New answers tagged phd
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There are vast differences between the different countries in Europe when it comes to this issue. You could compile a list of countries that you would be interested in doing your PhD, then look at the relevant universities there and what they offer for PhD students. For instance in the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark), you could find a paid ...
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Writing a template letter looks ethically questionable to me but it is perfectly reasonable to give the professor some guidance as to what you want written in the recommendation letter. The ideal way is to have a 1-on-1 talk but if that is not feasible you can also provide some written notes.
Giving the professor the base information like your CV and ...
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Asking for a template letter is bad practice, albeit probably not uncommon in some countries.
Generally speaking, I'd avoid volunteering any template, and if the professor asks for one, think carefully whether you really want a letter from them.
When you ask for the recommendation letter, just include your CV, possibly a transcript of your exams, and then ...
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Europe is not a country so PhD policies vary greatly from one country to the other.
With that being said, because you mentioned northern Europe: As far as Germany is concerned, if you do a PhD in a public university (which are the best ones) you do get paid.
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You go to their website, find a job posting, and apply. Example of a PhD Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo.
Not all positions are free, and not every PhD student is paid. You'll have to look.
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I did a PhD defense as well, in 1984. Hard core physical science. Getting this far, it's highly doubtful you could fail at this point, and hopefully your committee knows that. More importantly, just be confident, mainly because you probably know more than anyone else on earth about your thesis content and subject. Good luck, it will go fine.
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Keep in mind that failing a student during his/her defense is an immense embarrassment for the advisor, who surely wants to prevent exposing him/herself to such situation. I have heard of advisors forbidding their students to defend, they were lound and clear. The only situation close to a student defending a failing thesis I've ever hear about happened when ...
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Based on what you say, I doubt that there are any issues other than getting yourself prepared. The comments here at this writing are all valid. It seems like she just deferred to your own judgement about scheduling but was giving you a way to extend prep time if you thought you needed it. I don't read anything negative in to that.
Likewise, I can't see any ...
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Been through that for my PhD and did very well, your anxiety is normal.
Prepare a very good and detailed defense presentation:
I suggest you organise it as follows: (list from my PhD supervisor Veronica Orvalho)
Problem statement, very short and clear
teaser video of what you have done that supports the problem statement you previously defined
Explain the ...
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In short, I think the answer is certainly yes: you can and should indicate what research you would like to work on in your statement of purpose (SOP), which can (and should) differ from your past experiences. I assume that, in addition to the SOP, you’ll be submitting a resume or CV which will comprehensively list all of your accomplishments and research ...
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I like the given answers but I'm surprised there isn't more practical advice in them. If you want "things to do", here you go:
As someone who recently defended (successfully) and felt similarly before the defense, I think you are not only suffering from impostor syndrome, but a separate feeling that probably has/deserves its own name.
As the creator and ...
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There is so much fake research going on under the guise of PhD. It has become just like any other Masters defence. No one cares much about the results, no one is gonna check/review them. You are gonna do just fine my friend..... just go in there with a wide smile, and say everything you have done very confidently. You are gonna do amazing :-).
Also, you ...
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You feel ashamed by your work ? Please don't !
A lot has been said by other contributors, but I would go further, make one more step.
You probably think about all what you have NOT done during your PhD and it's normal, you can not explore all the possibilities. for the quiz with the jury members, feel open. It's not a lawsuit, it's a discussion between ...
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My supervisor mentioned 3 key points that were checking in the viva.
Interesting work
The work is correct
You did the work
You have done the work. Understand your own work first, not stuff related to your thesis. Trust your supervisor on the first two.
I have never seen anyone not nervous before a viva. My other half commented that I still had some ...
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The fact that you have submitted your thesis is in itself an achievement, with sufficient responsibility shared by your Guide too.
You may have already worked out and specified some propositions in your submission. You need to list them during the ViVa and explain them, to provide more clarity during your presentation.
Always try to present objectives ...
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Let me emphasize the "trust your supervisor" advice that others have already given you. I don't know the official procedures in your department, but I imagine they're somewhat similar to those in my department. Before one of my Ph.D. students can schedule a thesis defense, I have to provide two official documents. One is a description (usually about two ...
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This is not really an answer but a (somewhat) relevant anecdote that's too long for a comment. About 20 years ago, I chaired my department's graduate admissions committee. The college had a requirement that new graduate students whose undergrad degree is from outside the U.S. must participate in an orientation before the start of their first semester of ...
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I think this depends a lot on your advisor. Some will be very helpful and supportive and others not. I had both experiences.
