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What is a PhD?

A PhD is a postgraduate degree. It stands for ‘Doctor of Philosophy’ and is one of the highest academic qualifications you can achieve.

Courses involve both research and academic learning where you take on a significant amount of independent work.

For most PhDs, you’ll research for, write and publish an extensive thesis on a specialist subject area.

How long is a PhD? 

PhDs courses usually last between three to four years if you study full-time. Students often extend their thesis deadlines and finish the work in their fourth year. If you study part-time, courses can last six or seven years. 

Courses can begin anytime throughout the year, though most studentships (doctorate scholarships) start in September or October.

What qualifications do you need for a PhD?

You usually need a good second-class (2.1) undergraduate honours degree in a relevant subject area, or equivalent. Many courses also ask for a master’s degree. 

When applying, you may need to demonstrate an ability to conduct research. This could be by showing your experience of independently working on a research project. You’ll probably also have to submit a research proposal that outlines what you’ll be studying.

How is a PhD taught?

There’s very little teaching involved in a PhD degree. Your course may begin with five or six hours per week of classes where you learn about research methods and techniques. Aside from this, you’re in control of your studies, though you’ll receive some guidance from an academic tutor.

How is a PhD assessed?

PhD students are assessed mainly by a thesis, and a closed oral examination where examiners ask questions about the thesis. 

Degrees are usually graded as pass or fail.

What skills do you learn during a PhD?

As well as subject-specific skills, you develop transferable skills such as: 

• Organisation 
• Research 
• Work habits 
• Project management 
• Critical thinking 
• Written communication 
• Presentation

How much does a PhD cost? 

Fees vary widely between courses and institutions, but are commonly between £3,000 and £6,000 per year for UK students. International students often pay more. 

Many degrees are partly or fully funded, and lots of students receive scholarships and bursaries. UK Research Councils provide universities with grants of around £4,000 per year for each funded PhD student.

PhD degree facts

Some new PhDs are more vocational and offer practical experiences as well as research. These are designed for those looking to advance their careers. 

When applying for a PhD, you show the university that you’re the right person for an advertised position, or that you’d be suitable to complete your research proposal. 

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Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Additional Information

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The Harvard Ph.D. in Education trains cutting-edge researchers who work across disciplines to generate knowledge and translate discoveries into transformative policy and practice.

Offered jointly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Ph.D. in Education provides you with full access to the extraordinary resources of Harvard University and prepares you to assume meaningful roles as university faculty, researchers, senior-level education leaders, and policymakers.

As a Ph.D. candidate, you will collaborate with scholars across all Harvard graduate schools on original interdisciplinary research. In the process, you will help forge new fields of inquiry that will impact the way we teach and learn. The program’s required coursework will develop your knowledge of education and your expertise in a range of quantitative and qualitative methods needed to conduct high-quality research. Guided by the goal of making a transformative impact on education research, policy, and practice, you will focus on independent research in various domains, including human development, learning and teaching, policy analysis and evaluation, institutions and society, and instructional practice.   

Curriculum Information

The Ph.D. in Education requires five years of full-time study to complete. You will choose your individual coursework and design your original research in close consultation with your HGSE faculty adviser and dissertation committee. The requirements listed below include the three Ph.D. concentrations: Culture, Institutions, and Society; Education Policy and Program Evaluation; and Human Development, Learning and Teaching . 

We invite you to review an example course list, which is provided in two formats — one as the full list by course number and one by broad course category . These lists are subject to modification. 

Ph.D. Concentrations and Examples

Summary of Ph.D. Program

Doctoral Colloquia  In year one and two you are required to attend. The colloquia convenes weekly and features presentations of work-in-progress and completed work by Harvard faculty, faculty and researchers from outside Harvard, and Harvard doctoral students. Ph.D. students present once in the colloquia over the course of their career.

Research Apprenticeship The Research Apprenticeship is designed to provide ongoing training and mentoring to develop your research skills throughout the entire program.

