PhD

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the highest academic degree awarded by the universities in the United States and applies to graduates in a wide array of disciplines in the sciences and humanities. The Ph.D. has become a requirement for a career as a university professor or researcher in many fields.

The Coursework                                                             American students typically undergo a series of three phases in the course of their work toward the Ph.D. degree. The first phase consists of coursework in the student's field of study and requires one to three years to complete. This often is followed by a preliminary or comprehensive examination and/or a series of cumulative examinations where the emphasis is on breadth rather than depth of knowledge. Some Ph.D. programs require the candidate to complete successfully requirements in pedagogy (taking courses on higher level teaching and teaching undergraduate courses) and/or applied science (e.g., clinical practicals and pre-doctoral clinical internship in Ph.D. programs in clinical or counseling psychology).

Another two to three years are usually required for the composition of a substantial and original contribution to human knowledge in the form of a written dissertation, which in the social sciences and humanities is typically 50 to 450 pages in length. In many cases, depending on the discipline, a dissertation would consist of (i) a comprehensive literature review, (ii) an outline of methodology, and (iii) several chapters of scientific, social, historical, philosophical, or literary analysis. Typically, upon completion, the candidate undergoes an oral examination called defence, sometimes public, by his or her supervisory committee with expertise in the given discipline.

As the Ph.D. degree is often a preliminary step toward a career as a professor, throughout the whole period of study and dissertation research the student may be required or at least offered the opportunity, depending on the university and degree, to teach undergraduate or sometimes graduate courses in relevant subjects.

Admission                                                                      There are 282 universities in the United States that award the Ph.D. degree, and those universities vary widely in their criteria for admission, as well as the rigor of their academic programs. Typically, Ph.D. programs require applicants to have a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (and, in rare cases, a master's degree), reasonably high grades, several letters of recommendation, relevant academic coursework, a cogent statement of purpose in the field of study, and a satisfactory performance on a graduate-level exam specified by the respective program (e.g., GRE, GMAT). Specific admissions criteria differ substantially according to university admissions policies and fields of study; some programs in well-regarded research universities (i.e., Carnegie Research 1 universities) may admit less than 5% of applicants and require an exceptional performance on the GRE along with near-perfect grades, strong support in letters of recommendation, substantial research experience, and academically sophisticated samples of their writing.

Master's degree "in passing"                                        As applicants to many Ph.D. programs are not required to have Master's Degrees, many programs award a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree "in passing" or "in course" based on the graduate work done in the course of achieving the Ph.D. Students who receive such Master's Degrees are usually required to complete a certain amount of coursework and a master's thesis. Depending on the specific program, masters-in-passing degrees can be either mandatory or optional. Not all Ph.D. students choose to complete the additional requirements necessary for the M.A. or M.S. if such requirements are not mandated by their programs. Those students will simply obtain the Ph.D. degree at the end of their graduate study.

Some programs also include a Master of Philosophy degree as part of the Ph.D. program. The M.Phil., in those universities that offer it, is usually awarded after the appropriate M.A. or M.S. (as above) is awarded, and the degree candidate has completed all further requirements for the Ph.D. degree (which may include additional language requirements, course credits, teaching experiences, and comprehensive exams) aside from the writing and defence of the dissertation itself. This formalizes the "all but dissertation" (ABD) status used informally by some students, and represents that the student has achieved a higher level of scholarship than the M.A./M.S. would indicate - as such, the M.Phil. is sometimes a helpful credential for those applying for teaching or research posts while completing their dissertation work for the Ph.D. degree itself.

Time                                                                                 Depending on the specific field of study, completion of a Ph.D. program usually takes four to seven years of study after the Bachelor's Degree; those students who begin a Ph.D. program with a Master's Degree may complete their Ph.D. degree a year or two sooner. As Ph.D. programs typically lack the formal structure of undergraduate education, there are significant individual differences in the time taken to complete the degree. Many U.S. universities have set a 10-year limit for students in Ph.D. programs, or refuse to consider graduate credit older than ten years as counting towards a Ph.D. degree. Similarly, students may be required to re-take the comprehensive exam if they do not defend their dissertations within five years of taking it. Overall, 57% of students who begin a Ph.D. program in the US will complete their degree within 10 years, approximately 30% will drop out or be dismissed, and the remaining 13% of students will continue on past 10 years.