The first part of a doctorate in the US is normally a lot of coursework, giving you access to several faculty members. You will also probably be assigned an advisor, but you don't need to stay with them for the dissertation phase. ...
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Here's the thing: People's dissertation work is usually not an earth-shattering achievement.
I feel that I have just not done enough.
I feel my Ph.D. was sorta-kinda enough; and a "strict version of me" might not have accepted it.
(in hindsight I developed a better opinion of it. I now feel it was solid enough work.)
My work is simple and I also ...
answered Nov 17 at 21:40
einpoklum - reinstate Monica
29.8k2 gold badges48 silver badges158 bronze badges
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To complement what @Ethan wrote, trust the process.
No (good) supervisor will let you do irrelevant work and defend insufficient results. If you have good supervision, trust your supervisor. By the point of defending you should have at least a few peer-reviewed papers and conference presentations under your belt. Use that to convince yourself that your ...
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It might.
First off: there is no record of you failing the program so it’s unlikely that anyone will know unless they actively try to find out. So, I wouldn’t highlight it. If they do find out, I strongly recommend telling the truth, it’s easy to find out whether you we’re enrolled. From now I’m assuming that the committee somehow finds out, or you tell ...
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Take a deep breath. You will be OK. You're suffering from impostor syndrome.
PhD defenses are traditional formalities. Your advisor wouldn't let you schedule yours if they didn't think you ready.
The examiners are more likely to want to know what you did than theory from your first year you have forgotten.
When you pass your defense come back here and ...
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My advice would be to leave it out. It's probably a mild negative, as is your age. (In a theoretical world, it shouldn't matter, but I am discussing reality.) You're not under any compulsion to volunteer this information and I would not bother.
Again, I would say the concern/issue is mild. You'll be fine. Many people end up getting married (some ...
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The further you are in your studies, the more your track record will dictate where you go. But I think that you are not at a point that experience in a related field is going to harm you. And, if you do things cleverly, you can gain very relevant experience.
For instance, you can gain experience in a relevant programming language doing bioinformatics (which ...
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I doubt that you will find any general problem in the US, though it is possible that some individual professors might take issue. Some labs, for example, expect long continuous hours at the bench.
I don't know of laws in the US governing this, but there may be some.
There are tons of grad students with children. I had two kids in the final years of my ...
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I agree completely with Buffy.
RE the SoP, I would add:
You need to spend a paragraph to address it honestly. They're not going to admit you until they feel like they understand what happened, so you want to give your side of the story. In particular, you should honestly answer why you think you will be more successful someplace else.
But don't dwell on ...
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While I agree with the comment of Jon Custer, you could, indeed, have an issue if someone, validly, finds a flaw. But, assuming everyone is rational (not always valid, I know), it is unlikely to result in total failure.
I've had students in such situations (not my own, but I was a committee member). We just sent the student back to work to resolve the ...
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Two bits of advice.
First, your SoP should be as positive as possible without hiding the setback. Talk, as usual, about your goals and how your preparation makes you a likely success.
But, I think more important, use your adviser's personal/professional contacts to help get you in the door somewhere. The advisor, even beyond a LoR, can boost your chances ...
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Here is the table.
You have to look at row E13, which is the standard monthly pay for PhD students with a full position in Germany. The first column is for the first year, then you advance to the second column at the beginning of the second year, and to the third column at the beginning of the fourth year.
Those are values before taxes. Clicking on the ...
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It's a completely neutral reply. I write these emails to qualified candidates about once a week myself. It is, in essence saying: "You've contacted the wrong guy. I'm not making the decision about admission. We'll talk again if and once you've been accepted and here."
In other words, I don't think you can draw any kind of inference from the email -- neither ...
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it's a very convenient tool. You might use it for most of your drafts, work, and review. There's many easy ways to get at the docs, and you can name revisions (so that you don't have a bazillion copies).
You may find it doesn't have the layout features needed for your work, or expected of people in your field in order to look professional and similar to ...
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"Talk to the professor first" is the norm in most of the rest of the world, but in many graduate programs in STEM in the US admissions decisions are made by a graduate admissions committee and students are matched to research supervisors (and funding sources) after they've been admitted to the program.
It's quite common to have some specialized source of ...
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Even without knowing any further details, it is clear that you are too hard on yorself. Doing a PhD is not about doing a certain amount of work and then graduating.
You need to learn new skills, research and keep adapting until you find out in which direction to go and how your contribution is going to be. So in those 5 years you did much more than just the ...