Teaching Fellowships The Teaching Fellowship is an opportunity to enhance students' teaching skills, promote learning consolidation, and provide opportunities to collaborate with faculty on pedagogical development.

Comprehensive Exams  The Written Exam (year 2, spring) tests you on both general and concentration-specific knowledge. The Oral Exam (year 3, fall/winter) tests your command of your chosen field of study and your ability to design, develop, and implement an original research project.

Dissertation  Based on your original research, the dissertation process consists of three parts: the Dissertation Proposal, the writing, and an oral defense before the members of your dissertation committee.

Culture, Institutions, and Society (CIS) Concentration

In CIS, you will examine the broader cultural, institutional, organizational, and social contexts relevant to education across the lifespan. What is the value and purpose of education? How do cultural, institutional, and social factors shape educational processes and outcomes? How effective are social movements and community action in education reform? How do we measure stratification and institutional inequality? In CIS, your work will be informed by theories and methods from sociology, history, political science, organizational behavior and management, philosophy, and anthropology. You can examine contexts as diverse as classrooms, families, neighborhoods, schools, colleges and universities, religious institutions, nonprofits, government agencies, and more.

Education Policy and Program Evaluation (EPPE) Concentration

In EPPE, you will research the design, implementation, and evaluation of education policy affecting early childhood, K–12, and postsecondary education in the U.S. and internationally. You will evaluate and assess individual programs and policies related to critical issues like access to education, teacher effectiveness, school finance, testing and accountability systems, school choice, financial aid, college enrollment and persistence, and more. Your work will be informed by theories and methods from economics, political science, public policy, and sociology, history, philosophy, and statistics. This concentration shares some themes with CIS, but your work with EPPE will focus on public policy and large-scale reforms.

Human Development, Learning and Teaching (HDLT) Concentration

In HDLT, you will work to advance the role of scientific research in education policy, reform, and practice. New discoveries in the science of learning and development — the integration of biological, cognitive, and social processes; the relationships between technology and learning; or the factors that influence individual variations in learning — are transforming the practice of teaching and learning in both formal and informal settings. Whether studying behavioral, cognitive, or social-emotional development in children or the design of learning technologies to maximize understanding, you will gain a strong background in human development, the science of learning, and sociocultural factors that explain variation in learning and developmental pathways. Your research will be informed by theories and methods from psychology, cognitive science, sociology and linguistics, philosophy, the biological sciences and mathematics, and organizational behavior.

Program Faculty

The most remarkable thing about the Ph.D. in Education is open access to faculty from all Harvard graduate and professional schools, including the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Learn about the full Ph.D. Faculty.

Jarvis R. Givens

Jarvis Givens studies the history of American education, African American history, and the relationship between race and power in schools.

Paul L. Harris

Paul Harris is interested in the early development of cognition, emotion, and imagination in children.

Meira Levinson

Meira Levinson is a normative political philosopher who works at the intersection of civic education, youth empowerment, racial justice, and educational ethics. 

Luke W. Miratrix

Luke Miratrix is a statistician who explores how to best use modern statistical methods in applied social science contexts.

Eric Taylor

Eric Taylor studies the economics of education, with a particular interest in employer-employee interactions between schools and teachers — hiring and firing decisions, job design, training, and performance evaluation.

Paola Uccelli

Paola Ucelli studies socio-cultural and individual differences in the language development of multilingual and monolingual students.

View Ph.D. Faculty

Dissertations.

The following is a complete listing of successful Ph.D. in Education dissertations to-date. Dissertations from November 2014 onward are publicly available in the Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) , the online repository for Harvard scholarship.

