ACADEMICS ONLY
  • Home
  • Blog
  • >PhD Students
    • Get a PhD?
    • Find an advisor
    • Finish Dissertation
  • >New Professors
    • Start Strong
    • Teach Better
    • Publish More
  • >Independent Scholars
    • Find a great job
    • Write for Impact
  • About
  • Home
  • Blog
  • >PhD Students
    • Get a PhD?
    • Find an advisor
    • Finish Dissertation
  • >New Professors
    • Start Strong
    • Teach Better
    • Publish More
  • >Independent Scholars
    • Find a great job
    • Write for Impact
  • About
ACADEMICS ONLY

Should I Get my PhD?

Picture
Picture
Please feel free to share the infographic summary of this webpage with students or friends


​

Should I Get it Now?


The Ultimate Guide to Deciding if You Should Get a PhD and Become a Professor
Picture
Jason Brennan (Georgetown)

Picture
Ijoema Kola (Columbia)
6 Bad Reasons
​to Get a PhD

9 things you should consider before embarking on a PhD
Picture
Andy Greenspon (Harvard)

Picture
Financial Samurai
Life After The Private Sector: Should I Get A Ph.D.?

5 Reasons It is Worth Getting Your PhD Degree, After All
Picture
Dora Farkas (MIT)

Vertical Divider
Picture
Some thoughts on getting a PhD.

Picture
 But here's a different view by the Princeton Review . . .

How do I Get Into a PhD Program?

​


Some Brief FAQs


• “How can I afford it?”  Most competitive full-time PhD programs have assistantships that pay your tuition and living expenses.  Aim for those first.
 
• “Should I retake my GRE test?”  If it's after December 1, there's probably not enough time.  If you think you have a good score, but you think it could be better, go ahead and apply. You can always retake the test next year and really focus on prepping for it. 
 
• “What do I write in my Statement of Purpose?”  Four things: 1) Why you want a PhD so bad that you are singing about it in the hallway, 2) what you will do with a PhD, 3) what specific topics or questions you’re interested in, and 4) why you think that school’s a great fit.   
 
• “Who should write my recommendation letters?”  Ask the best-known researchers you know in the field that you are applying.   Next, ask anyone you’ve done research with. Third, ask whoever knows you best and will write these before the deadline. 
 
• “How many schools should I apply to?”   If you’re doing this at the 11th hour (say in December), I’d limit yourself to three schools: Your dream school, your “best-fit” school, and a safety school.   Otherwise, if you had lots of time, you might apply to as many as 10.  (The third time I applied, I applied to 14).
 
• “If I don’t get in to my dream school will it hurt my chance for next year?”  Nope.  They either won’t remember you applied (they might have 100+ applications), or they’ll think you’re persistent.  And as someone once told me, "The P in Phd stands for 'Persistence."

Some thoughts to get you started . . .

Picture
Casey Fiesler on YouTube (STEM/CIS, Colorado-Boulder)
Vertical Divider

Good Advice that Works for Most Fields

Picture
Great advice for most fields
Picture
Kevin Volkan (Cal State)


Picture
DeWitt Scott (Chicago State U.)

Applying to a Ph.D. Program


​Applying for a Ph.D.? These 10 tips can help you succeed
Picture
Jay Van Bavel (NYU)

Picture
Levi Vonk (Berkeley)
I was rejected by every PhD program I applied to. This year, I got into my top choice. Here's how.


Useful example of a personal statement

Picture
From OACommunity.org (@OpenAcademics)

What School Should I Go To?

​An Insightful Pdf with General Advice on Choosing a School (University of Illinois) ​
Picture
University of Illinois
Vertical Divider
A Good Overview of Where to Apply 
​by Casey Fiesler (Colorado-Boulder) 

Picture

Share Your Insights and Ideas

What have you created or found that's been useful and could be helpful for other PhD students, new professors, or independent scholars?  ​
​
  • A pdf handout on teaching 
  • Tips on surviving grad school
  • Favorite career-advice articles
  • A paper submission checklist 
  • A list of inspirational quotes
  • A productivity aid you use
  • ​​​​The goal-setting system you use
  • Your most useful go-to websites
  • Helpful academic How-to articles
  • A method to keep perspective or manage stress

​Send an email to AcademicsOnly@yahoo.com if you have something you think would be useful to share with others on this website
, or if you have ideas on how to make this more useful to you or your students.
Vertical Divider

Stay in touch

If you want to know when new tools added, blogs written, videos made, or whatever, we can send you an update that points out what might be relevant to you.
Keep me posted