Funding                                                                          Doctoral students are usually discouraged from engaging in external employment during the course of their graduate training. As a result, most Ph.D. students at U.S. universities typically receive a full tuition waiver and some form of annual stipend. The source and amount of funding varies from field to field and university to university. Many U.S. graduate students work as teaching assistants or research assistants while they are doctoral students. Graduate schools increasingly encourage their students to seek outside funding; many are supported by fellowships they obtain for themselves or by their advisers' research grants from government agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Many Ivy League and other well-endowed universities provide funding for the entire duration of the degree program (if it is short) or for most of it.

Ph.D. candidacy                                                             A Ph.D. Candidate (sometimes called Candidate of Philosophy) is a postgraduate student at the doctoral level who has successfully satisfied the requirements for doctoral studies, except for the final thesis or dissertation. As such, a Ph.D. Candidate is sometimes called an "ABD" (All But Dissertation). Although a minor distinction in postgraduate study, achieving Ph.D Candidacy is not without benefit. For example, Ph.D. Candidate status may coincide with an increase in the student's monthly stipend and may make the student eligible for additional employment opportunities.

Applying for PhD                                                                 Application for PhD is more or less similar to application for Master's. The only difference is that at PhD level admission, the research potential becomes more important than all other factors. Here are a few point that you should consider while applying. 

Have a clear idea of which field you wish to do your PhD, even before you start the application process. 

Know your intended specialty in your chosen field. You'll have an easier time looking for a Research position if you can search precisely. Plus, you'll sound more credible and dedicated.

It will help a lot if you already have an idea of what your dissertation or graduate research will be about when you apply. Admissions committees prefer candidates who already have a clear notion of what they would like to do.

Once you have shortlisted the universities, be clear about which faculty you would like to work with in the program you are applying to, and indicate this on your personal statement. If possible, contact these faculty before you apply.

Do not hesitate to send any manuscripts under preparation to the admissions committee, if you are lacking enough publications already.

Some schools and programs are not so popular on rankings but have great PhD programs. Why they are not popular is because they are research places. For Ex. places such as the Scripps Institute, the Salk Institute and the Sloan-Kettering Institute are not well-known but are world class in Biomedical, Biological and Cancer research respectively.

Talk to your current professors about your ambitions, especially professors in your field of interest. Not only have they been through the process of obtaining a PhD, but they know other professors and institutions in the field. They'll have inside tips, and may even be able to put in a good word for you later.

Talk to current graduate students in your field. They can tell you how they prepared, what to expect, and what they would have done differently. They also have great inside scoops on professors and programs.

How to prepare for PhD as an undergraduate student      Gaining some sort of research or work experience in the field you plan to apply to will greatly improve your chances of admission.

If you have a Bachelors degree (and not a Masters), be prepared to prove exceptional potential for graduate research. Ideally, this comes from summer research experience in labs/groups of national or international repute or publications in premier peer-reviewed journals.

Take lots of relevant classes. The economics graduate program you want to get into doesn't care how many art classes you took-- they want to see an aptitude for economics. Take the hardest classes in your field your college offers. Work hardest in the relevant classes. These are the grades your grad school will care about.

Similarly get research experience in your intended field. This will carry a lot of weight in your application. Plus, your supervisors can potentially write letters of recommendation. 

PhD is all about research. Once you've met the GPA and GRE score requirements for your school, research credentials carry a lot of weight.

How to write a research proposal                                      When you are applying for a research oriented degree like the PhD, sometimes you will be asked to write a research proposal as a part of your application. A PhD is awarded mainly as the result of your making a genuine contribution to the state of knowledge in a field of your choice. Even though this is not the Nobel Prize yet, getting the degree means you have added something to what has previously been known on the subject you have researched. But first you have to prove that you are capable of making such a contribution, and therefore write a research proposal that meets certain standards. The goal of a research proposal  is to present and justify a research idea you have and to present the practical ways in which you think this research could be conducted.

Some points to remember                                                  Strong applicants usually hear from grad committees in January itself. Most decisions are made known to the students by early March. Rarely, are notifications made in April.

Admittances are notified beforehand, while financial aid decisions are often pending till a month or two after that.

Even if the university is unable to provide you with direct funding or a scholarship, there may be other opportunities for you to earn an income while you are there, such as research and teaching assistantships. Look into this before turning down an offer from a university you might otherwise want to attend.

Once you are done with everything, do not forget to thank everybody who helped you, especially the referees who wrote letters of recommendation. You may need their support later on when you do your PhD research.

One more important point...                                               Make sure you are certain a PhD is for you. It may sound like fun and being able to put Dr in front of your name may sound great, but it is a tough and time-consuming process. It takes a lot of mental strength to cope up with the demands of PhD research, especially if you have a very demanding professor.