• 2022 Graduate Dissertations (265 KB pdf)
• 2021 Graduate Dissertations (177 KB pdf)
• 2020 Graduate Dissertations (121 KB pdf)
• 2019 Graduate Dissertations (68.3 KB pdf)

Student Directory

An opt-in listing of current Ph.D. students with information about their interests, research, personal web pages, and contact information:

Doctor of Philosophy in Education Student Directory

Introduce Yourself

Tell us about yourself so that we can tailor our communication to best fit your interests and provide you with relevant information about our programs, events, and other opportunities to connect with us.

Program Highlights

Explore examples of the Doctor of Philosophy in Education experience and the impact its community is making on the field:

Reshaping Teacher Licensure: Lessons from the Pandemic

Olivia Chi, Ed.M.'17, Ph.D.'20, discusses the ongoing efforts to ensure the quality and stability of the teaching workforce

Lost in Translation

New comparative study from Ph.D. candidate Maya Alkateb-Chami finds strong correlation between low literacy outcomes for children and schools teaching in different language from home

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Bodet Receives 2024 Outstanding PhD Student Award in Research

Duschia Bodet, E’21, MS’21, PhD’25, electrical engineering, is the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding PhD Student Award in Research , which recognizes PhD students who have shown an impressive ability to conduct high-level research and make contributions to the scholarly literature in their field.

Bodet is an Electrical Engineering PhD candidate exploring how to enable high data-rate wireless communications at Terahertz frequencies. Captivated by the topic during undergraduate electives, she began working in the Ultrabroadband Nanonetworking Lab for work study. In her fifth year as a BS/MS student at Northeastern, she participated in two part-time co-ops: one with the Griffiss Institute at the Air Force Research Lab and one at a public elementary school in Brookline, Massachusetts. During this time, Bodet realized she enjoyed the combination of research and teaching, which led her to pursue her PhD at Northeastern. In her spare time, Bodet enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, coaching Northeastern’s women and gender inclusive ultimate frisbee team, and tutoring through the Petey Greene Program.

Related Departments:Electrical & Computer Engineering

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PhD students earn major NSF graduate research fellowships

Three Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering graduate students have received 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships for their promising quantum and metameterial antennas research.  

This year, the NSF awarded 27 students from CU Boulder , including 18 from the College of Engineering and Applied Science with the 2024 graduate research fellowship, a prestigious award recognizing students in a wide variety of STEM disciplines, exploring some of the most pressing issues of our time. 

Each recipient will receive three years of financial support, including an annual stipend of $37,000, as well as professional development and research opportunities.

Aliza Siddiqui

Advisor: Joshua Combes Lab: Combes Group

Bio: Siddiqui is a first-year PhD student with a research concentration in Quantum Engineering and Architecture. She graduated from Louisiana State University, home of the Tigers, with a degree in computer science.

My proposal involves creating a new benchmarking/testing framework for the next generation of error-corrected quantum computers. Given the noise of physical qubits, recent work has suggested combining the state of several physical qubits to create a logical qubit. I will collaborate with Dr. Josh Combes and Sandia National Labs for my PhD. Through this work, the quantum community will have a tool-kit that will help us determine how well a quantum computer performs, diagnose what and where the issues are and create solutions to realize full-scale, error-corrected quantum systems. 

Dylan Meyer

Advisor: Scott Diddams Lab: Frequency Comb & Quantum Metrology Lab

Bio: Meyer is a first-year PhD student in the FCQM group. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama in Electrical Engineering.

My research proposal is the development of highly stable and robust millimeter wave time and frequency (T&F) transfer, supporting T&F transfer between atomic clocks. T&F transfer is used to create clock networks that are essential for positioning and navigation, such as GPS and essential infrastructure like the Internet and power grid. These technologies support up to $1 billion dollars of trade and financial transactions a day. In addition, these clock networks are capable of fundamental science experiments capable of probing new and exciting questions related to physics and geodesy.

Advisors:  Cody Scarborough and Robert MacCurdy Lab Groups:  EMRG and MAClab

Bio:  Pham received their Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, where he conducted research on RF filters. After graduating, he worked for 3 years in industry as an RF engineer developing radar systems. He will begin his PhD this fall 2024. 

