finish phd in 3 years

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07 Simple and Proven Steps to Complete PhD in 03 Years

Embarking on a PhD journey is a significant endeavor that requires commitment, perseverance, and efficient time management. While the typical duration of a PhD program is often longer, completing it within a three-year timeframe is an ambitious goal that can bring numerous benefits. For part-time researchers who juggle personal and family commitments alongside their academic pursuits, it becomes even more crucial to optimize their research work and make strategic choices to ensure timely completion.

In this guide, we will explore effective strategies and approaches to help you complete your PhD in just three years. Join us on this journey as we explore the steps and considerations necessary to make your PhD completion in three years a reality. Let’s unlock the potential for accelerated academic achievement and pave the way for a successful research career.

Introduction

Challenges faced by part-time phd researchers, overview of strategies to complete a phd efficiently, 1. selecting a well-defined and aligned phd research topic:, 2. choosing an area of interest and expertise:, 3. attract diverse and capable students:, 4. harnessing the advantages of research-oriented students:, 5. delegating phd tasks to students:, 6. assigning tasks that do not compromise the exclusivity of core research work:, a. seminar topics, b. papers in tech fests, conferences and journals, c. mini and major projects, d. data collection, e. user interface development, f. automation, g. equipment setup, h. testing and simulation.

Before You Close........

Completing a PhD within a three-year timeframe holds several significant advantages. Firstly, it allows researchers to expedite their career progression and enter the job market earlier, gaining a competitive edge over their peers. Employers often value candidates who can demonstrate the ability to efficiently complete projects within tight timelines.

Additionally, completing a PhD in a shorter timeframe reduces the overall financial burden associated with pursuing a doctorate. It minimizes tuition fees, living expenses, and the opportunity cost of being away from the workforce for an extended period. You can visit my article on ” How to get loan / scholarship for your PhD “. This article will help you to secure loan easily for your PhD studies.

Moreover, timely completion of a PhD provides a sense of accomplishment, boosting confidence and motivation. It allows researchers to transition to the next phase of their careers, whether it’s pursuing academic positions, industry roles, or entrepreneurial ventures.

Part-time researchers face unique challenges that can hinder their progress in completing a PhD within a limited timeframe. Balancing personal and family commitments with the demands of rigorous research work poses a significant challenge. Juggling work responsibilities, family obligations, and self-care while dedicating sufficient time to research can be overwhelming.

Limited availability of time is another hurdle for part-time researchers. They often have to allocate evenings, weekends, and holidays for research, which can restrict the amount of time they can devote to their studies. This constraint necessitates efficient time management strategies to make the most of the available research hours.

Additionally, part-time researchers may face difficulties in accessing resources and establishing research networks compared to full-time students. Limited access to laboratories, libraries, and academic support services can create additional obstacles that need to be addressed.

To complete a PhD efficiently within a three-year timeframe, several strategies can be employed. These strategies revolve around optimizing time, maximizing productivity, and leveraging available resources effectively. Some key strategies include:

Choosing an Efficient Research Topic: Select a research topic that aligns with your interests and expertise to leverage existing knowledge, streamline your research efforts, and minimize time spent on background understanding.

Motivating Students to Engage in Research: Highlight the benefits of research for students’ career development and dispel misconceptions to foster a research-oriented mindset. By providing mentorship and guidance, students become actively involved in research, indirectly saving your time and contributing to the overall progress.

Optimizing Research Workload: Delegate tasks to undergraduate and postgraduate students to offload some workload, while also providing valuable learning opportunities for the students. This allows you to focus on core research activities and maintain productivity.

Assigning Suitable Research Tasks to Students: Assign seminar topics, papers in tech fests and conferences, mini and major projects, data collection, user interface development, automation, equipment setup, testing, and simulation tasks to students. This optimizes their potential and distributes the workload efficiently, allowing you to focus on core research activities.

By implementing these strategies and adopting an organized and focused approach, part-time researchers can overcome challenges, optimize their research efforts, and complete their PhD within a three-year timeframe.

Steps to Complete PhD in 03 Years

Choosing a well-defined research topic is crucial for optimizing research time and involving students effectively. A clear and focused research topic allows you to streamline your efforts and resources towards specific objectives. It helps in avoiding unnecessary diversions and ensures that your research remains on track.

For example, let’s say you’re conducting research in the field of artificial intelligence. Instead of a broad topic like “Applications of AI,” a well-defined topic could be “Improving Facial Recognition Accuracy using Deep Learning Techniques.” This focused topic allows you to concentrate your efforts on a specific problem, methodology, and dataset, reducing research time by avoiding distractions.

When involving students in your research, a well-defined research topic provides them with clear guidelines and objectives. They can contribute more effectively by understanding the scope and expectations of the research. Students can align their efforts with the research topic, conducting targeted literature reviews, performing focused experiments, and analyzing specific aspects of the research problem. This focused approach optimizes research time by avoiding unnecessary tangents and enhancing student engagement and productivity.

Choosing a research topic that aligns with your area of interest and expertise is essential for optimizing research time and involving students effectively. When you are passionate about the topic, you are more likely to be motivated and driven, leading to increased productivity and faster progress.

For example, if your expertise lies in renewable energy systems, selecting a research topic related to optimizing solar panel efficiency would be a natural choice. Your existing knowledge, skills, and experience in the field will allow you to make quicker progress, as you can build upon your existing expertise and leverage prior research.

When involving students, selecting a research topic that aligns with their interests and expertise can significantly enhance their engagement and contribution. When students are passionate about the research topic, they are more likely to invest time and effort into exploring and understanding the subject matter. They can leverage their existing knowledge and skills, bringing fresh perspectives and ideas to the research process.

Additionally, involving students in a topic aligned with their interests and expertise allows them to develop their research capabilities more effectively. Their prior knowledge and experience in related areas enable them to grasp concepts faster, conduct literature reviews more efficiently, and contribute to the research with their unique insights. This optimized involvement of students contributes to accelerated progress and overall research efficiency.

By selecting a well-defined research topic and choosing an area of interest and expertise, you optimize research time by avoiding unnecessary diversions and leveraging existing knowledge. Additionally, involving students in topics aligned with their interests enhances their motivation and productivity, leading to efficient collaboration and faster progress in your research endeavors.

To cultivate a research-oriented environment, it is essential to dispel misconceptions surrounding research being limited to high-achieving students. By doing so, you can attract a diverse range of capable students, each with unique talents and perspectives.

By promoting the accessibility and inclusivity of research, you encourage students from various academic backgrounds and achievement levels to participate. This diversity enriches the research process by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and encouraging fresh approaches to problem-solving.

For instance, by dispelling the notion that research is exclusively reserved for top-performing students, you open doors for individuals who may not have pursued research due to self-doubt or lack of confidence. By embracing students from different backgrounds and abilities, you create an inclusive research environment that values their unique contributions. This inclusivity ultimately leads to a broader pool of ideas, increased innovation, and enhanced problem-solving capabilities within your research team.

By motivating students and fostering a research-oriented mindset, you indirectly save time and accelerate learning and implementation processes. The fast-thinking nature of the young generation, coupled with their motivation to contribute, enables them to absorb knowledge quickly and implement ideas effectively. Embracing a diverse range of students ensures a dynamic and innovative research environment that propels your research forward at an accelerated pace.

Motivating students and instilling a research-oriented mindset among them can yield significant benefits, not just for their own career development but also for your research progress. By highlighting the benefits of research, you can inspire and attract students who possess a natural inclination towards exploration and knowledge creation.

When students are motivated to engage in research, they bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and a youthful enthusiasm to the table. The young generation’s thinking is often agile and fast-paced, allowing them to grasp concepts quickly and propose creative solutions. By harnessing their energy and passion, you can indirectly save time and accelerate the learning and implementation processes within your research endeavors.

For example, when working with research-oriented students, they can assist in literature reviews, data collection, and preliminary analysis. Their eagerness to contribute and learn enables them to swiftly navigate through relevant research articles, extract key findings, and compile comprehensive summaries. This collaboration frees up your time, allowing you to focus on the core aspects of your research while ensuring that important groundwork is efficiently completed.

One effective strategy for optimizing research workload is to delegate certain tasks to undergraduate and postgraduate students. By involving students in research activities, you can distribute the workload, increase productivity, and foster a collaborative research environment. However, it is essential to assign tasks that align with their capabilities and provide proper guidance and supervision.

For example, if you are conducting a survey as part of your research, you can assign the task of data collection to undergraduate students. They can assist in gathering responses, organizing data, and conducting initial data analysis. This delegation allows you to focus on other aspects of your research while leveraging the support of capable students.

Similarly, for laboratory-based research, you can assign tasks such as equipment setup, data collection, or preliminary experimentation to postgraduate students. They can assist in carrying out experiments, recording data, and performing initial analysis under your guidance. This not only helps you manage the workload but also provides valuable learning opportunities for the students.

When delegating tasks to students, it is important to ensure that the assigned tasks do not compromise the exclusivity of your core research work. You need to strike a balance between involving students in research activities and safeguarding the integrity and originality of your PhD work.

For instance, you can assign literature review tasks to students to gather relevant research articles and summarize key findings. This allows them to contribute to the research process while keeping the core ideas and analysis within your control.

Similarly, students can be involved in data preprocessing tasks, such as data cleaning or formatting, which do not directly impact the analysis or interpretation of your research. By assigning these tasks, you can save time and focus on more critical aspects of your work while enabling students to gain practical experience.

It is important to establish clear guidelines and expectations when assigning tasks to students. Communicate the purpose of their involvement and ensure they understand the boundaries and limitations regarding the core research work. Regular meetings and progress updates can help maintain a cohesive research direction while monitoring the students’ progress.

By delegating appropriate tasks to students, you can optimize your research workload, increase efficiency, and foster a collaborative research environment. Assigning tasks that do not compromise the exclusivity of your core research work ensures that you maintain control over the essential aspects of your PhD while benefiting from the support and contribution of capable students.

7. Assigning Suitable PhD Research Tasks to Students:

Importance of staying informed about the latest advancements: Assigning seminar topics to students helps you stay informed about the latest advancements in your field. By delegating these topics, students conduct thorough research, gather relevant information, and present it to you and their peers. This enables you to gain valuable insights into emerging trends and technologies without dedicating significant time to individual research. It optimizes your research time by allowing you to focus on core research areas while benefiting from students’ findings.
Enhancing students’ presentation skills: As students prepare and deliver seminars on assigned topics, their presentation skills improve. This proficiency can be leveraged in your research team when they assist in presenting your research findings or representing your work at conferences. By developing their presentation skills, you indirectly save time by sharing the responsibility of effectively communicating research outcomes.
Assigning survey papers to summarize key findings and trends: Assigning survey papers to students helps summarize key findings and trends in specific subfields. Their literature review skills come into play as they collect and synthesize relevant research articles. By delegating this task, you gain a comprehensive overview of the current state of research within the subfield without investing substantial time in extensive literature reviews.
Developing students’ surveying and synthesizing skills: By assigning survey papers, students enhance their surveying and synthesizing skills. This proficiency not only benefits your research but also adds value to their academic development. As students become adept at summarizing complex research, they contribute to streamlining the research process. Their refined skills enable them to extract essential information efficiently, allowing you to save time in reviewing extensive literature.
Allowing the students to publish their preliminary work in Student Journals: Undergraduate research journals are scholarly publications specifically dedicated to showcasing the research work of students. These journals provide a platform for students to share their findings, theories, and ideas with a wider audience, including fellow students, researchers, and professionals in their respective fields. The researchers can allow the students to publish their preliminary works in these journals. I have written an article on Journals that publish preliminary research works Which Journals Publish Work by Undergraduate Students? . Please visit the article for further details.
Assigning projects related to implementing algorithms or techniques: Assigning mini and major projects related to implementing algorithms or techniques allows students to gain hands-on experience. By delegating these tasks, students contribute to the practical aspects of your research. They explore emerging technologies, test algorithms, and analyze results. Their involvement accelerates the implementation phase, saving you time and effort while ensuring progress in experimental work.
Enhancing programming skills and staying updated with technologies: As students work on mini and major projects, they enhance their programming skills and stay updated with relevant technologies. Their learning benefits your research by introducing new programming techniques, improving code efficiency, and incorporating the latest tools. By leveraging students’ programming expertise, you can optimize your research time and advance your work using their acquired skills and knowledge.
Assigning students to collect and analyze data: Assigning students to collect and analyze data streamlines the research process by distributing tasks. Students can collect data from various sources, organize it, and perform preliminary analysis. Their involvement saves you time by sharing the workload of data collection, enabling you to focus on data interpretation and drawing meaningful conclusions. Moreover, their assistance accelerates the research timeline, ensuring timely data acquisition.
Expanding knowledge in data preprocessing and analysis: As students engage in data collection and analysis, they expand their knowledge of data preprocessing and analysis techniques. This knowledge can be applied to your research, enhancing the quality and efficiency of data processing. By delegating data-related tasks, you benefit from their expertise and save time by sharing the responsibilities associated with data management.
Involving students in developing effective UI/UX designs : Assigning students to develop user interfaces (UI) allows you to showcase your research professionally. Their involvement in UI development enhances the visual representation of your work, making it more accessible and engaging for audiences. Their contribution in creating intuitive designs and user-friendly interfaces saves you time by ensuring that your research is effectively communicated and understood.
Enhancing students’ skills: As students develop UI/UX designs, they acquire valuable skills in UI development, graphic design, and user experience. Their enhanced skills not only benefit your research by improving the presentation of your work but also provide them with practical expertise in a highly sought-after field. By leveraging their skills, you optimize your research time and benefit from their professional-level designs.
Assigning automation tasks to learn emerging technologies: Assigning automation tasks to students allows them to learn and explore emerging technologies. As they automate certain research processes, such as data generation or testing, they contribute to increasing research efficiency. Their involvement in automating repetitive tasks saves you time and effort, allowing you to focus on more critical aspects of your research.
Improving efficiency and productivity in research: Automation tasks, when undertaken by students, improve overall research efficiency and productivity. By streamlining repetitive tasks, you can allocate more time to analysis, experimentation, and interpretation of results. Students’ contribution to automation not only saves time but also enhances research quality and ensures consistency in data processing.
Involving students in setting up equipment: Assigning students to assist in equipment setup saves you time and effort associated with preparing the necessary tools and instruments. Their involvement ensures that equipment is ready for use when required, allowing you to focus on conducting experiments and gathering data. By delegating equipment setup tasks, you optimize your research time and streamline the workflow.
Saving time and effort while developing technical skills: As students participate in equipment setup, they develop technical skills and gain practical experience. This expertise can be utilized within your research team, as they become proficient in handling equipment and troubleshooting technical issues. Their involvement saves you time by sharing responsibilities related to equipment setup, maintenance, and operation.
Assigning testing and simulation tasks to collect and analyze data: Assigning testing and simulation tasks to students aids in data collection and analysis. As they conduct tests or simulate scenarios, they generate data that can be used in your research. Their involvement in data collection saves you time and resources, as they share the workload associated with conducting experiments and gathering results.
Promoting collaboration, skill development, and reducing risks: Testing and simulation tasks encourage collaboration among students and researchers, fostering a supportive research environment. By involving students in these tasks, you promote teamwork, allowing them to learn from one another’s experiences and perspectives. Additionally, their involvement reduces risks associated with complex experiments, ensuring a safer research process.