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This really depends on the University and department.
European universities will more often accept PhD students at random times of the year. American ones are more standardized because a PhD student is actually more like a student than an employee and will therefore normally do courses (i.e. a masters as part of a PhD).
Since you don't have a masters yet, ...
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Knowing your research field might help answer this question. Here is an answer that applies to electrical engineering (and probably engineering in general).
I would suggest you to choose a research topic that you like, as this is important for a successful PhD.
That said:
industry-funded PhD projects tend to involve more "practical" or "product-oriented" ...
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I would be surprised if PhD programs admitted students in the Spring semester. at least as far as I know in the US there is a single application cycle each year.
So, as far as i understand it, if you can't pull off an application for Fall 2020 then you're essentially looking at applying for a Fall 2021 start. You'll have to wait for the next yearly cycle. ...
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Typically Australian universities would use Honors 1 equivalence for allocating scholarships both to locals and international students. So the 85 would be that of an equivalent mark. I have found one document from QUT that explains this, you should search something similar for the university you are applying for.
https://cms.qut.edu.au/__data/assets/...
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It may be GPA. It may be rank in your class. It may be your percentile on the graduate exams. I agree with @GrotesqueSI: The answer is to email the professor again and request clarification.
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It depends on the structure of the PhD in question. Ask the university.
Basically, there are generally two different types of PhD courses: ones that include a coursework component, and those that don’t. Typically, these will be offered by universities in the USA and in Europe, respectively, though as always it’s possible that any given university might be ...
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It very much depends on the Country, the Field, and the Master's.
I'm assuming, since you are asking that you are interested in Country where a Master's degree isn't an absolute requirement for a PhD in your field of interest. My field (Life-Sciences) in my country (UK) is like this.
I would say that it very much depends on the Master's degree. As far as ...
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You need to have a masters degree to even be able to apply for a PHD. It's a basic legal requirement. In most countries (In Europe and America. USA being different clearly than the rest of the continent while most latin countries have extremely similar systems between them and regarding Europe given the inspiration came from there) you need to have graduated ...
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Worry not. You dont need to justify your time, you only need to justify your thesis and what is written in it. Anything else wont exist for the duration of the defense exam. You are there to defend the data and results of your research, and any question outside of that you can redirect back to your thesis.
For example, if you have a research in pokemon ...
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With hindsight most PhD theses could have been done a lot quicker, but we typically don't start with hindsight. Moreover, you are supposed to learn while doing your PhD thesis. So again, someone with the experience learned from doing a PhD might have avoided some of the futile work (but see my first point), but that is not a fair comparison. So the first ...
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There is a LOT of dead time during a PhD. I've had friends spend years on projects that never came to anything. Some people are luckier than others - and any examiner will know this.
The main reason not to worry is that they shouldn't ever take into account the time taken to produce the thesis, only the quality of the thesis itself. They don't hold you to a ...
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This answer reflects a North American perspective at an R1 or R2 university - answers in other parts of the world may be different.
If I saw someone who completed a PhD in two years I would want to know things like:
What work did they do before their PhD? (Did their prior experience make the PhD faster?)
What were the primary contributions of their PhD? (...
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I suggest you contact them with a letter of interest as soon as you can. You should have a CV and a SoP in good shape, but you probably have a short time to refine it if they show interest. Letters and such can probably be safely delayed for a bit until everyone is serious.
But, since they ask for references, names will probably do for the moment. But you ...
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Linguist here.
I would rank publications in the following manner:
books (reasonable to make plans while a grad student, but might be too ambitious for most PhD students to actually pursue while they're also working on their dissertations)
peer-reviewed journal articles, which I think I'd rank almost alongside books if you're publishing in top-tier journals....
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Interviews through teleconferencing (e.g. Skype) are pretty common if it is not feasible to invite all shortlisted candidates for an in person interview.
However, since we are talking about Slovenia to Germany, it is very well possible they would would invite you to come over if they wanted to interview you. In such a situation it would be standard ...
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You paint a pretty bad picture. I have no reason to doubt its accuracy. It is common enough to be worrying, but not universal. But, you haven't written any positive aspects - any upside. I suggest you consider whether there is an upside. If not, you would be well-advised to find another advisor or even a different institution.
Some advisors can be ...
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Is it wise to just ignore and do my research independently and forget about her? I mean just considering having no advisor and do my own PhD by myself since she clearly stated that I should define my problem and I think I can solve a problem as long as she leaves me free and give me some time.
This is probably the worst thing you could do. In order to ...
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