My research proposal is on the application of multi-material additive manufacturing techniques for metamaterial antennas. Metamaterial antennas are capable of more sophisticated capabilities and unique form-factors compared to conventional antennas. By leveraging multi-material additive manufacturing, there are more degrees-of-freedom for the shape and composition of the metamaterials. This research would enhance the design flexibility and capabilities of next-generation antennas to meet the growing performance demands of future wireless systems.

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A quick scan of Emma Bullock’s CV reads like those of many other MIT graduate students: She has served as a teaching assistant, written several papers, garnered grants from prestigious organizations, and acquired extensive lab and programming skills. But one skill sets her apart: “fieldwork experience and survival training for Arctic research.”

That’s because Bullock, a doctoral student in chemical oceanography at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), spends significant time collecting samples in the Arctic Circle for her research. Working in such an extreme environment requires comprehensive training in everything from Arctic gear usage and driving on unpaved roads to handling wildlife encounters — like the curious polar bear that got into her team’s research equipment.

To date, she has ventured to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, five times, where she typically spends long days — from 5:00 a.m. to 11 p.m. — collecting and processing samples from Simpson Lagoon. Her work focuses on Arctic environmental changes, particularly the effects of permafrost thaw on mercury levels in groundwater.

“Even though I am doing foundational science, I can link it directly to communities in that region that are going to be impacted by the changes that we are seeing,” she says. “As the mercury escapes from the permafrost, it has the potential to impact not just Arctic communities but also anyone who eats fish in the entire world.”

Weathering a storm of setbacks

Growing up in rural Vermont, Bullock spent a lot of time outside, and she attributes her strong interest in environmental studies to her love of nature as a child. Despite her conviction about a career path involving the environment, her path to the Institute has not been easy. In fact, Bullock weathered several challenges and setbacks on the road to MIT.

As an undergraduate at Haverford College, Bullock quickly recognized that she did not have the same advantages as other students. She realized that her biggest challenge in pursuing an academic career was her socioeconomic background. She says, “In Vermont, the cost of living is a bit lower than a lot of other areas. So, I didn’t quite realize until I got to undergrad that I was not as middle-class as I thought.” Bullock had learned financial prudence from her parents, which informed many of the decisions she made as a student. She says, “I didn’t have a phone in undergrad because it was a choice between getting a good laptop that I could do research on or a phone. And so I went with the laptop.”

Bullock majored in chemistry because Haverford did not offer an environmental science major. To gain experience in environmental research, she joined the lab of Helen White, focusing on the use of silicone bands as passive samplers of volatile organic compounds in honeybee hives. A pivotal moment occurred when Bullock identified errors in a collaborative project. She says, “[Dr. White and I] brought the information about flawed statistical tests to the collaborators, who were all men. They were not happy with that. They made comments that they did not like being told how to do chemistry by women.”

White sat Bullock down and explained the pervasiveness of sexism in this field. “She said, ‘You have to remember that it is not you. You are a good scientist. You are capable,’” Bullock recalls. That experience strengthened her resolve to become an environmental scientist. “The way that Dr. Helen White approached dealing with this problem made me want to stick in the STEM field, and in the environmental and geochemistry fields specifically. It made me realize that we need more women in these fields,” she says.

As she reached the end of college, Bullock knew that she wanted to continue her educational journey in environmental science. “Environmental science impacts the world around us in such visible ways, especially now with climate change,” she says. She submitted applications to many graduate programs, including to MIT, which was White’s alma mater, but was rejected by all of them.

Undeterred, Bullock decided to get more research experience. She took a position as a lab technician at the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, where she studied methane emissions from seagrass beds — her first foray into chemical oceanography. A year later, she applied to graduate schools again and was accepted by nearly all of the programs, including MIT. She hopes her experience can serve as a lesson for future applicants. “Just because you get rejected the first time does not mean that you’re not a good candidate. It just means that you may not have the right experience or that you didn’t understand the application process correctly,” she says.