By assigning suitable research tasks to students, you optimize your research time by delegating responsibilities and sharing the workload. Their involvement adds value to your research through their diverse skills, fresh perspectives, and ability to contribute to specific research areas. By effectively utilizing their expertise, you can accelerate progress, enhance the quality of your research, and benefit from their valuable contributions.

Before You Close……..

I have written a good number of articles on PhD journey. These articles include writing research papers, applying for grants , patents , writing PhD thesis , approaching consultants , PhD careers and several templates on research. Please make it a point to visit these articles Here .

Completing a PhD within a three-year timeframe requires careful planning, efficient strategies, and effective utilization of resources. By implementing the discussed approaches and leveraging the potential of undergraduate and postgraduate students, you can optimize your research time, enhance productivity, and achieve significant milestones in your academic journey.

Motivating students to engage in research not only benefits their career development but also indirectly saves your time. When students are properly motivated and research-oriented, they bring fresh perspectives, energy, and faster thinking to the research process. By providing them with proper guidance and direction, you can harness their enthusiasm and accelerate the pace of your research.

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154. How to Plan Your PhD w/ Hugh Kearns

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A PhD Plan sounds like an oxymoron, but charting a path to graduation is one of the most important things you can do as a graduate student.

This week, we talk with Hugh Kearns of Thinkwell about why PhD planning is so challenging for students, and learn about some tools that can keep your research on track.

Uncharted Territory

We start the conversation by trying to understand why planning is so difficult and so rare for PhDs.

“They’ve never done a PhD so they don’t know what’s coming,” Kearns observes. “And your previous education doesn’t prepare for research.”

He continues, “Research by its nature is uncertain. Things go wrong. And then what happens is people think that ‘Because I don’t know, we just won’t plan anything! We’ll see what happens.'”

But just because you’ve never done a PhD before, and no one has pursued your particular branch of research, that doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead.

In fact, there are already tools and strategies, adapted from project management in the business world, that will help you set some guide rails around your winding path to a PhD.

Getting Your PhD Plan Backward

Traditional ‘forward’ planning works great for a well-worn process, like building a house. Builders know from experience that you can’t build the walls until you’ve poured the foundation, and you can’t paint until the drywall is installed.

Each of those activities has a reasonably predictable timeline, so you can plan the construction of a home week by week until it’s finished.

But a PhD isn’t quite at prescriptive. Sure, you know you need to do a literature review, but how long does that take? And how long will experiments take?

The fact is, they’ll take as much time as you give them. There’s no definitive ‘finish line’ for a literature review the way there is for a construction project. You just need to decide how long you’re willing to give the review, and stop when it’s ‘good enough.’

That’s why Kearns recommends ‘backward planning’ for PhDs. You start with an end date in mind (usually when the funding runs out) and work back from there.

His book, Planning Your PhD: All the tools and advice you need to finish your PhD in three years , lays out the steps in detail, and provides some worksheets you can use to create a multi-year Thesis Plan .

In fact, he offers those worksheets for free on the website!

Drilling into Detail

With your Thesis Plan in place, you can begin the process of adding more and more detail to the events closest in time.

This ‘rolling plan’ recognizes that you don’t know what you might be doing on Tuesday March 25 at 3PM three years from now, but you CAN decide on some goals over the next six months.

And don’t stress out if those goals shift, or you don’t quite manage to meet them. If you revisit your plan on a regular schedule, you can adjust and adapt.

If you never set the goal, or never look back at what you planned, you’re guaranteed to drift as the months and years pass by.

Kearns shares some other tools, like his ‘To Day’ list that works in conjunction with your ‘To Do’ list to put a time component on your tasks. That way, you slowly make progress toward your goals, rather than watching your list grow more and more unmanageable.

The Paradox of Choice

Finally, we talk about the surprising fact having more options usually means you are less happy and get less done. Weird, right?

It’s the ‘paradox of choice,’ described by Barry Schwartz in his 2004 book of the same name, and this TED Talk .

For graduate students, that manifests as a list of things you need to get done: pour a gel, set up those reactions, manage the lab animals, read three papers, write a section of a review, respond to your PI’s email, and on and on.

And what happens when you have all those things you COULD be doing? You get overwhelmed and go scroll through Instagram instead.

Kearns recommends that you identify ‘The Next Thing’ (or TNT) and work on that. The smaller you make that task, the better!

We’ve learned over the years that PhD students don’t understand the meaning of the word “small”. Because they’ll say, “OK, I know what the task is: I’ll finish my literature review”. But this is still way too big. So now we use the word micro-task. For example, some micro-tasks are: * Add two paragraphs to the discussion section * Add the new data to Table 1 * Read my supervisor’s comments on my draft Planning Your PhD, by Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner

Keeping ‘The Next Thing’ manageable prevents your brain from shutting down and giving up.

And if you stack up enough ‘The Next Things’, day after day and week after week, you’ll soon be making measurable progress on your PhD!

One thought to “154. How to Plan Your PhD w/ Hugh Kearns”

There’s so many people that I’ve already approached and address the subject, and while it’s still needs to be addressed and is of great value to younger grad students… There’s something that I have experienced two times in my graduate student career, that I’ve yet to hear any academic institution discuss… What happens, when you are left alone when your advisor dies, and/or commits suicide? I realize this is a very small population of the onions that you speak to, but to those of us that I’ve gone through this, it is absolutely devastating. I’m the first person from my family to go to college, let alone grad school. Trying to finish my PhD was absolutely, not supported the least. When my advisor died it just sent things out of control. So, how do you propose to integrate maybe even in a small portion… However uncomfortable it may be, if a student is to be in such a situation where their advisor dies, And they are not receiving any support by their department which leaves them in even greater shock.. And perhaps I need them selves in limbo for years. This is what happened to me. But I had extenuating circumstances. I fought as hard as I could, While escaping a very unsafe home situation… Essentially, how do you bring up these topics for students for the worst possible case scenario for when things go wrong? Hopefully, they never do reach a point Were you have to learn that your advisor died or that you were advisor completed suicide in one of the parking garages is in your university. If you happen to plan your research out, let’s say perfectly; you have five research papers and you were on track to graduate and you were ready to give your defense And anticipated your graduation to be the next upcoming semester. You did everything right. Your plan worked. You follow the rules. What advice for students would you suggest, to prevent them from essentially falling apart completely? Because at the end of the day they put their entire lives into what they are doing here to finish up and move on with their lives. They put relationships and marriages and children on hold… So what happens when a disaster strikes? I think that should be a topic you might want to touch on in the future. Like I said, might be a small demographic, but I lost 1 advisor suddenly, An excellent professor to suicide, a remarkable and rising star an excellent lab-mate to suicide as well. I think that if we can integrate mental health and just kind of trickle it into conversations more, and dedicate more time to Just discussing it, and just discussing that mental health is as important as physical health… mental health won’t be as stigmatized as it unfortunately still is at this very day. Overall, I’m happy about the topic of this episode and this podcast in general. However, I think there are modern in inclusive pathways and things that Students really need help with especially regarding mental health and support… Especially when the loss of a lame or a advisor or a loved one… If any of this occurs, and they feel like they cannot reach out, that can be detrimental to your perfect research plan. So at the end of the day, your research plan could mean absolutely nothing. You have to essentially plan for the worst. Sounds sounds like a very pessimistic thing, I understand. But having gone through this myself, I don’t want anybody to ever experience what I have. We can only start making these extreme cases easier to deal with by Integrating it in our discussions. After all, it is quite relatable to your planning of your research and your PhD career. Because when your world gets turned upside down, your “plan” Could be dead or worthless. So where do you go from there? Just trying to provide a thought on my own take Hope it helps thanks for the podcast.

Dissertating Like a Distance Runner: Ten Tips for Finishing Your PhD

The above photo is of Sir Mo Farah running past Buckingham Palace into the home stretch of the London Marathon. I took the photo two days after my viva, in which I defended my PhD dissertation. Farah become a British hero when he and his training partner, Galen Rupp, won the gold and silver medals in the 10k at the London Olympic Games.

I had the honor of racing against Rupp at Nike’s Boarder Clash meet between the fastest high school distance runners in my home state of Washington and Rupp’s home state of Oregon. I’m happy to provide a link to the results and photos of our teenage selves since I beat Galen and Washington won the meet. (Note: In the results, ‘Owen’ is misspelled with the commonly added s , which I, as a fan of Jesse Owens, feel is an honor.) By the time we were running in college—Rupp for the University of Oregon and myself for the University of Washington—he was on an entirely different level. I never achieved anything close to the kind of running success Rupp has had. Yet, for most of us mortals, the real value in athletics is the character traits and principles that sports instill in us, and how those principles carry over to other aspects of life. Here I want to share ten principles that the sport of distance running teaches, which I found to be quite transferrable to writing my doctoral dissertation.

To provide some personal context, I began as a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham in 2014. At that time my grandparents, who helped my single father raise my sister and me, continued their ongoing struggle with my Grandfather’s Alzheimer’s. It was becoming increasingly apparent that they would benefit from having my wife and I nearby. So, in 2015 we moved to my hometown of Yakima, Washington. That fall I began a 2/2 teaching load at a small university on the Yakama Nation Reservation as I continued to write my dissertation. Since finishing my PhD four years ago, in 2018, I have published one book , five research articles , and two edited volume chapters related in various ways to my dissertation. As someone living in rural Eastern Washington, who is a first-gen college grad, I had to find ways to stay self-motivated and to keep chipping away at my academic work. I found the following principles that I learned through distance running very helpful.

(1) Establish community . There are various explanations, some of which border on superstitious, for why Kenyan distance runners have been so dominant. Yet one factor is certainly the running community great Kenyan distance runners benefit from at their elite training camps, as discussed in Train Hard, Win Easy: The Kenyan Way . Having a community that values distance running can compel each member of the community to pursue athletic excellence over a long period of time. The same can be said for academic work. Many doctoral researchers have built-in community in their university departments, but for various reasons this is not true for everyone. Thankfully, alternative ways to establish community have never been easier, predominantly due to technology.

Since my dissertation applied Aristotelian causation and neo-Thomistic hylomorphism to mental causation and neural correlates of consciousness, I found it immensely helpful to meet consistently with neuroscientist, Christof Koch, and philosopher of mind, Mihretu Guta. Mihretu does work on the philosophy of consciousness and Christof propelled the dawn of the neurobiology of consciousness with Francis Crick . Though Mihretu lives in Southern California, we met monthly through Skype, and I would drive over the Cascade Mountains once a month to meet with Christof in Seattle. As my dissertation examiner, Anna Marmodoro, once reminded me: the world is small—it’s easier than ever before to connect with other researchers.

It can also be helpful to keep in mind that your community can be large or small. As some athletes train in large camps consisting of many runners, others have small training groups, such as the three Ingebrigtsen brothers . Likewise, your community could be a whole philosophy department or several close friends. You can also mix it up. As an introvert, I enjoyed my relatively small consistent community, but I also benefitted from attending annual regional philosophy conferences where I could see the same folks each year. And I especially enjoyed developing relationships with other international researchers interested in Aristotelian philosophy of mind at a summer school hosted by the University of Oxford in Naples, which Marmodoro directed. For a brief period, we all stayed in a small villa and talked about hylomorphism all day, each day, while enjoying delicious Italian food.

Whatever your community looks like, whatever shape it takes, what matters is that you’re encouraged toward accomplishing your academic goal.

(2) Know your goal. Like writing a dissertation, becoming a good distance runner requires a lot of tedious and monotonous work. If you don’t have a clear goal of what you want to achieve, you won’t get up early, lace up your running shoes, and enter the frosty morning air as you take the first of many steps in your morning run. There are, after all, more enticing and perhaps even more pressing things to do. Similarly, if you don’t have a clear goal of when you want to finish your dissertation, it is easy to put off your daily writing for another day, which can easily become more distant into the future.

(3) Be realistic about your goal . While it is important to have a clear goal as a distance runner and as a doctoral researcher, it is important for your goal to be realistic. This means your goal should take into account the fact that you are human and therefore have both particular strengths and limitations. Everyone enters the sport of distance running with different strengths and weaknesses. When Diddy ran the city it would have been unrealistic for him to try to break the two-hour barrier in the marathon, as Eliud Kipchoge did . If Diddy made that his goal, he probably would have lost all hope in the first mile of the marathon and never finished. Because he set a more realistic goal of breaking four hours, not two hours, he paced himself accordingly and actually finished.

The parent of two young children who is teaching part-time can certainly finish a dissertation. But the parent will have a greater likelihood of doing so with a reasonable goal that fits that individual’s strengths and limitations. If the parent expects to finish on the same timescale as someone who is single with no children nor teaching responsibilities, this will likely lead to disappointment and less motivation in the middle of the process. Motivation will remain higher, and correspondingly so will productivity that is fueled by motivation, if one’s goal is realistic and achievable.

Another element of having a realistic goal is being willing to adapt the goal as your circumstances change. Sometimes a runner might enter a race expecting to place in the top five and midway through the race realize that she has a great chance of winning (consider, for example, Des Linden’s victory at the Boston Marathon ). At that point, it would be wise to revise one’s goal to be ‘win the race’ rather than simply placing in the top five. At other times, a runner might expect to win the race or be on the podium and midway realize that is no longer possible. Yet, if she is nevertheless within striking distance of placing in the top five, then she can make that her new goal, which is realistic given her current situation and will therefore sustain her motivation to the finish line. Sara Hall, who could have and wanted to crack the top three, held on for fifth at the World Championships marathon because she adjusted her goal midrace.

