Students who have achieved excellent results in a certain subject and have a strong interest in this field can choose to pursue a doctorate. However, people who have a doctorate advise future students to think carefully about whether they really want or need a doctorate, because the doctoral program will take many years to complete.
According to the data of "Investigation on Obtaining Doctoral Degrees", the median time for individuals who obtained doctoral degrees in 20 17 years to complete their studies is 5.8 years. However, the survey shows that many doctoral programs usually take more than 6 years to complete, such as doctoral degrees in humanities and arts, and the average time for an individual to obtain a degree is 7. 1 year.
Some doctoral students begin to study for doctoral degrees after obtaining master's degrees, which means that their time in graduate school is the sum of their time studying for master's degrees and doctoral degrees. In order to get a doctorate, students must submit and successfully defend an original academic paper, which must be approved by the thesis defense Committee. It is so difficult to write a thesis and defend it that many doctoral students have completed most of the work required for their degrees without completing their thesis, thus quitting the doctoral program. Dropouts of these doctoral programs often use "except dissertations" or the abbreviation "ABD" in their resumes.
According to a comprehensive study on the graduation rate of doctoral students published by the Graduate School Council, only 56.6% of doctoral students have obtained doctoral degrees.
Education Admissions Consulting Company H&; Ian curtis, the founding partner of C Education, is studying for a doctorate in French at Yale University. Curtis said that there are several steps to get a doctorate. Students usually need to complete the course requirements and pass the comprehensive examination. He wrote in an email: "Once these tasks are completed, how long it takes to write a paper depends on who you are, how you work, what field you work in, and what other responsibilities you have in your life." Curtis said that although some doctoral students can finish a thesis within one year, in fact, this is rare, and the writing process of the thesis may last for several years.
Curtis added that the level of support received by doctoral students from academic consultants or teachers may be a key factor in determining the length of time required to complete doctoral programs. Curtis suggested: "Before you decide to take part in a specific project, you should meet your future consultant." "At the same time, ask his/her current or former students for help and find out who he/she likes to work with."
Curtis also pointed out that if there is a gap between the time required to complete the doctoral degree and the student financial assistance period, it may slow down the completion of the doctoral degree. He said: "Remember, if you have no money at some point during your doctoral studies, you need to find a paid job, so you won't have so much time to concentrate on writing your thesis." "If the competition time of a project you are studying is obviously longer or shorter, this is good information worth considering."
He added that potential doctoral students who have obtained a master's degree in the field where they intend to pursue a doctoral degree should investigate whether the courses they have studied in the master's program meet the requirements of the doctoral program. He said: "You should discuss the details of your course to see if the courses you study in the master's program meet the requirements of the doctoral program and how many credits your master's program can bring to your doctoral program."
Emmanuel C. Nwaodua, who holds a doctorate in geology, said that some doctoral programs require candidates to publish papers in first-class peer-reviewed academic journals. He warned: "This may extend your doctoral time by several years."
Pierre Huget, CEO and co-founder of H & ampC Education Company, said that future doctoral students should know that a doctorate is to prepare a person for becoming a scholar in the future. Huget wrote in an email: "Most doctoral students' jobs after graduation are academic and directly related to their research fields: professors, researchers and so on." "In fact, the higher the degree of specialization, the fewer job opportunities. Before starting to study for a doctorate, students should make sure that they want to pursue academic or research work. If they are not sure, they should take time out to show recruiters that they have gained some professional practical experience, not just academic talents.
Jack Ah Pullman is a director of business writing, a published writer and a doctoral student, who mainly studies organizational communication at Albany-new york State University. He said that a project that requires flexible courses and allows students to customize courses according to their academic interests and personal obligations is a good course.
Joan Ji, a professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Michigan, said that the length of time required to study for a doctoral degree varies with the subject of doctoral research. "The length of doctoral programs is very regular, even in specific fields; For example, you can and expect to get a doctorate in economics within five years, but this is impossible in art history (or most humanities). "
Joan Ji added that doctoral programs in humanities usually require students to learn a foreign language, and extensive field research is needed in anthropology and art history. The funding for doctoral programs in humanities is usually only five years, but there are not many cases of obtaining doctoral degrees in humanities during this period. She said: "Because of this, many doctoral students (if not most) have to work to make a living, thus further prolonging the time to complete their doctoral studies."
Jean-Marie Carey, who received her doctorate in art history and German from the University of Otago, New Zealand, suggested that future doctoral students should check whether there is a timetable for their future doctoral programs, listing the time required for doctoral students to complete their studies. It is also a good choice to talk to the doctoral graduates of this school and ask them about their experiences.
Christine Reddington Bennett, founder of Illumii Education Consulting in North Carolina, encourages people who want to get a doctorate to think carefully about whether they want to be a scholar. Bennett holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and assessment, and previously served as an assistant professor at Wake Forest University. He said that a doctorate is most suitable for "lifelong learners". People considering studying for a doctorate should ask themselves the following questions: "Are you a very curious person? Can you persist? "
Bennett suggested that future doctoral students visit their target campus, because a doctoral program needs a lot of time, so it is very important to find a school that they feel comfortable with. She added that aspiring doctoral students who like cooperative learning environment should pay attention to those highly competitive research projects, because students who like cooperative learning environment may not be able to thrive in that environment.
Alumni of doctoral programs have noticed that the process of obtaining doctoral degrees is arduous regardless of the type of doctoral programs. A doctorate is a long-term guarantee of your time, energy and economic resources, so if you are passionate about research, you will get a doctorate more easily.
A doctorate is not about rearranging your years of knowledge, but your ability to create new knowledge. Your intellectual masterpiece (that is, your thesis) needs a lot of time, intellectual creativity and innovation to complete, so you must be passionate about it.
Curtis said that the enthusiasm of future doctoral students for academic work, teaching and research is the key criterion for them to decide whether to obtain a doctorate. He said: "Although the time required to complete the doctoral degree is a concern that many people know, I personally think that time is not the most important consideration." "Good doctoral programs provide their students with generous grants, medical care and sometimes even housing subsidies."
Erin, Graduate Admissions Consultant of IvyWise Admissions Consulting Company? Skelley said that doctoral students' efforts to complete their doctorates may be more related to students' academic interests or personal circumstances than to complete their doctorates for the sake of courses.
She wrote in an email: "The time to complete the doctoral degree may depend on many variables, but the specific subject or school can only explain the difference for one or two years." "When a student completes a doctoral degree for a long time, it is usually related to the students' courses and research, and they need extra courses to complete their comprehensive exams; They changed the focus of the course or thesis and needed additional courses or research; Or their research has not produced the desired results, and they need to produce a new theory and conduct more research. "
Skelley warned that in some cases, if the average completion time of a doctoral program is based on one or two anomalies, the average completion time may be misleading. She suggested that future students should not only focus on the duration of a doctoral program, but also examine the award-winning rate and graduation rate of the doctoral program.