Understanding the ocean through the lens of chemistry

Ultimately, Bullock chose MIT because she was most interested in the specific scientific projects within the program and liked the sense of community. “It is a very unique program because we have the opportunity to take classes at MIT and access to the resources that MIT has, but we also perform research at Woods Hole,” she says. Some people warned her about the cutthroat nature of the Institute, but Bullock has found the exact opposite to be a true. “A lot of people think of MIT, and they think it is one of those top tier schools, so it must be competitive. My experience in this program is that it is very collaborative because our research is so individual and unique that you really can’t be competitive. What you are doing is so different from any other student,” she says.

Bullock joined the group of Matthew Charette, senior scientist and director of the WHOI Sea Grant Program , which investigates the ocean through a chemical lens by characterizing the Arctic groundwater sampled during field campaigns in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Bullock analyzes mercury and biotoxic methylmercury levels impacted by permafrost thaw, which is already affecting the health of Arctic communities. For comparison, Bullock points to mercury-based dental fillings, which have been the subject of scientific scrutiny for health impacts. She says, “You get more mercury by eating sushi and tuna and salmon than you would by having a mercury-based dental filling.”

Promoting environmental advocacy

Bullock has been recognized as an Arctic PASSION Ambassador for her work in the historically underresearched Arctic region. As part of this program, she was invited to participate in a “sharing circle,” which connected early-career scientists with Indigenous community members, and then empowered them to pass what they learned about the importance of Arctic research onto their communities. This experience has been the highlight of her PhD journey so far. She says, “It was small enough, and the people there were invested enough in the issues that we got to have very interesting, dynamic conversations, which doesn’t always happen at typical conferences.”

Bullock has also spearheaded her own form of environmental activism via a project called en-justice , which she launched in September 2023. Through a website and a traveling art exhibit, the project showcases portraits and interviews of lesser-known environmental advocates that “have arguably done more for the environment but are not as famous” as household names like Greta Thunberg and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“They are doing things like going to town halls, arguing with politicians, getting petitions signed … the very nitty-gritty type work. I wanted to create a platform that highlighted some of these people from around the country but also inspired people in their own communities to try and make a change,” she says. Bullock has also written an op-ed for the WHOI magazine, Oceanus , and has served as a staff writer for the MIT-WHOI Joint Program newsletter, “ Through the Porthole .”

After she graduates this year, Bullock plans to continue her focus on the Arctic. She says, “I find Arctic research very interesting, and there are so many unanswered research questions.” She also aspires to foster further interactions like the sharing circle.

“Trying to find a way where I can help facilitate Arctic communities and researchers in terms of finding each other and finding common interests would be a dream role. But I don’t know if that job exists,” Bullock says. Given her track record of overcoming obstacles, odds are, she will turn these aspirations into reality.

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• PhD in USA – A Guide for 2020/21
• Finding a PhD

A PhD in USA takes approximately 5 – 6 years of full-time study and can cost between $12,000 – $45,000 per academic year. PhD programs in USA differ from that in the UK and Europe in that students must first take taught classes, coursework and exams before starting their research project.

Why Do a PhD in USA?

The United States has long had some of the most distinguished universities and advanced PhD programmes in the world. Combined with curriculum flexibility, rigorous teaching methods, vast funding opportunities, breathtaking campuses and significant career prospects, it’s no wonder that it is one of the most sought-after study destinations for research students.