The PhD candidate who initially plans to finish her dissertation in three years but then finds herself in the midst of a pandemic or dealing with a medical issue or a family crisis may not need to give up on her goal of finishing her dissertation. Perhaps, she only needs to revise her goal so that it allows more time, so she finishes in five years rather than three. A PhD finished in five years is certainly more valuable than no PhD.

(4) Know why you want to achieve your goal . My high school cross-country coach, Mr. Steiner, once gave me a book about distance running entitled “Motivation is the Name of the Game.” It is one of those books you don’t really need to read because the main takeaway is in the title. Distance running requires much-delayed gratification—you must do many things that are not intrinsically enjoyable (such as running itself, ice baths, going to bed early, etc.) in order to achieve success. If you don’t have a solid reason for why you want to achieve your running goal, you won’t do the numerous things you do not want to do but must do to achieve your goal. The same is true for finishing a PhD. Therefore, it is important to know the reason(s) why you want to finish your dissertation and why you want a PhD.

As a side note, it can also be immensely helpful to choose a dissertation topic that you are personally very interested in, rather than a topic that will simply make you more employable. Of course, being employable is something many of us must consider. Yet, if you pick a topic that is so boring to you that you have significant difficulty finding the motivation to finish your dissertation, then picking an “employable dissertation topic” will be anything but employable.

(5) Prioritize your goal . “Be selfish” were the words of exhortation my college cross-country team heard from our coaches before we returned home for Christmas break. As someone who teaches ethics courses, I feel compelled to clarify that “be selfish” is not typically good advice. However, to be fair to my coaches, the realistic point they were trying to convey was that at home we would be surrounded by family and friends who may not fully understand our running goals and what it takes to accomplish them. For example, during my first Christmas break home from college, I was trying to run eighty miles per week. Because I was trying to fit these miles into my social schedule without much compromise, many of these miles were run in freezing temps, in the dark, on concrete sidewalks with streetlights, rather than dirt trails. After returning to campus following the holidays, I raced my first indoor track race with a terribly sore groin, which an MRI scan soon revealed was due to a stress fracture in my femur. I learned the hard way that I have limits to what I can do, which entails I must say “no thanks” to some invitations, even though that may appear selfish to some.

A PhD researcher writing a dissertation has a substantial goal before her. Yet, many people writing a dissertation have additional responsibilities, such as teaching, being a loving spouse, a faithful friend, or a present parent. As I was teaching while writing my dissertation, I often heard the mantra “put students first.” Yet, I knew if I prioritized my current students over and above finishing my dissertation, I would, like many, never finish my dissertation. However, I knew it would be best for my future students to be taught by an expert who has earned a PhD. So, I put my future students first by prioritizing finishing my PhD . This meant that I had to limit the teaching responsibilities I took on. Now, my current students are benefitting from my decision, as they are taught by an expert in my field.

While prioritizing your dissertation can mean putting it above some things in life, it also means putting it below other things. A friend once told me he would fail in a lot of areas in life before he fails as a father, which is often what it means to practically prioritize one goal above another. Prioritizing family and close friendships need not mean that you say ‘yes’ to every request, but that you intentionally build consistent time into your schedule to foster relationships with the people closest to you. For me, this practically meant not working past 6:00pm on weekdays and taking weekends off to hang out with family and friends. This relieved pressure, because I knew that if something went eschew with my plan to finish my PhD, I would still have the people in my life who I care most about. I could then work toward my goal without undue anxiety about the possibility of failing and the loss that would entail. I was positively motivated by the likely prospect that I would, in time, finish my PhD, and be able to celebrate it with others who supported me along the way.

(6) Just start writing . Yesterday morning, it was five degrees below freezing when I did my morning run. I wanted to skip my run and go straight to my heated office. So, I employed a veteran distance running trick to successfully finish my run. I went out the door and just started running. That is the hardest part, and once I do it, 99.9% of the time I finish my run.

You may not know what exactly you think about a specific topic in the chapter you need to write, nor what you are going to write each day. But perhaps the most simple and helpful dissertation advice I ever received was from David Horner, who earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford. He told me: “just start writing.” Sometimes PhD researchers think they must have all their ideas solidified in their mind before they start writing their dissertation. In fact, writing your dissertation can actually help clarify what you think. So “just start writing” is not only simple but also sage advice.

(7) Never write a dissertation . No great marathoner focuses on running 26.2 miles. Great distance runners are masters of breaking up major goals into smaller goals and then focusing on accomplishing one small goal at a time, until they have achieved the major goal. Philosophers can understand this easily, as we take small, calculated steps through minor premises that support major premises to arrive at an overall conclusion in an argument.

Contained within each chapter of a dissertation is a premise(s) in an overall argument and individual sections can contain sub-premises supporting the major premise of each chapter. When you first start out as a doctoral researcher working on your dissertation, you have to construct an outline of your dissertation that maps out the various chapters and how they will relate to your overall conclusion. Once you have that outline in place, keep it in the back of your mind. But do not focus on writing the whole, which would be overwhelming and discouraging. Rather, focus on writing whichever chapter you are working on. The fastest American marathoner, Ryan Hall, wrote a book that sums up the only way to run long distances in the title Run the Mile You’re In . And Galen Rupp discusses in this interview how he mentally breaks up a marathon into segments and focuses on just finishing one segment at a time. Whatever chapter you’re writing, make it your goal to write that chapter. Once you’ve accomplished that goal, set a new goal: write the next chapter. Repeat that process several times and you will be halfway through your dissertation. Repeat the process a few more times, and you will be done.

By the time you have finished a master’s degree, you have written many chapter-length papers. To finish a dissertation, you essentially write about eight interconnected papers, one at a time, just as you have done many times before. If you just write the chapter (which you could call a “paper” if that feels like a lighter load) you’re writing, before you know it, you will have written a dissertation.

(8) Harness the power of habits . Becoming a great distance runner requires running an inordinate number of miles, which no one has the willpower to do. The best marathoners in the world regularly run well over one hundred miles a week, in addition to stretching, lifting weights, taking ice baths, and eating healthy. Not even the most tough-minded distance runner has the gumption to make all the individual decisions that would be required in order to get out the door for every run and climb into every ice bath apart from the development of habits. The most reliable way around each distance runner’s weakness of will, or akrasia , is developing and employing habits. The same can be true for writing.

If you simply try to write a little bit each weekday around the same time, you will develop a habit of writing at that time each day. Once you have that habit, the decision to write each weekday at that time will require less and less willpower over time. Eventually, it will take some willpower to not write at that time. I have found it helpful to develop the routine of freewriting for a few minutes just before starting my daily writing session of thirty minutes during which I write new content, before working on editing or revising existing content for about thirty minutes. My routine helped me develop the daily habit of writing, which removes the daily decision to write, as I “just do it” (to use Nike’s famous line) each day.

I have also found it helpful to divide my days up according to routines. As a morning person, I do well writing and researching in the morning, doing teaching prep and teaching during the middle of the day, and then doing mundane tasks such as email at the end of the day.

(9) Write for today and for tomorrow . Successful distance runners train for two reasons. One reason—to win upcoming races—is obvious. However, in addition to training for upcoming races, the successful distance runner trains today for the training that they want to be capable of months and years ahead. You cannot simply jump into running eighty, ninety, or one-hundred-mile weeks. It takes time to condition your body to sustain the stress of running high mileage weeks. A runner must have a long-term perspective and plan ahead as she works toward her immediate goals on the way to achieving her long-term goals. Similarly, for the PhD researcher, writing a dissertation lays the groundwork for future success.

For one, if the PhD candidate develops healthy, sustainable, productive habits while writing a dissertation, these habits can be continued once they land an academic job. It is no secret that the initial years on the job market, or in a new academic position, can be just as (or more) challenging than finishing a PhD. Effective habits developed while writing a dissertation can be invaluable during such seasons, allowing one to continue researching and writing even with more responsibilities and less time.

It is also worth noting that there is a sense in which research writing becomes easier, as one becomes accustomed to the work. A distance runner who has been running for decades, logging thousands of miles throughout their career, can run relatively fast without much effort. For example, my college roommate, Travis Boyd, decided to set the world record for running a half marathon pushing a baby stroller nearly a decade after we ran for the University of Washington. His training was no longer what it once was during our collegiate days. Nevertheless, his past training made it much easier for him to set the record, even though his focus had shifted to his full-time business career and being a present husband and father of two. I once asked my doctoral supervisors, Nikk Effingham and Jussi Suikkanen, how they were able to publish so much. They basically said it gets easier, as the work you have done in the past contributes to your future publications. Granted, not everyone is going to finish their PhD and then become a research super human like Liz Jackson , who finished her PhD in 2019, and published four articles that same year, three the next, and six the following year. Nevertheless, writing and publishing does become easier as you gain years of experience.

(10) Go running . As Cal Newport discusses in Deep Work , having solid boundaries around the time we work is conducive for highly effective academic work. And there is nothing more refreshing while dissertating than an athletic hobby with cognitive benefits . So, perhaps the best way to dissertate like a distance runner is to stop writing and go for a run.

Acknowledgments : Thanks are due to Aryn Owen and Jaden Anderson for their constructive feedback on a prior draft of this post.

Matthew Owen

Matthew Owen (PhD, University of Birmingham) is a faculty member in the philosophy department at Yakima Valley College in Washington State. He is also an affiliate faculty member at the Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan. Matthew’s latest book is Measuring the Immeasurable Mind: Where Contemporary Neuroscience Meets the Aristotelian Tradition .

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Planning your PhD research: A 3-year PhD timeline example

Planning out a PhD trajectory can be overwhelming. Example PhD timelines can make the task easier and inspire. The following PhD timeline example describes the process and milestones of completing a PhD within 3 years.

Elements to include in a 3-year PhD timeline

The example scenario: completing a phd in 3 years, example: planning year 1 of a 3-year phd, example: planning year 2 of a 3-year phd, example: planning year 3 of a 3-year phd, example of a 3 year phd gantt chart timeline, final reflection.

Every successful PhD project begins with a proper plan. Even if there is a high chance that not everything will work out as planned. Having a well-established timeline will keep your work on track.

What to include in a 3-year PhD timeline depends on the unique characteristics of a PhD project, specific university requirements, agreements with the supervisor/s and the PhD student’s career ambitions.

For instance, some PhD students write a monograph while others complete a PhD based on several journal publications. Both monographs and cumulative dissertations have advantages and disadvantages , and not all universities allow both formats. The thesis type influences the PhD timeline.

Furthermore, PhD students ideally engage in several different activities throughout a PhD trajectory, which link to their career objectives. Regardless of whether they want to pursue a career within or outside of academia. PhD students should create an all-round profile to increase their future chances in the labour market. Think, for example, of activities such as organising a seminar, engaging in public outreach or showcasing leadership in a small grant application.

The most common elements included in a 3-year PhD timeline are the following:

Data collection (fieldwork, experiments, etc.)
Data analysis
Writing of different chapters, or a plan for journal publication
Conferences
Additional activities

The whole process is described in more detail in my post on how to develop an awesome PhD timeline step-by-step .

Many (starting) PhD students look for examples of how to plan a PhD in 3 years. Therefore, let’s look at an example scenario of a fictional PhD student. Let’s call her Maria.

Maria is doing a PhD in Social Sciences at a university where it is customary to write a cumulative dissertation, meaning a PhD thesis based on journal publications. Maria’s university regulations require her to write four articles as part of her PhD. In order to graduate, one article has to be published in an international peer-reviewed journal. The other three have to be submitted.

Furthermore, Maria’s cumulative dissertation needs an introduction and conclusion chapter which frame the four individual journal articles, which form the thesis chapters.

In order to complete her PhD programme, Maria also needs to complete coursework and earn 15 credits, or ECTS in her case.

Maria likes the idea of doing a postdoc after her graduation. However, she is aware that the academic job market is tough and therefore wants to keep her options open. She could, for instance, imagine to work for a community or non-profit organisation. Therefore, she wants to place emphasis on collaborating with a community organisation during her PhD.

You may also like: Creating awesome Gantt charts for your PhD timeline

Most PhD students start their first year with a rough idea, but not a well-worked out plan and timeline. Therefore, they usually begin with working on a more elaborate research proposal in the first months of their PhD. This is also the case for our example PhD student Maria.

Months 1-4: Maria works on a detailed research proposal, defines her research methodology and breaks down her thesis into concrete tasks.
Month 5 : Maria follows a short intensive course in academic writing to improve her writing skills.
Months 5-10: Maria works on her first journal paper, which is based on an extensive literature review of her research topic. At the end of Month 10, she submits the manuscript. At the same time, she follows a course connected to her research topic.
Months 11-12: Maria does her data collection.

Maria completed her first round of data collection according to plan, and starts the second year of her PhD with a lot of material. In her second year, she will focus on turning this data into two journal articles.

Months 1-2: Maria works on her data analysis.
Months 3-7: Maria works on her second journal paper.
Month 7: Maria attends her first conference, and presents the results of her literature-review paper.
Month 8: Maria received ‘major revisions’ on her first manuscript submission, and implements the changes in Month 8 before resubmitting her first journal paper for publication.
Month 9: Maria follows a course on research valorisation to learn strategies to increase the societal impact of her thesis.
Months 9-12: Maria works on her third journal paper. She uses the same data that she collected for the previous paper, which is why she is able to complete the third manuscript a bit faster than the previous one.

Time flies, and Maria finds herself in the last year of her PhD. There is still a lot of work to be done, but she sticks to the plan and does her best to complete her PhD.

Month 1: Maria starts a second round of data collection, this time in collaboration with a community organisation. Together, they develop and host several focus groups with Maria’s target audience.
Month 2: Maria starts to analyse the material of the focus group and develops the argumentation for her fourth journal paper.
Month 3: Maria presents the results of her second journal paper at an international conference. Furthermore, she helps out her supervisor with a grant application. They apply for funding to run a small project that is thematically connected to her PhD.
Months 4-9: Maria writes her fourth and final journal article that is required for her PhD.
Month 10: Maria writes her thesis introduction .
Month 11: Maria works on her thesis conclusion.
Month 12 : Maria works on the final edits and proof-reading of her thesis before submitting it.

