission process. And I want to ask their opinion on what is priority of all stuff from application: what is the most important (letters of ...
15
votes
3answers
719 views
How old is too old for a PhD?
Are there any age limits (formal, informal, or guidelines) that schools use when deciding to accept someone into a PhD program? I'm most curious about the upper age limits. For example, will most ...
15
votes
2answers
473 views
How does the ranking of a university relate to a future career in mathematics?
Although I am an active user of SE, I have chosen to remain anonymous because of the nature of this question. I am currently a graduate student at a university that lands in the mid 70s among U.S. ...
15
votes
4answers
262 views
Keeping advisees aware of literature
When advising students performing research in one's group, what's the best way to make sure that they keep on top of the literature?
Is it best to forward any article of interest to the student?
...
15
votes
4answers
883 views
Are PhD scholarships and assistantships taxable?
I'm currently in the process of applying for various scholarships to fund my PhD.
Many scholarships mention explicitly the approximate amount per year of the scholarship. This is usually the amount ...
15
votes
2answers
337 views
How should a PhD student approach a collaboration?
I'm a PhD student at a top-ten university in the UK. I'm just starting the second year of my social science doctorate. I'm way 'ahead' of where I should be at the moment in terms of words written, ...
14
votes
5answers
300 views
How should an educational institute woo good faculty?
What steps must an educational institution wanting to recruit good faculty take? There is a cycle in the academia:
Good doctorates from top universities invariably join other top universities as ...
14
votes
4answers
658 views
Will self funding a PhD hurt employment chances?
I am thinking of self funding a PhD in Applied Mathematics at either the University of Oxford or Cambridge. Would employers, both for academic (postdoc etc) and industry (research) jobs think less of ...
14
votes
2answers
369 views
Sending a paper to a 'Letters' journal
I am at the cusp of finishing my PhD, and my advisor and I have decided that it is time to publish since there seems to be no hole in the theories that I propose. I have always maintained that I'd ...
14
votes
3answers
637 views
Is “working from home” a bad thing in academia?
Is it a bad thing in academia if a student works from home? Missing department talks and seminars is obviously bad, but in case a student is pursuing a problem alone and he feels comfortable ...
14
votes
2answers
378 views
How to withdraw from an application process in a polite manner
Say a candidate has met with a potential PhD supervisor and it was rather evident that he would be willing to take on the candidate. You have emailed a lot and met in person a few times, but nothing ...