In addition to comprehensive training standards, here are a few other reasons why a student may choose to undertake their PhD in the United States:

• Longer learning timeframes – A PhD in the US lasts longer than a PhD in the UK or Europe. This allows students to more confidently transition from undergraduate to postgraduate studies; more commonly referred to as ‘graduate studies’ in the US. This gives you the opportunity to learn more about your subject, research methods and academic writing in general before starting your research project.
• World-class universities – It’s no secret that some of the most well-known higher education institutions that continue to dominate global rankings are based in the United States. Although many factors go into determining whether a position is right for you, a PhD at a high-ranking American university will undeniably have many benefits, from excellent learning standards to access to innovative equipment and deep expertise.
• International network – The US has long been a popular choice among PhD students around the world. As such, the US hosts a diverse and multicultural learning environment in which many research students will quickly feel at home.
• Opportunities – With over 4,000 universities in the US, we can safely say you will have plenty of opportunities to find the ideal combination of project, supervisor and university that works for you.

Universities in USA

Universities in the United States can be divided into two types: public universities and private universities.

Public universities are financed by the state in which they are based. Because of this, public universities charge less for students from within the state and more for students from outside the state, including international students.

Private universities are not financed by their state, but by private donors, research funds and tuition fees. For this reason, private universities generally charge higher tuition fees than public universities and require all students to pay the same amount, regardless of whether they come from out-of-state or abroad.

According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 , eight of the top ten universities in the world are located in the United States. These are:

Method of Study

The main difference between a PhD in the US and a PhD in Europe lies in the program structure. Whereas a European PhD essentially consists of a single phase lasting three to four years , an American PhD consists of three different phases, each with its own time frame.

• Phase One – The first phase lasts approximately two years and focuses on building a basic foundation for the doctoral student. This phase consists largely of taught components such as lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions, in which the student learns more about theoretical concepts and research methods within their discipline.
• Phase Two – The second phase can be considered an assessment phase, which runs both periodically alongside and at the end of the first phase. Here, students complete coursework and take exams on the basis of the material they have covered of which they must pass in order to proceed to the third phase.
• Phase Three – The third phase lasts approximately three years and resembles the European PhD structure. During this period, the student undertakes an independent research project, including forming a research design, conducting experiments, writing a thesis (more commonly referred to in the USA as a dissertation) and sitting a viva exam.

Teaching Requirements

Besides structure, a key difference between a PhD program in the US and in Europe is the focus on teaching requirements. In the US, doctoral students are expected to lecture, lead tutorials, host laboratory sessions, mark coursework and provide office hours for undergraduate students. Although students studying in European will likely contribute to these at some point during their study, this would normally be on a voluntary basis and involve less time commitment.

Research Flexibility

Another difference is project flexibility. In Europe, students typically apply to a PhD project predetermined by a supervisor, and although there may be some scope to adapt the project, depending on the funding provider , it will usually be limited to how the project is carried out rather than what it is about. In the US, however, a student applies to become a doctoral candidate within a department rather than applying for a particular research project. This is because students are expected to decide on their thesis topic (also commonly referred to as a dissertation research topic) near the end of their first phase after they have developed a better understanding of their subject and know where their interests lie. Therefore, research students in the US generally have more flexibility and influence in the direction of their research than students in the United Kingdom or Europe.

PhD Admission Requirements in USA

PhD admission into US universities can be highly competitive, both because of the limited number of positions and the large number of annual applicants.

The eligibility requirements for a doctoral program in the USA can generally be divided into four sections:

• Grade Point Average (GPA) – in the US, a scoring system known as Grade Point Average is used to measure academic ability. A student’s GPA is calculated as a weighted score of the subjects they study during their undergraduate degree; an equivalent score is calculated by universities for international applicants. Although universities rarely set minimum GPA requirements for doctoral study, it’s worth being aware that a GPA of 3.0 is equivalent to a UK second class honours (2:1); the typical entry requirement for UK universities.
• Graduate Records Exam (GRE) – most universities will require you to take a series of examinations known as Graduate Records Exams, which are used to determine your suitability for graduate study. GREs will assess your analytical, reasoning and critical thinking skills as well as your depth of your subject.
• Student aptitude – in addition to academic ability, US universities also look for characteristics of a strong researcher. These include traits such as engaging in the subject in your own time, e.g. by attending talks and conferences, demonstrating a high degree of independence and enthusiasm, and a general passion for your subject.
• English Language Proficiency – international students whose first language is not English must sit language exams such as IELTS or TOELF to demonstrate their English language proficiency.