Combining the 3-year planning for our example PhD student Maria, it results in the following PhD timeline:

Creating these PhD timelines, also called Gantt charts, is easy. You can find instructions and templates here.

Completing a PhD in 3 years is not an easy task. The example of our fictional PhD student Maria shows how packed her timeline is, and how little time there is for things to go wrong.

In fact, in real life, many PhD students spend four years full-time to complete a PhD based on four papers, instead of three. Some extend their studies even longer.

Furthermore, plan in some time for thesis editing, which is a legitimate practice and can bring your writing to the next level. Finding a reputable thesis editor can be challenging, so make sure you make an informed choice.

Finishing a PhD in 3 years is not impossible, but it surely is not easy. So be kind to yourself if things don’t work out entirely as planned, and make use of all the help you can get.

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How to Complete Your PhD in 3 Years

Accelerate your phd journey: how to complete your phd in 3 years.

1. choose the right research topic, 2. organize your work efficiently, 3. develop a strong proposal early on, 4. seek guidance actively, 5. conduct an efficient literature review, 6. stay focused and avoid distractions:, 7. collaborate and network, 8. regular writing practice, 9. prioritize your health and manage stress, 10. be adaptable.

Completing a PhD in just 3 years may seem like a difficult task, but with proper planning and determination, it can be achieved. In this article, iLovePhD will share practical strategies to help you succeed in your PhD journey and graduate within the desired timeframe.

Discover actionable strategies and expert tips to complete your PhD in just three years. Learn how to stay focused, organize your research, seek guidance, and maintain a healthy work-life balance to achieve your academic goals efficiently. Start your journey towards a successful PhD graduation now!

Selecting a suitable research topic is the foundation of a successful PhD Start by picking a well-defined, feasible topic that aligns with your interests and expertise. This ensures you focus your efforts on a subject that truly excites you and is manageable within the given time frame.

Breaking down your research into smaller tasks and setting achievable deadlines will help you stay on track. Utilize project management tools or apps to keep your progress organized and monitor your accomplishments.

Craft your research proposal as early as possible and seek approval from your advisor or committee. A solid proposal sets the stage for your research and avoids unnecessary delays.

Regularly communicate with your advisor or mentors to discuss your progress, challenges, and potential solutions. Seeking feedback actively ensures you stay on the right path and don’t waste valuable time in the wrong direction.

Conducting a thorough literature review early on will help you identify existing research and gaps in your field. This process guides your research scope and prevents redundant efforts.

Maintaining focus is crucial during your PhD journey. Limit non-essential activities that may consume your time and energy, allowing you to concentrate on your research.

Collaborate with peers and researchers in your field. Networking can lead to valuable insights, shared resources, and potential collaboration opportunities, all of which can accelerate your research progress.

Start writing your thesis early in the process. Regular writing clarifies your ideas and findings, making the final thesis writing process more manageable.

Pursuing a PhD can be mentally and emotionally demanding. Make sure to take care of yourself, manage stress, and maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout.

Unexpected challenges or setbacks are common during research. Be adaptable and open to adjusting your plans as needed to stay on track.

Aim to Defend Early: Set a goal to defend your PhD thesis early in your third year. This provides ample time to address any revisions or feedback from your committee.

Completing a PhD in three years requires dedication, focus, and efficient planning. While it is an ambitious goal, it’s essential to remember that the quality and impact of your research matter more than the timeframe. By following these steps and staying committed to your goals, you can make significant progress in your PhD journey and set yourself up for success in academia and beyond.

Also Read: Top 50 Possible PhD Viva Questions

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree?

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Earning a Ph.D. from a U.S. grad school typically requires nearly six years, federal statistics show.

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A Ph.D. is most appropriate for someone who is a “lifelong learner.”

Students who have excelled within a specific academic discipline and who have a strong interest in that field may choose to pursue a Ph.D. degree. However, Ph.D. degree-holders urge prospective students to think carefully about whether they truly want or need a doctoral degree, since Ph.D. programs last for multiple years.

According to the Survey of Earned Doctorates, a census of recent research doctorate recipients who earned their degree from U.S. institutions, the median amount of time it took individuals who received their doctorates in 2017 to complete their program was 5.8 years. However, there are many types of programs that typically take longer than six years to complete, such as humanities and arts doctorates, where the median time for individuals to earn their degree was 7.1 years, according to the survey.

Some Ph.D. candidates begin doctoral programs after they have already obtained master’s degrees, which means the time spent in grad school is a combination of the time spent pursuing a master’s and the years invested in a doctorate. In order to receive a Ph.D. degree, a student must produce and successfully defend an original academic dissertation, which must be approved by a dissertation committtee. Writing and defending a dissertation is so difficult that many Ph.D. students drop out of their Ph.D. programs having done most of the work necessary for degree without completing the dissertation component. These Ph.D. program dropouts often use the phrase “ all but dissertation ” or the abbreviation “ABD” on their resumes.

According to a comprehensive study of Ph.D. completion rates published by The Council of Graduate Schools in 2008, only 56.6% of people who begin Ph.D. programs earn Ph.D. degrees.

Ian Curtis, a founding partner with H&C Education, an educational and admissions consulting firm, who is pursuing a Ph.D. degree in French at Yale University , says there are several steps involved in the process of obtaining a Ph.D. Students typically need to fulfill course requirements and pass comprehensive exams, Curtis warns. “Once these obligations have been completed, how long it takes you to write your dissertation depends on who you are, how you work, what field you’re in and what other responsibilities you have in life,” he wrote in an email. Though some Ph.D. students can write a dissertation in a single year, that is rare, and the dissertation writing process may last for several years, Curtis says.

[ READ: What Is a Doctorate or a Doctoral Degree? ]

Curtis adds that the level of support a Ph.D. student receives from an academic advisor or faculty mentor can be a key factor in determining the length of time it takes to complete a Ph.D. program. “Before you decide to enroll at a specific program, you’ll want to meet your future advisor,” Curtis advises. “Also, reach out to his or her current and former students to get a sense of what he or she is like to work with.”

Curtis also notes that if there is a gap between the amount of time it takes to complete a Ph.D. and the amount of time a student’s funding lasts, this can slow down the Ph.D. completion process. “Keep in mind that if you run out of funding at some point during your doctorate, you will need to find paid work, and this will leave you even less time to focus on writing your dissertation,” he says. “If one of the programs you’re looking at has a record of significantly longer – or shorter – times to competition, this is good information to take into consideration.”

Pierre Huguet, the CEO and co-founder of H&C Education, says prospective Ph.D. students should be aware that a Ph.D. is designed to prepare a person for a career as a scholar. “Most of the jobs available to Ph.D. students upon graduation are academic in nature and directly related to their fields of study: professor, researcher, etc.,” Huguet wrote in an email. “The truth is that more specialization can mean fewer job opportunities. Before starting a Ph.D., students should be sure that they want to pursue a career in academia, or in research. If not, they should make time during the Ph.D. to show recruiters that they’ve traveled beyond their labs and libraries to gain some professional hands-on experience.”

Jack Appleman, a business writing instructor, published author and Ph.D. candidate focusing on organizational communication with the University at Albany—SUNY , says Ph.D. programs require a level of commitment and focus that goes beyond what is necessary for a typical corporate job. A program with flexible course requirements that allow a student to customize his or her curriculum based on academic interests and personal obligations is ideal, he says.

[ READ: Ph.D. Programs Get a Lot More Practical. ]

Joan Kee, a professor at the University of Michigan with the university’s history of art department, says that the length of time required for a Ph.D. varies widely depending on what subject the Ph.D. focuses on. “Ph.D. program length is very discipline and even field-specific; for example, you can and are expected to finish a Ph.D, in economics in under five years, but that would be impossible in art history (or most of the humanities),” she wrote in an email.

Jean Marie Carey, who earned her Ph.D. degree in art history and German from the University of Otago in New Zealand, encourages prospective Ph.D. students to check whether their potential Ph.D. program has published a timeline of how long it takes a Ph.D. student to complete their program. She says it is also prudent to speak with Ph.D. graduates of the school and ask about their experience.

Bennett urges prospective Ph.D. students to visit the campuses of their target graduate programs since a Ph.D. program takes so much time that it is important to find a school that feels comfortable. She adds that aspiring Ph.D. students who prefer a collaborative learning environment should be wary of graduate programs that have a cut-throat and competitive atmosphere, since such students may not thrive in that type of setting.

[ READ: 4 Fields Where Doctorates Lead to Jobs. ]

Alumni of Ph.D. programs note that the process of obtaining a Ph.D. is arduous, regardless of the type of Ph.D. program. “A Ph.D. is a long commitment of your time, energy and financial resources, so it’ll be easier on you if you are passionate about research,” says Grace Lee, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is the founder and CEO of Mastery Insights, an education and career coaching company, and the host of the Career Revisionist podcast.

“A Ph.D. isn’t about rehashing years of knowledge that is already out there, but rather it is about your ability to generate new knowledge. Your intellectual masterpiece (which is your dissertation) takes a lot of time, intellectual creativity and innovation to put together, so you have to be truly passionate about that,” Lee says.

Erin Skelly, a graduate admissions counselor at the IvyWise admissions consulting firm, says when a Ph.D. students struggles to complete his or her Ph.D. degree, it may have more to do with the student’s academic interests or personal circumstances than his or her program.

“The time to complete a Ph.D. can depend on a number of variables, but the specific discipline or school would only account for a year or two’s difference,” she wrote in an email. “When a student takes significantly longer to complete a Ph.D. (degree), it’s usually related to the student’s coursework and research – they need to take additional coursework to complete their comprehensive exams; they change the focus of their program or dissertation, requiring extra coursework or research; or their research doesn’t yield the results they hoped for, and they need to generate a new theory and conduct more research.”

Skelly warns that the average completion time of a Ph.D. program may be misleading in some cases, if the average is skewed based on one or two outliers. She suggests that instead of focusing on the duration of a particular Ph.D. program, prospective students should investigate the program’s attritition and graduation rates.

“It is worthwhile to look at the program requirements and the school’s proposed timeline for completion, and meet current students to get their input on how realistic these expectations for completion are,” Skelly says. “That can give you an honest idea of how long it will really take to complete the program.”

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How to Complete Your PhD in 3 Years

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Completing a Ph.D. degree is a significant achievement that requires dedication, focus, and meticulous planning. While the journey can be demanding, it is possible to successfully complete your Ph.D. in three years with efficient time management, effective research strategies, and a supportive academic environment.

In this blog, we will explore the essential steps and tips to make your Ph.D. journey rewarding and manageable.

Step-by-Step Guide to Completing Your PhD in 3 Years

1. setting clear goals.

Before embarking on your Ph.D. journey, it’s essential to have a clear vision of your research interests and goals. Define the specific areas that intrigue you the most and align your interests with a focused research question.

2. Choose the Right Research Topic

The foundation of a successful PhD lies in selecting an appropriate research topic. Opt for a well-defined, feasible subject that aligns with your interests and expertise. This approach ensures that you channel your efforts into a topic that genuinely excites you and can be managed within the given time frame.

3. Organize Your Work Efficiently

Set realistic deadlines for each task and stage of your PhD, and break them up into manageable chunks. Utilize project management tools or applications to keep track of your progress and monitor your achievements effectively.

Break down the various tasks and stages of your Ph.D. into manageable chunks and set realistic deadlines for each. A timeline will help you monitor your progress and ensure you stay on track throughout the three years.

4. Creating a Well-Structured Research Proposal

Crafting a well-organized research proposal is crucial to get your Ph.D. off to a strong start. The proposal should include an introduction to the research problem, a comprehensive literature review, a detailed methodology, and the expected outcomes of your study.

Prepare your research proposal as soon as you can, then ask your adviser or committee for approval. A proposal sets the stage for your research and prevents unnecessary delays.

5. Maintaining Consistent Progress

Stay organized and disciplined in your work routine. Regularly meet with your advisors and mentors to discuss your progress and seek guidance whenever needed.

Maintain regular communication with your advisor or mentors to discuss your progress, challenges, and potential solutions. Actively seeking feedback ensures you stay on the right track and avoid wasting valuable time in the wrong direction.

6. Effective Literature Review

Perform a thorough literature review early in the process to identify existing research and gaps in your field. This process guides the scope of your research and prevents redundant efforts. Synthesize and critically analyze the literature to build a strong theoretical foundation for your study.

7. Conducting Rigorous Research

Choose appropriate research methods and gather data meticulously. Analyze the data rigorously to derive meaningful conclusions that contribute to your field of study.

8. Overcoming Challenges

Ph.D. journeys often come with challenges and setbacks. It’s crucial to stay resilient and seek support from your peers, colleagues, and academic community during difficult times.

Maintaining focus is paramount during your PhD journey. Limit non-essential activities that may consume your time and energy, allowing you to concentrate fully on your research.

9. Collaborate and Network

Engage in collaborations with peers and researchers in your field. Networking can lead to valuable insights, shared resources, and potential collaboration opportunities, all of which can accelerate your research progress.

10. Be Adaptable

Expect unexpected challenges or setbacks during your research. Be adaptable and open to adjusting your plans as needed to stay on track.

11. Writing and Drafting

Divide the writing process into stages – from outlining to final drafting. Seek feedback from your advisors and make revisions to enhance the clarity and coherence of your work.

Initiate the writing process for your thesis early on. Regular writing clarifies your ideas and findings, making the final thesis writing process more manageable.

12. Editing and Proofreading

Ensure your thesis is well-edited and free from errors. Pay attention to grammar, formatting, and citation styles to present a polished document.

13. Aim to Defend Early

Plan to present your PhD thesis for defense early in your third year. This provides ample time to address any revisions or feedback from your committee.

14. Preparing for the Defense

Rehearse your thesis presentation thoroughly and anticipate potential questions from the examination committee. Confidence and preparation are key to a successful defense.

Completing a PhD in three years involves dedication, focus, and effective planning. While achieving this ambitious goal is commendable, it’s crucial to remember that the quality and impact of your research matter more than the timeframe.

By diligently following these steps and remaining committed to your goals, you can make significant progress in your PhD journey and set yourself up for success in academia and beyond.

Is it possible to complete a Ph.D. in less than three years?

While completing a Ph.D. in less than three years is rare, it is possible in certain cases. However, it requires exceptional dedication and an efficiently planned research project.

How important is collaboration during the Ph.D. journey?