International students will also require a F1 student visa in order to study in the US, however, you would typically apply for this after you have secured a place into a doctorate program.

How to Apply for PhD in USA

When applying for a PhD position at a graduate school, the application process will differ between universities, however, they will all typically ask for the following:

• Academic CV – a short document summarising your educational background and current level of experience .
• Personal statement – a document which outlines why you believe you are suitable for PhD study and your passion for the subject.
• Academic transcripts – a complete breakdown of the modules and their respective marks you have taken as part of your previous/current degree.
• GRE scores – a transcript of your Graduate Records Exam results.
• Research statement – a condensed version of a research proposal outlining your general research interests, if required.
• Recommendation letters – references from several academic referees who endorse your qualities as a person, your abilities as a student and your potential as a doctoral researcher.

Application Deadlines and Fees

Since PhD programs in the United States have taught components, they commence at the same time as all other taught degrees, and therefore share the same application deadlines and start dates. This corresponds to an application period that typically begins in August and ends in February. Admission decisions are typically made in April, with successful students starting in August/September.

When you apply to a graduate school, you will be expected to pay a fee for each doctorate application to cover the school’s administrative costs for processing your application. The fee varies from university to university, but typically ranges from $50 to $100 .

Funding your PhD in USA

It’s very common for a PhD student to receive financial aid in the form of a PhD scholarship; in fact, this will be the case for the vast majority of students in the US.

PhD funding can be ‘fully funded’ covering the student’s graduate program tuition fees, accommodation and living costs, or ‘partially funded’ covering the student’s tuition fee only in part or full.

Besides funding, a graduate student can take on an assistantship, such as a graduate teaching assistant or research assistant, in which they take on a part-time salaried position at the university alongside their studies.

Due to the international and collaborate nature of American universities, there are also a number of international scholarships available, such as the Fulbright Scholarship and the AAUW International Fellowship .

PhD Duration in USA

In the US, a PhD takes approximately 5 – 6 years to complete if studying full-time, and 8 – 10 years if studying part-time.

If you already have a Master’s degree, your first phase can be shortened by one year at the discretion of the university.

Cost of a PhD in USA

The cost of a PhD program in the US can vary considerably depending on the type of university, i.e. whether it’s a public or private university, the doctoral course, i.e. whether it’s in a STEM subject such as computer science, engineering or a non-STEM subject, and whether you are a home or international student.

In general, however, the typical annual tuition fee for a PhD in the US is between $12,000 and $45,000 per academic year.

As with any doctoral degree, additional costs may include travel for collaborations, bench fees, accommodation and living expenses.

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• iSchool Connect

Wegrzyn awarded SMART Scholarship

PhD student Emily Wegrzyn has been selected for the prestigious Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship-for-Service Program, which is funded by the Department of Defense. The primary aim of this program is to increase the number of civilian engineers and scientists in the U.S. 

Wegrzyn holds a BA in history and MA in intelligence studies from American Military University and MLS from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. Her interest in librarianship started when she returned to college after serving in Iraq with the Army National Guard. While studying to become an X-ray technologist, Wegrzyn worked full time as a library assistant at the College of Coastal Georgia.

Wegrzyn's supervisory librarian, Duressa Pujat, told her that what she really wanted was to be a librarian and that she was a "natural." These words rang true to Wegrzyn, who finished her bachelor's degree and pursued library school.

Before completing her master's degree in library science, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hired her on a conditional basis for a position in the DC/Virginia area. When there was a vacancy at the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory, Wegrzyn relocated to Champaign to be part of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), the research and development arm of the Corps. 