Collaboration with peers, colleagues, and researchers can be beneficial, as it provides diverse perspectives and support throughout your research.

What if my research takes a different direction than initially planned?

It’s normal for research to evolve. Communicate with your advisors, modify your research question if necessary, and ensure your new direction aligns with your overall objectives.

How can I manage work-life balance during my Ph.D.?

Maintaining work-life balance is crucial for your well-being. Set aside time for relaxation, hobbies, and spending time with loved ones to avoid burnout.

Is it necessary to publish during my Ph.D. program?

Publishing research papers during your Ph.D. program can enhance your academic profile and contribute to your field. However, it is not mandatory, and the focus should be on the quality of your research.

Mastering the art of academic writing: strategies for ph.d. researchers, how to become a postdoctoral researcher, top 10 fellowships to support phd studies in usa, how long does it take for phd in usa | structure, 20 tips for completing your phd in 36 months, resources for phd literature review, top 10 highest paying phd degrees in 2023, phd and postdoctoral positions at university of liege in belgium, phd students seeking industry jobs: transitioning from academia to the corporate world, what are the pros and cons of being an older student in a phd program, leave a reply cancel reply.

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How Long Does It Take To Get a PhD?

A PhD program typically takes four to seven years, but a variety of factors can impact that timeline.

[Featured Image] A woman in a library is holding a pen to her temple and looking at her laptop.

A PhD , or doctorate degree , is the highest degree you can earn in certain disciplines, such as psychology, engineering, education, and mathematics. As a result, it often takes longer to earn than it does for a bachelor’s or master’s degree.

While many PhD programs are designed to be finished in four or five years, the average completion time is much longer when you factor in the time it takes to research and write a dissertation. In 2020, for example, doctoral students took between six and twelve years to complete their PhDs [ 1 ]. By comparison, you can complete a master's degree in one to three years.

In this article, we'll explore the requirements of a PhD, what often ends up adding to the length of time, and important factors you should consider when deciding whether it’s the right choice for you.

PhD requirements + general timeline

Doctoral programs typically require PhD candidates to take take advanced courses, pass a comprehensive exam (sometimes called "comps"), and produce an original body of research, such as a dissertation, to obtain the degree. In some cases, you may also be expected to fulfill a teaching assistantship or research assistantship, both of which are meant to prepare you for a career in academia or research.

PhD requirements

The precise requirements you'll need to complete in order to get your PhD vary from one program to another, but some common tasks include:

Advanced coursework: Graduate-level coursework that explores a number of advanced sub-topics related to your field

Comprehensive exam: An exam that requires you to show knowledge of your field, such as its history, important figures, major theories or research, and more

Dissertation: An original body of research you contribute to your field

PhD timeline

The specifics of a PhD program vary by college and university, but the following estimates give you an idea of what to expect during your time in graduate school:

Year 1: Complete advanced coursework.

Year 2: Complete advanced coursework and begin preparing for your comprehensive exams.

Year 3: Study, take, and defend your comprehensive exams. Begin researching your dissertation proposal.

Year 4: Submit your dissertation proposal to your committee chair, and, once approved, begin working on your dissertation.

Year 5: Finish writing your dissertation and submit for committee approval. Defend your dissertation and apply for graduation.

Note that while this timeline gives a general timeline of how long it will take to complete a PhD program, it's very common for candidates to take more than one year to research and compose their dissertation.

Read more: Should You Go Back to School? 7 Things to Consider

PhD timelines by focus

Some PhD programs take longer to complete than others. For example, earning a doctorate in a science and engineering field typically takes less time than earning a doctorate in the arts or humanities, according to data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) [ 1 ]. The list below shows the median length of time it took doctorate students to earn their degree in 2020:

Physical and Earth Sciences: 6.3

Engineering: 6.8 years

Life sciences: 6.9 years

Mathematics and computer science: 7 years

Psychology and Social Sciences: 7.9 years

Humanities and arts: 9.6 years

Education: 12 years

Learn more: What Is a Terminal Degree and Do I Need One?

Why does it take so long to complete a PhD?

There are a few reasons why it takes more time to complete a PhD compared to other advanced degrees.

1. Dissertations

Once a doctoral student has successfully passed their comps, they are considered “All But Dissertation” or “ABD.” Yet, the number of students who successfully complete their PhD program remains low—estimates show that nearly 50 percent of students drop out, often after reaching the dissertation phase [ 2 ].

The dissertation phase can often take much longer to complete than the other requirements of a PhD. Researching and writing a dissertation takes significant time because students are expected to make an original and notable contribution to their field.

2. Assistantship obligations

Teaching and research assistantships are beneficial because they can help pay for a PhD program, but they may also take time away from working on your dissertation. Some students are expected to teach at least one class per semester on top of their other obligations as graduate students.

For universities that reduce the teaching or research load that students have as part of their assistantship, times to completion tend to improve. Humanities students at Princeton University began finishing their degree in 6.4 years (compared to 7.5 years) thanks to the institution's financial support and the reduced number of classes students taught [ 3 ].

3. Other responsibilities

Doctoral students tend to be older. Graduate students pursuing a PhD in science or engineering were an average of 31.6 years old by the time they earned their degree in 2016, according to the National Science Foundation [ 4 ]. In effect, some PhD students may have competing obligations, such as family. If a student’s funding has run out, and they have to find full-time work, it also may affect the time they can dedicate to writing their dissertation.

Is a PhD right for you?

People pursue PhDs for various reasons: Some want a job that requires the degree, such as teaching at a university, while others want the challenges or intellectual engagement that a graduate program offers. Identifying why you want to earn a PhD can help indicate whether it’s your best choice.

If your career aspirations don't require a PhD, it might be better to focus on gaining professional experience. Or if you're interested in an advanced education, a master's degree may be a better option. It takes less time to complete than a PhD and can lead to more career opportunities and larger salaries than a bachelor's degree.

Learn more: Is a Master’s Degree Worth It?

Benefits of a PhD

The primary advantage of earning a PhD is your increased demand and marketability in the workforce.

In 2018, less than 5 percent of the United States population had a doctorate degree, compared to about 48 percent with a bachelor's degree and 21 percent with a master's degree, according to the US Census Bureau [ 5 ]. As a member of this elite group, the potential for advanced roles, promotions, or pay raises may be greater.

Even before you have a degree in hand, working toward a PhD gives you opportunities to hone valuable skills , including writing, research, and data analysis . Furthermore, completing a PhD program can demonstrate to potential employers that you have specialized knowledge and the fortitude to finish such an advanced degree.

Costs of a PhD

Beyond the time they take to complete, PhD programs can be expensive. The average cost of a PhD program in the United States is just under $100,000. At some schools, the cost of a PhD can even exceed $200,000 [ 6 ]. While many institutions offer funding support in the form of assistantships or scholarships, many PhD students still graduate with student loan debt. In 2023, the average student loan debt for PhD was $134,797 [ 7 ].

Another factor to consider is the loss of income you might incur while you're working toward your degree. Some graduate students accept teaching or research assistantships to help fund the cost of their program, but these may not pay as much as full-time positions. Working on your education may also mean pausing the professional experience you’d gain in the workforce—and potentially losing out on promotions and raises. However, it’s worth noting that graduate degree holders earn much more over the course of their lifetime than bachelor’s degree holders, according to the US Social Security Administration [ 8 ].

Read more: How to Pay for Graduate School: 8 Ways

Set yourself up for success

A PhD is a major accomplishment. As you think about your long-term goals and whether a PhD will help you achieve them, it's important to understand ways you can set yourself up for success. According to the University of Georgia, success in a PhD program often means [ 9 ]:

Understanding the demands and expectations of the program

Receiving adequate program orientation

Getting support from peers and faculty

Feeling a sense of belonging as a member of an academic community

These conditions underscore the importance of choosing the right program and school to fit your personal and professional goals. Take time to research the ways your potential institution offers financial support, mental health support, and career placement support, among other program features.

An advanced degree can be a lucrative credential. You can earn your master’s in a number of in-demand fields from top universities on Coursera. Earn a degree in computer science , business , management , or public health , all while enjoying greater flexibility than an in-person degree program tends to offer. Earning your master's can also help you discern whether a PhD makes sense for your larger objectives.

Article sources

Survey of Earned Doctorates. " Path to the doctorate , https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf22300/report/path-to-the-doctorate." Accessed January 30, 2024.

International Journal of Higher Education. “ Who Are the Doctoral Students Who Drop Out? , https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1188721.pdf.” Accessed January 30, 2024.

The New York Times. " Exploring Ways to Shorten the Ascent to a PhD , https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/education/03education.html." Accessed January 30, 2024.

National Science Foundation. " Science and Engineering Doctorates , https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsf18304/report/age-at-doctorate-award-what-are-the-overall-trends-and-characteristics/characteristics-of-doctorate-recipients-sex.cfm." Accessed January 30, 2024.

US Census Bureau. " About 13.1 Percent Have a Master’s, Professional Degree or Doctorate , https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/02/number-of-people-with-masters-and-phd-degrees-double-since-2000.html." Accessed January 30, 2024.

Education Data Initiative. " Average Cost of a Doctorate Degree , https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-a-doctorate-degree." Accessed January 30, 2024.

Education Data Initiative. " Average Graduate Student Loan Debt , https://educationdata.org/average-graduate-student-loan-debt." Accessed January 30, 2024.

Social Security Administration. " Education and Lifetime Earnings , https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/research-summaries/education-earnings.html." Accessed January 30, 2024.

A Data-Driven Approach to Improving Doctoral Completion. " Chapter 2: Description of Projects , https://cgsnet.org/cgs-occasional-paper-series/university-georgia/chapter-2." Accessed January 30, 2024.

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This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

How Long Does A PhD Take?
Doing a PhD

Sometimes, just knowing how long a PhD takes can be enough to sway your decision on whether a research degree is for you. So with that in mind, exactly how long does a PhD take?

In the UK, a full-time PhD takes 3 to 4 years to finish whilst a part-time PhD takes twice as long at 6 to 7 years. Alongside these average durations, there are time limits on how long you can be enrolled on to a PhD programme. To discover these limits, the factors which most influence doctoral degree durations and how the UK durations compare to international PhDs, continue reading on.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Full-time PhD?

In the UK, a full-time PhD will typically take you 3 to 4 years. You will usually spend the first three years on the technical aspects of your doctorate. This includes undertaking independent research, designing your research methodology and collecting and analysing data. You will then spend an additional academic year on writing up your PhD thesis and sitting your viva.

How Long Does It Take to Get a Part-time PhD?

In the UK, a part-time PhD will typically take you 6 to 7 years; twice as long as doing a full-time PhD. The reason for this is that as a part-time PhD student, you would dedicate around 20 hours per week to your PhD as opposed to the typical 40 hours full-time students would put into their subject.

How Long Does a Distance Learning PhD Take?

Similarly, distance learning PhD’s take an average of 6 to 7 years to complete. This is because the vast majority of students who undertake a distance learning PhD do so because they can’t relocate closer to the university. Although these commitments will differ, they often mean the student isn’t able to dedicate 40 hours per week to their studies.

Students in STEM disciplines will often take longer to finish a distance learning doctorate degree than those in non-STEM disciplines. This because the progress of a STEM PhD student will be limited by how often they can access a laboratory for experiment work.

How Does Funding Impact a PhD’s Duration?

In reality, the actual time it will take you to complete your PhD degree will depend on your funding situation.

If you’re receiving funding , it will usually only cover you for 3.5 years if you’re studying full-time or for 7 years at half the stipend if you’re studying part-time. Although this could vary slightly, most PhD funding providers, e.g. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), follow this timescale as indicated on their ‘ length of PhD studentships’ page. Because of this, most students who obtain scholarships try to complete their PhD within the timeframe of their funding so they don’t incur additional fees which they need to cover themselves.

It’s also worth noting that some funded PhD positions have additional conditions attached to them as part of their eligibility requirements. For example, they may require teaching undergraduate students, hosting laboratory sessions or attend presentations and conferences. This will be especially true if you’re on a Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA). Although these shouldn’t add considerable time to the length of a PhD programme, they have the potential to do so if they aren’t managed properly.

As self-funded students cover their own annual tuition fees and other associated costs, how long they’ll spend to complete their PhD project will largely depend on their own personal financial situation. Because of this, most self-funded PhD students find it best to complete their PhD study in the shortest time-frame they can manage.

Are There Deadlines?

Yes – unfortunately, all good things must come to an end! Within the UK, the deadline for your PhD is defined as the last date which you must submit your final thesis by. This date is set by your university’s overall regulations and varies depending on the arrangements of your PhD, e.g. whether it’s full or part time. In the vast majority of cases, the adopted deadlines are four years for full-time PhDs and seven years for part-time PhDs from the date you were officially registered onto your programme, as shown below from the University of Leicester’s registration guidance page .

Registration for Length of a PhD_ How long does it take to get a PhD

This time-frame may vary from university to university. For example, the University of Sheffield adopts an additional year for part-time PhDs as shown below.

Programme time for PhDs - How long is a PhD

Can I Complete It Faster?

Although it’s possible to complete a full-time PhD in under 3 years, it’s a significant feat that’s rarely heard of. When these feats occur, they’re usually where the doctoral student already has extensive knowledge and experience in their field before undertaking their PhD.

Whilst it’s possible to complete a part-time PhD in under 6 years, it largely depends on your commitments outside your studies. For example, if you have a part-time career alongside your PhD, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to commit the additional hours required to complete your doctorate a year faster.

However, if instead of a steady part-time job you take on occasional work as a freelancer, you’ll be able to set aside many more hours towards your doctoral degree.

Will Having only A Bachelor’s Degree or Being an International Student Limit My Rate of Progression?

Not at all. While there are benefits to having a Master’s degree such as an additional year of learning and greater research experience due to your fourth-year dissertation project, this doesn’t mean not having one would limit you. A PhD is very different to both Bachelor and Master degrees due to being heavily research-based, therefore, both types of students will have just as much to learn on their way to completing their doctorate.

Similarly, whether you’re an international student will bear no influence on the duration of your PhD.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

How Does This Compare to the Duration of EU and US PhDs?

PhD hosted by universities within the EU, such as those in France, Norway and Spain, have the same programme structure as those within the UK. As a result, there are no noticeable differences in the time to complete a doctorate between UK and EU institutions.