"As fate would have it, I transferred into a location that is also home to the nation's number one graduate program in library and information studies. Fortuitous!"

With the SMART Scholarship, Wegrzyn can keep her position as an ERDC librarian while she upgrades/upskills to her goal of earning her PhD and pursuing her own research—focused on applying information literacy approaches to disrupt adversarial information operations. In the future, Wegrzyn would like to explore ways that gamification can strengthen one's information literacy, and the potential for artificial intelligence to help verify information, boosting individual cognitive security.

The scholarship supplements her salary, allowing her to work less than full time, while pursuing her PhD full time. 

"This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I had to go for it," said Wegrzyn of the scholarship. "Thankfully, I was selected. In all honesty, I was fully prepared to go for round two, maybe even round three if needed. As a retention scholar in the SMART program, I can stay right where I am at ERDC and the Corps of Engineers, but after finishing my PhD, I will have more research, leadership, and vertical movement opportunities."

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André Sousa, PhD – Slide of the Week

Title:  Taxonomy and divergent features of inhibitory neurons in the primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Legend:  (A) UMAP layout of all GABAergic inhibitory neuron subtypes with subclasses labeled. ChC, chandelier cells. (B) (Left) Sankey plots showing correspondence between predicted laminar organization and subtypes and/or subclasses. (Right) SST expression across putative cortical layers. Significance was tested with a one-sided Wilcoxon Rank Sum test (***, P < 0.001; ns, not significant). (C) colocalization of SST and RELN (arrowhead) in human dlPFC L1 revealed by double RNA in situ hybridization. Scale bar, 20 mm. (D) (Left) log-normalized expression of TH. (Middle) Double immunostaining for SST and TH. (Right) Proportion of SST+ and SST- cells within TH+ neurons. Scale bars, 20 mm in all species. (E) Immunofluorescence staining for TH and SST (left) or DDC (right), combined with SST RNA in situ hybridization. Scale bars, 20 mm. (F) Proportion of SST + and SST − cells in human TH+ neurons.

Citation:   Ma S*, Skarica M*, Li Q, Xu C, Risgaard RD , Tebbenkamp ATN, Mato-Blanco X, Kovner R,  Krsnik Z, de Martin X, Luria V, Martí-Pérez X, Liang D, Karger A, Schmidt DK , Gomez-Sanchez Z , Qi C, Gobeske KT, Pochareddy S, Debnath A , Hottman CJ , Spurrier J, Teo L, Boghdadi AG, Homman-Ludiye J, Ely JJ, Daadi EW, Mi D, Daadi M, Marín O, Hof PR, Rasin M-R, Bourne J, Sherwood CC, Santpere G, Girgenti MJ, Strittmatter SM#, Sousa AMM# , Sestan N#. (2022) Molecular and cellular evolution of the primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex . Science 377, abo7257 . (*co-first author; # corresponding author)

Abstract:  The granular dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is an evolutionary specialization of primates that is centrally involved in cognition. We assessed more than 600,000 single-nucleus transcriptomes from adult human, chimpanzee, macaque, and marmoset dlPFC. Although most cell subtypes defined transcriptomically are conserved, we detected several that exist only in a subset of species as well as substantial species-specific molecular differences across homologous neuronal, glial, and non-neural subtypes. The latter are exemplified by human-specific switching between expression of the neuropeptide somatostatin and tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine production in certain interneurons. The above molecular differences are also illustrated by expression of the neuropsychiatric risk gene FOXP2 , which is human-specific in microglia and primate-specific in layer 4 granular neurons. We generated a comprehensive survey of the dlPFC cellular repertoire and its shared and divergent features in anthropoid primates.

Investigator: André Sousa, PhD

About the Lab:  The Sousa lab aims to identify and characterize the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern human brain development and evolution, and to apply that knowledge towards understanding neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders.

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