However, this is not the case in the US. Compared to PhDs conducted within the UK or EU, PhDs conducted within the US take considerably longer to obtain. According to a 2017 study conducted by the National Science Foundation, a US government agency which supports research and higher education, the average time to get a PhD within the US is 5.8 years. Besides this, the average completion time can further increase depending on the disciplines. For example, they found doctorates within the humanities and arts to take an average of 7.1 years to achieve.

The primary reason for this difference is the way PhD degrees are structured within the United States. As mentioned previously, PhDs conducted within UK and EU universities are essentially broken into two sections – one covering the analytical aspects and the other covering the writing up aspects. However, within the US, doctorate programmes comprise additional sections. PhD students are first required to undertake 2 to 3 years of courses, which cover a broad range of topics related to their schools’ discipline. This is then followed by coursework and several examinations, which only once passed can the PhD candidate then start working on their research project and dissertation.

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree?

Earning a Ph.D. from a U.S. grad school typically requires nearly six years, federal statistics show.

How Long It Takes to Get a Ph.D. Degree

Caiaimage | Tom Merton | Getty Images

A Ph.D. is most appropriate for someone who is a "lifelong learner."

Some Ph.D. candidates begin doctoral programs after they have already obtained master's degrees, which means the time spent in grad school is a combination of the time spent pursuing a master's and the years invested in a doctorate. In order to receive a Ph.D. degree, a student must produce and successfully defend an original academic dissertation, which must be approved by a dissertation committtee. Writing and defending a dissertation is so difficult that many Ph.D. students drop out of their Ph.D. programs having done most of the work necessary for degree without completing the dissertation component. These Ph.D. program dropouts often use the phrase " all but dissertation " or the abbreviation "ABD" on their resumes.

According to a comprehensive study of Ph.D. completion rates published by The Council of Graduate Schools in 2008, only 56.6% of people who begin Ph.D. programs earn Ph.D. degrees.

Ian Curtis, a founding partner with H&C Education, an educational and admissions consulting firm, who is pursuing a Ph.D. degree in French at Yale University , says there are several steps involved in the process of obtaining a Ph.D. Students typically need to fulfill course requirements and pass comprehensive exams, Curtis warns. "Once these obligations have been completed, how long it takes you to write your dissertation depends on who you are, how you work, what field you're in and what other responsibilities you have in life," he wrote in an email. Though some Ph.D. students can write a dissertation in a single year, that is rare, and the dissertation writing process may last for several years, Curtis says.

Curtis adds that the level of support a Ph.D. student receives from an academic advisor or faculty mentor can be a key factor in determining the length of time it takes to complete a Ph.D. program. "Before you decide to enroll at a specific program, you’ll want to meet your future advisor," Curtis advises. "Also, reach out to his or her current and former students to get a sense of what he or she is like to work with."

Curtis also notes that if there is a gap between the amount of time it takes to complete a Ph.D. and the amount of time a student's funding lasts, this can slow down the Ph.D. completion process. "Keep in mind that if you run out of funding at some point during your doctorate, you will need to find paid work, and this will leave you even less time to focus on writing your dissertation," he says. "If one of the programs you’re looking at has a record of significantly longer – or shorter – times to competition, this is good information to take into consideration."

He adds that prospective Ph.D. students who already have master's degrees in the field they intend to focus their Ph.D. on should investigate whether the courses they took in their master's program would count toward the requirements of a Ph.D. program. "You’ll want to discuss your particular situation with your program to see whether this will be possible, and how many credits you are likely to receive as the result of your master’s work," he says.

How to Write M.D.-Ph.D. Application Essays

Ilana Kowarski May 15, 2018

Emmanuel C. Nwaodua, who has a Ph.D. degree in geology, says some Ph.D. programs require candidates to publish a paper in a first-rate, peer-reviewed academic journal. "This could extend your stay by a couple of years," he warns.

Pierre Huguet, the CEO and co-founder of H&C Education, says prospective Ph.D. students should be aware that a Ph.D. is designed to prepare a person for a career as a scholar. "Most of the jobs available to Ph.D. students upon graduation are academic in nature and directly related to their fields of study: professor, researcher, etc.," Huguet wrote in an email. "The truth is that more specialization can mean fewer job opportunities. Before starting a Ph.D., students should be sure that they want to pursue a career in academia, or in research. If not, they should make time during the Ph.D. to show recruiters that they’ve traveled beyond their labs and libraries to gain some professional hands-on experience."

Joan Kee, a professor at the University of Michigan with the university's history of art department, says that the length of time required for a Ph.D. varies widely depending on what subject the Ph.D. focuses on. "Ph.D. program length is very discipline and even field-specific; for example, you can and are expected to finish a Ph.D, in economics in under five years, but that would be impossible in art history (or most of the humanities)," she wrote in an email.

Kee adds that humanities Ph.D. programs often require someone to learn a foreign language, and "fields like anthropology and art history require extensive field research." Kee says funding for a humanities Ph.D. program typically only lasts five years, even though it is uncommon for someone to obtain a Ph.D. degree in a humanities field within that time frame. "Because of this, many if not most Ph.D. students must work to make ends meet, thus further prolonging the time of completion," she says.

Online Doctoral Programs: What to Expect

Ronald Wellman March 23, 2018

Kristin Redington Bennett, the founder of the Illumii educational consulting firm in North Carolina, encourages Ph.D. hopefuls to think carefully about whether they want to become a scholar. Bennett, who has a Ph.D. in curriculum and assessment and who previously worked as an assistant professor at Wake Forest University , says a Ph.D. is most appropriate for someone who is a "lifelong learner." She says someone contemplating a Ph.D. should ask themselves the following questions "Are you a very curious person... and are you persistent?"

Alumni of Ph.D. programs note that the process of obtaining a Ph.D. is arduous, regardless of the type of Ph.D. program. "A Ph.D. is a long commitment of your time, energy and financial resources, so it'll be easier on you if you are passionate about research," says Grace Lee, who has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is the founder and CEO of Mastery Insights, an education and career coaching company, and the host of the Career Revisionist podcast.

"A Ph.D. isn't about rehashing years of knowledge that is already out there, but rather it is about your ability to generate new knowledge. Your intellectual masterpiece (which is your dissertation) takes a lot of time, intellectual creativity and innovation to put together, so you have to be truly passionate about that," Lee says.

Curtis says a prospective Ph.D. student's enthusiasm for academic work, teaching and research are the key criteria they should use to decide whether to obtain a Ph.D. degree. "While the time it takes to complete a doctorate is an understandable concern for many, my personal belief is that time is not the most important factor to consider," he says. "Good Ph.D. programs provide their students with generous stipends, health care and sometimes even subsidized housing."

Erin Skelly, a graduate admissions counselor at the IvyWise admissions consulting firm, says when a Ph.D. students struggles to complete his or her Ph.D. degree, it may have more to do with the student's academic interests or personal circumstances than his or her program.

"The time to complete a Ph.D. can depend on a number of variables, but the specific discipline or school would only account for a year or two's difference," she wrote in an email. "When a student takes significantly longer to complete a Ph.D. (degree), it's usually related to the student's coursework and research – they need to take additional coursework to complete their comprehensive exams; they change the focus of their program or dissertation, requiring extra coursework or research; or their research doesn't yield the results they hoped for, and they need to generate a new theory and conduct more research."

"It is worthwhile to look at the program requirements and the school's proposed timeline for completion, and meet current students to get their input on how realistic these expectations for completion are," Skelly says. "That can give you an honest idea of how long it will really take to complete the program."

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How to finish a PhD in three years*

Welcome to our blog! Between a Rock blog is a multi-author effort, comprising five (and counting) PhD students from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. We’re pretty excited to be welcomed into the EGU network and look forward to sharing our PhD journeys and science stories with you. To get a feel of what we write about, you can check our old material at betweenarock.co.uk .

You’ll notice by the title of this post that we’ve started bold, particularly as none of us writing for the blog actually have a PhD; however, we reckon we’ve picked up some tips from our efforts so far…

Here is your unofficial guide to getting a PhD from those who don’t have one yet!

1) Make the most of your first year. Ok, so everybody knows you won’t actually achieve much in the first twelve months**, but this is the best time to learn the skills you’ll need in the coming years. Take this opportunity to teach yourself how to code, plot and calculate like a demon. You’ll thank yourself later.

2) Find out what the anatomy of a thesis looks like. Preferably before the last three months of your funding. In our research we found one article titled “ how not to write a thesis ” – this article reassures us that we may not be that bad a PhD student. Their top “don’ts” include “submit an incomplete, poorly formatted bibliography”; “use phrases such as ‘some academics’ or ‘all the literature’ without mitigating statements or references”; and “submit a PhD with a short introduction or conclusion”. The idea of doing any of these makes us shudder but nevertheless they are important ‘tips’.

3) Go to conferences. Talk to as many people about your project as you can. No matter how knowledgeable your supervisor is, they too are heavily invested in your project. Sometimes it really is a case of not being able to see the wood for the trees, and there is nothing better than an informed, objective opinion.

Our office motto

4) Procrastination is a killer. Facebook , Twitter , blogs , news websites , YouTube , Buzzfeed …and these are just the internet-based distractions. Add in Angry Birds , WhatsApp , gossiping office mates, people walking past your window, clicking on all of the above links and AARRGH, it’s a constant battle between your prefrontal cortex and limbic system . Legitimate breaks are ok (see number 5) but too much procrastinating will dent your resolve and diminish your productivity. As the sign in our office says “JUST MAN UP AND DO IT”.

In times of stress, why not try an office Shirshasana like Sorcha does (that’s a headstand, to the uninitiated)

5) Find your zen. When your office is noisy, when it’s sunny outside, or when writer’s block hits, you need to discover something that gets you back on track and re-motivates you. Some of our suggestions include yoga, listening to drum and bass, going for a short walk, fetching a cuppa, retail therapy and a YouTube break. As long as these activities don’t last longer than fifteen minutes, it’s officially not procrastination! When the weekend does come, make sure you take time to completely switch off from work. Although, this is often easier said than done.

6) Learn to love to hate your PhD . This speaks for itself and a handy tip picked up from here. It’s hard to explain to people, but it is possible to simultaneously love and hate your PhD. However you feel about it though, you’re stuck with it for at least three years, so learn to embrace the challenge. Having a good moan can also be strangely satisfying but it only works when there is something tangible to moan about!

7) In the words of Richard Butterworth, “ Finished is better than perfect ”. Which again goes with the “Man up and just do it” moto. Perhaps from that we should conclude that those of us blogging at Between a Rock should just get on and finish our PhDs. But rest assured, we will. We’ll still blog along the way proving that there is such thing as having a life during a PhD !

8) Write yourself a good soundtrack. Most PhD students work in large offices and as friendly as you might be, there’ll no doubt be someone doing something that’s audible and irritating. A good pair of headphones and a song for every mood is supremely helpful.

9) Read around the subject. It’s very easy to get bogged down in the little niche that is your PhD and (apparently) when it comes to your viva it helps to know the research wider than your reference list. Join or set up a reading group . Not only are these legitimate breaks, they’re a good way to chat through and understand topics you’re not familiar with. Plus, there’s often cake involved.

10) Look back and smile. Until you’ve passed your viva, submitted your corrections, and sunk that first glass of post-graduation champagne, it’s all too easy to look forward and feel like the end is always just out of reach. But look back, reminisce, and remember all you’ve achieved so far. Be proud, give yourself a pat on the back, and smile.

PhD memories – not all bad!

*In this case, three actually means four…or if you’re in the USA, five.

** There are some lucky folks who actually do achieve lots in their first year but they make us jealous.

Supervisor profile #4: Dr Frances Cooper February 3, 2014

Things I wish I knew when I started my PhD… October 14, 2014

LauRob85 August 8, 2013, 2:11 pm

Great tips!

All I’d add is: Make the most of opportunities that come your way – such attending workshops, free training etc… Is a great thing to do, but research them early on and try and get them done before your final year!

Comments are now closed for this post.

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Johns Hopkins PhD students vote to ratify three-year collective bargaining agreement

The approved contract guarantees increased pay and benefits for represented students and ensures that jhu remains a leader in graduate education.

By Hub staff report

Union-represented PhD students at Johns Hopkins University have voted in favor of ratifying a three-year collective bargaining agreement that guarantees them enhanced pay and benefits.

The 29 articles that make up the contract between the university and the union that represents PhD students—Teachers and Researchers United – United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America Local 197 (TRU-UE Local 197)—address a broad range of important topics including minimum stipend levels, union rights, appointment duties, grievance and arbitration, training and professional development, professional rights, and health and safety provisions.

The contract offers enhanced pay and benefits that raise the minimum stipend to $47,000 per year beginning this July. Stipend increases are approximately 32% on average across the bargaining unit and more than 50% in some departments. The three-year agreement also includes guaranteed minimum stipend increases of more than 6% in the second year of the contract to $50,000, and then a 4% increase in the third year of the contract. Among other benefit enhancements, the contract also includes paid health benefits for children and some spouses, parental leave benefits, increased vacation and sick time, and a one-time $1,000 signing bonus for all bargaining unit members.

"We are confident this newly ratified contract will allow Hopkins PhD programs to offer highly competitive funding packages and continue building on our nearly 150-year-old tradition of recruiting some of brightest minds and most promising talent in the world to study here in Baltimore," JHU President Ron Daniels and Provost Ray Jayawardhana wrote in a message to faculty. This moment marks just some of our first steps towards meeting the ambitious vision for the future of graduate education laid out in the university's Ten for One strategic plan, and with PhD education as a major focus of the institution's philanthropic efforts, more exciting developments lay ahead.

"We extend our gratitude to the faculty members and the student workers who participated in this process, and who helped us reach this important milestone."

The ratified agreement is the product of more than 40 bargaining sessions between university and union representatives. Terms of the proposed agreement were reached on March 29.

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University, PhD union reach tentative agreement

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Hispanic enrollment reaches new high at four-year colleges in the U.S., but affordability remains an obstacle

Hispanic enrollment at postsecondary institutions in the United States has seen an exponential increase over the last few decades, rising from 1.5 million in 2000 to a new high of 3.8 million in 2019 – partly reflecting the group’s rapid growth as a share of the overall U.S. population.

A line graph showing that Hispanic enrollment at colleges and universities in the U.S. has more than doubled in the last two decades

However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a decline in postsecondary enrollment among Hispanics and most other racial and ethnic groups. In fall 2020, there were 640,000 fewer students – including nearly 100,000 fewer Hispanics – enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities than in the previous year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The decline for Hispanics, and other racial and ethnic groups, in 2020 was driven by a drop in enrollment at two-year institutions. Hispanic enrollment at two-year colleges declined by about 230,000, or 15%, from 2019 to 2020. It appears that this trend continued into fall 2021, as there was a decline in the number of higher education institutions where Hispanics make up at least 25% of students – known as Hispanic-Serving Institutions – from 569 in fall 2020 to 559 in fall 2021 . (NCES has not yet released postsecondary enrollment data for fall 2021.)

Hispanic enrollment at four-year institutions, by contrast, continued to rise even during the first year of the pandemic, increasing by about 140,000 students, or 6%, from 2019 to 2020. Hispanic enrollment at such institutions has increased every year for decades. Between 2000 and 2020, the number of Latinos enrolled at four-year institutions jumped from 620,000 to 2.4 million, a 287% increase. By comparison, overall student enrollment at four-year institutions in the U.S. grew by 50% during this time.

This Pew Research Center analysis about Hispanics and college enrollment relies on data from sources including the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Census Bureau’s 2021 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (IPUMS).

To explore the factors contributing to the gap among racial and ethnic groups in college completion, we surveyed 9,676 U.S. adults between Oct. 18-24, 2021. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the survey questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

A bar chart showing that Hispanics now make up one-in-five students enrolled at postsecondary institutions in the U.S.

Latinos make up a growing share of all students enrolled at postsecondary institutions. In 1980, there were about 470,000 Latinos enrolled at degree-granting postsecondary institutions, accounting for 4% of all students. By 2000, Latino enrollment had increased to 1.5 million, or 10% of all students. And by 2020, 3.7 million Latinos were enrolled, accounting for a fifth of all postsecondary students.

Asian enrollment at postsecondary institutions has also grown sharply in recent decades, though not as quickly as Hispanic enrollment. The Asian share of postsecondary students nearly quadrupled from 2% in 1980 to 8% in 2020. The share of postsecondary students who are Black increased far more slowly, from 9% in 1980 to 13% in 2020, while White students saw a considerable decrease in their share of enrollment, from 84% to 54%.

A bar chart showing that Hispanic and Black Americans are among the the least likely to be enrolled in college or have a bachelor’s degree

Despite growing enrollment, relatively small shares of young Hispanics are enrolled in college or have obtained a bachelor’s degree. In 2021, about three-in-ten Latinos ages 18 to 24 (32%) were enrolled at least part time in college, a similar share to Black Americans (33%) and a lower share than among White (37%) and Asian (58%) adults of the same age, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Current Population Survey data. Among Latinos, some 35% of young women 18 to 24 were enrolled at least part time in college in 2021, compared with 28% of men of the same age group.

In 2021, about a quarter of Latinos ages 25 to 29 (23%) had earned a bachelor’s degree, up from 14% in 2010. A similar share of Black Americans in this age group (26%) had obtained a bachelor’s degree, while 45% of White Americans and 72% of Asian Americans ages 25 to 29 had done so. Hispanic women ages 25 to 29 were more likely than Hispanic men in the same age range to have a college degree (27% vs. 20%) – a pattern also seen among other racial and ethnic groups.

Overall, a 62% majority of U.S. adults ages 25 and older do not have a bachelor’s degree, including about eight-in-ten Hispanics (79%).

Financial constraints a major reason why Hispanics do not finish a four-year degree

Financial considerations are a key reason why Americans overall do not complete a four-year degree, and this is particularly true for Hispanics, according to an October 2021 Pew Research Center survey .

A chart showing that about seven-in-ten Latinos without a bachelor’s degree cite a need to support family and cost as reasons why

Among Latinos who do not have a bachelor’s degree and are not enrolled in school, about seven-in-ten Latinos (71%) say a major or minor reason why is that they need to work to help support family, while 69% say they couldn’t afford a four-year degree.

Affordability restrictions may include the overall cost of college, lack of reliable transportation or a desire to not take on debt. Hispanics are more likely than other students to avoid taking on debt and more likely to report difficulties paying back student loans .

Personal factors also play a role in college completion. Close to half of Hispanics who have not obtained a four-year degree (47%) say they just did not want to pursue one. There is a notable difference by gender, with 54% of Hispanic men and 40% of Hispanic women citing this as a reason for not finishing college.

Other factors play a role, too. Among Latinos without a bachelor’s degree, about four-in-ten (42%) say they did not think they would get into a four-year college – a significantly higher share than among White Americans (22%). In addition, 37% of Latinos without a bachelor’s degree say they did not think they needed a four-year degree for the job or career they wanted. This is similar to the share of Black Americans who say the same, (41%) but lower than the share of White Americans (49%).

Note: Here are the survey questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

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Scottie Scheffler wins the 2024 Masters Tournament, joining select group of golfers who have earned the title twice

Scottie Scheffler has won the 2024 Masters Tournament, joining the select group of 17 golfers who have earned the title twice in their careers.

With Sunday's victory, Scheffler is the fourth-youngest golfer to win multiple green jackets, behind Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros.

Scheffler is living in rarefied air. He finished the 88th Masters at 11-under and won by four strokes. The victory made it three wins in his last four events and his second major victory in his previous three trips to Augusta.

Masters debutant Ludvig Åberg finished second at 7-under. Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood finished in a tie for third at 4-under.

Scheffler went off as the betting favorite at +400. Since 1985, only one golfer (Tiger Woods in 2005) had gotten off at +450 odds or shorter and went on to win the Masters.

The week was not without drama and possibly unprecedented circumstances for the world No. 1. In the final weeks of her pregnancy, Meredith Scheffler was unable to make the trip with Scottie. He went as far as to mention that should she go into labor during the tournament, he would leave at a moment’s notice.

Despite an early tournament weather delay Thursday, gusting winds through the weekend and impending fatherhood, Scheffler was able to remain dialed in and gain over four strokes total to the field, a feat with which he is all too familiar. He has gained at least four strokes to the field more often than anyone else in the world this season.

With the win, Scheffler earned 100 world ranking points, 600 FedEx Cup points, his second green jacket and $3.6 million.

Here's how Scheffler's win and the final day of the Masters played out:

The final pairing of the final round is off the first tee. Scheffler and Morikawa each hit picturesque opening drives Sunday afternoon.

If Morikawa were to claim his first green jacket, it would be his third major championship and leave him a U.S. Open title away from achieving the career Grand Slam.

Cam Smith has closed to within five shots of Scheffler. He is -2 for the day and -3 overall through three holes. Farther down the leaderboard, Tom Kim carded a final-round 66 to finish at +5 for the tournament.

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Highlights from Day 2 of the 2024 Masters

Åberg birdied the second with a smooth 22-foot putt. Sitting at +600 on the live odds board, Åberg aims to become the first debutant to win the Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979. Shortly after Åberg and Homa birdied the second, Scheffler (+100) saved par on No. 2, maintaining his one-stroke lead over Morikawa and Homa. Xander Schauffele (+2500), now 1-under on his round, is another contender just four back of Scheffler.

Scheffler (now -140 odds to win) birdies No. 3 and leads Morikawa (+400) and Homa (+500) by two shots. Åberg (+700) has played well tee to green thus far in the final round but has missed a few putts and sits at -5 overall. Tommy Fleetwood (+4000) is 2 under par for the day through seven holes to join the party. He is now 3-under along with Bryson DeChambeau (+4000), the 2020 U.S. Open winner, who has birdied holes 4 and 5 after having bogeyed two of the first three holes.

Morikawa gets up and down at No. 4 to save par, while Scheffler (-105) fails to convert the par save. Now just one back from the world No. 1, Morikawa is +400 to win the Masters. Phil Mickelson finishes this year’s tournament with a 2-over 74 round and 8-over overall, earning him the Top Senior honors.

Scheffler (-110) misses a shortish birdie putt on No. 5 but remains the leader by one shot over Homa (+400) and Morikawa (+330). Fleetwood (+8000) is trying to make a Sunday charge. He is 2-under for the day and 3-under for the tournament through 8. Tyrrell Hatton (+150000) is 5-under through 14 and 2-under for the tournament.

Ludvig Åberg of Sweden and Max Homa of the United States

Defending champion Jon Rahm (+750 per tournament odds) concludes his trip at Augusta. The LIV superstar failed to get anything going this week and finished outside the top 40. Shortly after the conclusion of Rahm’s round, Scheffler left his long birdie bid on No. 6 short. He remains one stroke ahead of Morikawa (+400) and Homa (+500). But Åberg (+400) just stuck his approach on seven; he’s inching closer toward history.

Tree trouble for Scheffler on the seventh hole results in another missed green for the 2022 champion and, ultimately, a bogey . Scheffler (+115) is now tied with Morikawa (+360) and Åberg (+230). Morikawa has put himself consistently in position to score Sunday afternoon but has been unable to cash in on a handful of birdie putts. Homa (+550) is now back within a shot with Fleetwood (+9000), and DeChambeau (+5500) is within 3.

Homa (+400) cleans up his short birdie putt on eight and now moves to 6 under par for the tournament. He was briefly tied for the lead before Scheffler (-110), who has a bounce-back birdie or better percentage of 43% this season, and Morikawa (+230), who had not made a birdie since No. 8 Saturday, both birdied the eighth.

A three-shot swing in the final pairing as world No. 1 Scheffler (-175) follows up his birdie on No. 8 with another on No. 9 while Morikawa (+1800) makes double bogey after failing to make it out of a greenside bunker. Åberg (+260) sits alone in second just a single shot behind Scheffler.

After an untimely double bogey on No. 9, Morikawa (+2500) failed to bounce back with a birdie. The two-time major champion finds himself four back of Scheffler (-250), who just drained a seven-foot birdie putt for his third straight birdie. Meanwhile, Fleetwood’s (+15000) nice 3-under round has him in solo fifth place.

Pars are in short supply all of a sudden as the four players atop the leaderboard have each made a bogey or worse in the last 10 minutes. Åberg (+850) started the parade with a double bogey at 11. Scheffler (-550) followed with a bogey at 11. Morikawa (+9000) doubles No. 11, and minutes later Homa (+1100) double bogeys No. 12. Fleetwood (+15000) is the beneficiary, as he is making pars and making up ground, sitting now at -4 through 15 holes. Scheffler leads at -8. Åberg and Homa are tied for second at -5, followed by Fleetwood.

The carnage continues through Amen Corner; however, Scheffler (-500) was able to find the green on No. 12 and finish the hole with a par, maintaining a three-stroke lead over Åberg (+400) and Homa (+1200). After he failed to convert the birdie attempt, the window for Morikawa (+20000) is closing. With just six holes to play, mistake-free golf is the recipe for the leader, Scheffler.

Nobody is playing better late in the day than Fleetwood, but his putter has not heated up on the back nine as required if he is to put on the green jacket at day’s end. With only No. 18 remaining, he sits at -4, five shots behind Scheffler (-750 to win), who just birdied the par-5 13th hole. Åberg has climbed back within striking distance and is 7-under through 14 following back-to-back birdies.

Scheffler is dialed in right now. With a two-stroke lead over Åberg, he stuck it within a foot on No. 14. Make that back-to-back birdies for the Texas native. He now moves three clear of Åberg and is an overwhelming -3500 favorite. Amid all the action, on 15, Åberg found the trees off the tee and was forced to lay up on the reachable par 5. Holes are running out for those trailing. It almost feels like Scheffler’s tournament to lose.

Scheffler began the Masters as an overwhelming favorite, and he is delivering as advertised. Closing in on his second Masters championship, he is now three holes from victory following a par on the 15th hole to maintain his three-stroke advantage over Åberg. Homa and Morikawa sit five shots off the pace. Fleetwood has posted a round of 69 to finish the tournament at 4 under par.

After a solid approach on 16, Scheffler took a long look at the leaderboard as he walked toward the green. Soaking it in with three holes remaining and a three-stroke lead, it must now start to feel real. He is inching closer to history and joining the select group of multi-major winners. That moment didn’t faze him in the least. Scheffler stood over his lengthy putt and dropped it right down the center of the cup. He’s standing on No. 17 with a four-stroke lead and the betting odds taken off the board.

On Sunday, the back nine at Augusta is supposed to bring golfers to their knees. Not the case with the leader, Scheffler. The world No. 1 has been dominant on the closing nine with four birdies and is in control, sitting at 11 under par through 17 holes. He is a couple of swings away from another major championship.

Brad Thomas is an NBC Sports Betting Analyst

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Utah gymnastics led after three rotations but fell short of a national title again

By Trent Wood

FORT WORTH, Texas — Maile O’Keefe walked slowly off the floor of Dickies Arena, eyes red and tears streaming down her face.

Confetti fell in the background, cheered on its descent by the dulcet tones of hundreds of fans sporting LSU colors.

For each tear O’Keefe wiped away from her cheek, she’d raise her hand in a wave to one fan or another in the stands, all of whom were calling her name as though they were dear, dear friends.

“Maile! Mai! Hey, Maile!”

O’Keefe’s smile with each wave of her hand was clearly pained. For good reason.

On Saturday afternoon here, O’Keefe and Utah gymnastics did not win the national championship.

The Red Rocks finished third overall, behind the LSU Tigers and Cal Bears.

LSU won its first-ever national title with a score of 198.2250. Cal, in its first ever trip to the Final Four, finished with a 197.8500, while Utah ended up with a 197.800.

Florida finished a distant fourth with a 197.4375.

The third-place finish marked the fourth straight year Utah has finished in that spot. In every postseason held during O’Keefe’s collegiate career, her team finished third overall.

And yet, O’Keefe’s tears weren’t just those of sorrow, though those were absolutely present. There was pride there, too. Maybe even joy.

Utah had finished third overall, the program’s national title drought now standing at 29 years. A national championship remained elusive for the Red Rocks, but this one felt different.

For one, Utah was right there, at the level of the best the sport has to offer.

In third place after the first rotation, Utah climbed into second after two events, then first place after three.

Entering the final rotation of the meet, the Red Rocks had a real and genuine shot at the title, something that couldn’t always be said in some of their prior third-place finishes.

It didn’t work out, as Utah’s vault rotation began with a fall, a mistake that was followed by a near fall on the very next vault. Meanwhile, LSU was lights out on balance beam, from the start of the rotation to the end.

Ultimately, the Red Rocks wouldn’t have won the title had they scored a 9.90 on every vault — the Tigers were that good.

There was more too it than that, though.

The fact that the Red Rocks were even competing for a national title was something to smile about.

“Obviously we would have wanted to be on top tonight,” junior Amelie Morgan said. “Every team (here) would have wanted to be on top, but to go through what we went through this year, to even be at the national championships and then to come in third is such an accomplishment.

“I think sometimes we forget that ourselves, how much we’ve gone through and that is is amazing that we were even here.

Utah gymnastics’ story this season isn’t an unknown one by any means.

There was a third party investigation of the program last summer after allegations of abuse were levied against former head coach Tom Farden.

That outside investigation concluded that Farden did not engage in any “severe, pervasive or egregious” acts of emotional, verbal or physical abuse, but in the months after those findings were released, multiple former Utah gymnasts went public with additional allegations.

Reactions to those allegations were varied. Some denounced their validity altogether, while others condemned Utah gymnasts who didn’t come out in support of their former teammates.

All the while, Utah attempted to prepare for the 2024 gymnastics season, berated almost constantly as it were by a cacophony of voices.

Ultimately last November, Utah and Farden parted ways less than a month prior to the team’s annual preseason showcase — the Red Rocks Preview.

Carly Dockendorf was elevated to the position of interim head coach before eventually being promoted permanently to head coach a week before the preview, but Utah entered the season playing catch up.

The Red Rocks were down a coach (and would be throughout the season) and the gymnasts, well, it was difficult for them to focus solely on gymnastics.

And yet, come March the Red Rocks won a fourth straight Pac-12 championship, and come April they were once again battling for the national title.

And on Saturday they were an event away from winning it.

It is a notable story to say the least, which made even defeat in this instance something to remember, rather than bemoan.

“This group means everything to me, to be honest,” Dockendorf said. “Everything we went through this year, to be able to accomplish what we accomplished I think is huge. I don’t know the right word. I don’t know if I have the right words for it. We did more than probably most would have imagined we would be able to do. I feel like I am a little bit lost for words.

“Obviously we wanted a different number at the end, but I told them they needed to be so proud about what they accomplished. It really is about the journey. It isn’t just about the destination. It is about what we did together, what we accomplished together and how we went about doing it. You can’t put a number on that.”

More than anything else, that is what Utah was focused on when things were said and done Saturday.

Not the mistakes on balance beam, uneven bars or vault. Not the missed opportunity to end the title drought. Not even what the future might hold. And the future of Utah gymnastics looks bright.

On the floor of Dickies Arena, amid celebration and defeat, Utah was focused on itself. This group of gymnasts. For one final time.

“This group means everything to me,” Morgan said, “and I know it means everything to every single person on this team. We spend day in and day out with each other. We live with each other. We live for each other. We do this for each other. We don’t do this for ourselves.

“Yes, it is emotional. This (the national championship) is the one thing the whole year has led up to. So, so many emotions going round, but I couldn’t be more proud of who this team is and how much we care for each other and the genuine connection that we’ve made.”

Utah will be back. Of that the Red Rocks are confident.

But for now the future can wait a bit. The Red Rocks are going to revel in a season that didn’t appear likely, if even possible, only five months ago, and with that comes tears aplenty, good and bad.

“I keep going back and reflecting on what we did with what we had,” Dockendorf said. “We did this.”

Students With 4-year Bachelor's Degrees, 75% Marks Can Directly Pursue PhD: UGC

To pursue a PhD with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), the candidates will require a minimum of 75 per cent marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course.

The candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD and appear for NET..

Students with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly appear for NET and pursue PhD, according to University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Jagadesh Kumar.

So far, a candidate for the National Eligibility Test (NET) needed a master's degree with a minimum of 55 per cent marks.

"The candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD and appear for NET. Such candidates are allowed to appear in a subject in which they want to pursue a PhD irrespective of the discipline in which they have obtained the four-year bachelor's degree," Kumar told PTI.

"The candidates having passed a four-year or eight-semester bachelor's degree programme should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed," the UGC chairman said.

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A relaxation of five per cent marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC, ST, OBC (non-creamy layer), differently-abled, economically weaker sections and other categories of candidates as per the decision of the UGC from time to time, he added.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Completing PhD in 3-4 years? : r/AskAcademia
The person I know who managed to finish in 3 years without a Masters and without seeming to struggle or work overtime was super organised. Like, "full healthy meals for lunch every day" kind of organised. ... Obviously it takes a brilliant and hard-working student to go from bachelor's to PhD in 3-4 years. I know a guy who did it in less than ...
07 Simple and Proven Steps to Complete PhD in 03 Years
Overview of Strategies to Complete a PhD Efficiently. Steps to Complete PhD in 03 Years. 1. Selecting a well-defined and aligned PhD research topic: 2. Choosing an area of interest and expertise: 3. Attract diverse and capable students: 4.
How to complete your PhD in 3 years
In this video, I go through everything you need to know about making sure that your PhD stays on track and you managed to finish within three years.Sign up f...
154. How to Plan Your PhD w/ Hugh Kearns
His book, Planning Your PhD: All the tools and advice you need to finish your PhD in three years, lays out the steps in detail, and provides some worksheets you can use to create a multi-year Thesis Plan. In fact, he offers those worksheets for free on the website! Drilling into Detail.
Dissertating Like a Distance Runner: Ten Tips for Finishing Your PhD
Since finishing my PhD four years ago, in 2018, I have published one book, five research articles, and two edited volume chapters related in various ways to my dissertation. As someone living in rural Eastern Washington, who is a first-gen college grad, I had to find ways to stay self-motivated and to keep chipping away at my academic work.
Planning your PhD research: A 3-year PhD timeline example
The following PhD timeline example describes the process and milestones of completing a PhD within 3 years. Contents Elements to include in a 3-year PhD timelineThe example scenario: Completing a PhD in 3 yearsExample: planning year 1 ... Finishing a PhD in 3 years is not impossible, but it surely is not easy. So be kind to yourself if things ...
How to Complete Your PhD in 3 Years
Collaborate and Network. 8. Regular Writing Practice. 9. Prioritize Your Health and Manage Stress. 10. Be Adaptable. Completing a PhD in just 3 years may seem like a difficult task, but with proper planning and determination, it can be achieved. In this article, iLovePhD will share practical strategies to help you succeed in your PhD journey ...
The PhD Journey
7 stages of the PhD journey. A PhD has a few landmark milestones along the way. The three to four year you'll spend doing a PhD can be divided into these seven stages. Preparing a research proposal. Carrying out a literature review. Conducting research and collecting results. Completing the MPhil to PhD upgrade.
How to Successfully Complete Your PhD in 3 Years
Be flexible and willing to change your plans when necessary to stay on course. Plan your Ph.D. thesis defense early in your third year to give yourself ample time to edit and get feedback. You ...
How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree?
According to the Survey of Earned Doctorates, a census of recent research doctorate recipients who earned their degree from U.S. institutions, the median amount of time it took individuals who received their doctorates in 2017 to complete their program was 5.8 years. However, there are many types of programs that typically take longer than six ...
3 Year PhD Programs 2024 May Be a Good Choice for Some Students
Traditional PhD programs typically take 8.2 years to complete. A professional doctorate program may be completed in about 5.9 years. However, an accelerated online PhD program may be able to be completed in as little as 3 years. Traditional PhD programs aim to focus on academic research.
How to Finish a PhD in under 3 years: 5 Top Tips
Welcome back, everyone. Today's video is my top 5 tips for finishing your PhD in under 3 years. I finished mine from start to finish in 2 years 8 months and ...
How to Complete Your PhD in 3 Years
Step-by-Step Guide to Completing Your PhD in 3 Years. 1. Setting Clear Goals. 2. Choose the Right Research Topic. 3. Organize Your Work Efficiently. 4. Creating a Well-Structured Research Proposal.
Finishing a PhD
In the UK, a standard full-time PhD takes between three and four years to complete. If you are a funded student, then your funding body will outline an expected hand-in period. This will usually be six to twelve months after the completion of your third year. If you are on track to finish your PhD late you will be charged continuation fees.
How Long Does It Take To Get a PhD?
A PhD program typically takes four to seven years, but a variety of factors can impact that timeline. A PhD, or doctorate degree, is the highest degree you can earn in certain disciplines, such as psychology, engineering, education, and mathematics. As a result, it often takes longer to earn than it does for a bachelor's or master's degree.
How Long Does A PhD Take?
In the UK, a full-time PhD takes 3 to 4 years to finish whilst a part-time PhD takes twice as long at 6 to 7 years. Alongside these average durations, there are time limits on how long you can be enrolled on to a PhD programme. To discover these limits, the factors which most influence doctoral degree durations and how the UK durations compare ...
Which is more impressive -- finishing a PhD in 2.5 years or getting
On the other hand, if you want to go into non-academic industry, you might impress people with a fast Ph.D. because you'd show yourself to be the sort of person who can finish big things fast. If you're only 2.5 years in, unless you have an offer from someplace and need to finish ASAP, and especially if you're enjoying your Ph.D.,
Is it possible to do a PhD in 3 years?
I am a first-year PhD student, and my PhD programme is meant to be finished in 3 or 4 years. ... In most countries the range years for PhD study is from 3-5 years. How soon you finish it depends ...
1089 3 Years PhD programmes in United States
Psychology - Theology (Online) 12,237 EUR / year. 3 years. Liberty University's Ph.D. in Psychology - Theology (Online) is designed with an online format that emphasizes flexibility. Completing your course content online allows you to take your classes from home without traveling to campus. Ph.D. / Part-time / Online.
Is it possible to complete a PhD in CS in 3 years?
15. In theory, yes, it is possible. In practice it depends on many things. Let me try to list a bunch of the variables that have affect the time required. The minimum requirements that you are likely to find for a doctorate are (a) pass a set of qualifying exams and (b) write a dissertation acceptable to the faculty.
r/PhD on Reddit: Is it possible to finish the Ph.D in 3 years in US
Europe PhD are structured much different than U.S. EU is generally 3 years of work/research internship. In the U.S. It is 3 or 4 years of didactic graduate courses and then a year+ dissertation research project before a board. So essentially; 4 years undergraduate, 2 years masters, 4 more years doctorate.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree?
Kee says funding for a humanities Ph.D. program typically only lasts five years, even though it is uncommon for someone to obtain a Ph.D. degree in a humanities field within that time frame ...
How to finish a PhD in three years*
How to finish a PhD in three years* Elspeth Robertson August 8, 2013 PhD life and advice 1 Comment. Welcome to our blog! Between a Rock blog is a multi-author effort, comprising five (and counting) PhD students from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. We're pretty excited to be welcomed into the EGU network and look ...
Johns Hopkins PhD students vote to ratify three-year collective
Hub staff report. / a day ago. Union-represented PhD students at Johns Hopkins University have voted in favor of ratifying a three-year collective bargaining agreement that guarantees them enhanced pay and benefits. The 29 articles that make up the contract between the university and the union that represents PhD students—Teachers and ...
Hispanic enrollment at U.S. 4-year colleges reaches new high, but cost
Hispanic enrollment at postsecondary institutions in the United States has seen an exponential increase over the last few decades, rising from 1.5 million in 2000 to a new high of 3.8 million in 2019 - partly reflecting the group's rapid growth as a share of the overall U.S. population.. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a decline in postsecondary enrollment among Hispanics and most ...
Colleges promote 3-year bachelor degrees as enrollments fall, revenues
A national initiative to design, implement and assess three-year degrees has increased from 10 universities three years ago to 20, said administrators who launched the College-in-3 Exchange this ...
CIA director warns Ukraine could lose war with Russia by the end of the
CIA Director Bill Burns on Thursday warned that unless US sends more military support, Ukraine could "lose" the war against Russia by the end of the year. His comments mark one of the starkest ...
Scottie Scheffler wins the 2024 Masters Tournament
3:13 p.m. Åberg birdied the second with a smooth 22-foot putt. Sitting at +600 on the live odds board, Åberg aims to become the first debutant to win the Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Utah gymnastics: The Red Rocks finish third at nationals for the fourth
The Red Rocks finished third overall, behind the LSU Tigers and Cal Bears. LSU won its first-ever national title with a score of 198.2250. Cal, in its first ever trip to the Final Four, finished with a 197.8500, while Utah ended up with a 197.800. Florida finished a distant fourth with a 197.4375. The third-place finish marked the fourth ...
Students With 4-year Bachelor's Degrees, 75% Marks Can Directly Pursue
To pursue a PhD with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), the candidates will require a minimum of 75 per cent marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course.

07 Simple and Proven Steps to Complete PhD in 03 Years

Introduction

Steps to Complete PhD in 03 Years

7. Assigning Suitable PhD Research Tasks to Students:

Before You Close……..

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154. How to Plan Your PhD w/ Hugh Kearns

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Table of contents

What is Research Design? and How to Frame it?

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Ph.D. Degree?

Earning a Ph.D. from a U.S. grad school typically requires nearly six years, federal statistics show.

How to Complete Your PhD in 3 Years

Step-by-Step Guide to Completing Your PhD in 3 Years

2. Choose the Right Research Topic

3. Organize Your Work Efficiently

4. Creating a Well-Structured Research Proposal

5. Maintaining Consistent Progress

6. Effective Literature Review

7. Conducting Rigorous Research

8. Overcoming Challenges

9. Collaborate and Network

10. Be Adaptable

11. Writing and Drafting

12. Editing and Proofreading

13. Aim to Defend Early

14. Preparing for the Defense

Is it possible to complete a Ph.D. in less than three years?

How important is collaboration during the Ph.D. journey?

What if my research takes a different direction than initially planned?

How can I manage work-life balance during my Ph.D.?

Is it necessary to publish during my Ph.D. program?

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1. Dissertations

2. Assistantship obligations

3. Other responsibilities

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Benefits of a PhD

Costs of a PhD

Set yourself up for success

Article sources

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How Long Does It Take to Get a Full-time PhD?

How Long Does It Take to Get a Part-time PhD?

How Long Does a Distance Learning PhD Take?

How Does Funding Impact a PhD’s Duration?

Are There Deadlines?

Can I Complete It Faster?

Will Having only A Bachelor’s Degree or Being an International Student Limit My Rate of Progression?

How Does This Compare to the Duration of EU and US PhDs?

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