PhD's (and soon-to-be's): Come in...

[cahabalily]

The advisor post below got me thinking...

What was/is the timeline for PhD's in your field?

For us, if it takes longer than 4 years for a PhD (barring any catastrophic events like changing research directions, etc.) then it looks bad. Here's our standard timeline:

1st year: take a couple of classes, write literature review, start writing proposal

2nd year: Finish coursework, defend proposal *End of second year, take oral and written exams, advance to candidacy

3rd year: Research, research, research...and start writing dissertation

4th year (if you need a 4th): Finish dissertation, defend, and graduate

**My program is Plant Science, other universities call other equivalent programs 'Horticulture', if that matters.

[atouchofklasse]

The average in my program at my university is seven years.

[Deleted]

5-6 years. I have taken longer than that.

I cannot imagine a Ph.D. taking less than four years.

[cahabalily]

May 22, 2012 10:05:01 GMT -5 atouchofklasse said:

The average in my program at my university is seven years.

Holy cow. I honestly would have thought twice about going for mine if I knew it would take that long!

What field is it? Does the research just take longer, or is your field more scientifically rigorous?

[cahabalily]

RBP- most of my advisors finished theirs in 3 years....the 4 year trend is rather recent (in the last 5-6 years, I'd say), but when applying for jobs if it's longer than that there are usually questions raised...

[Deleted]

May 22, 2012 10:08:56 GMT -5 cahabalily said:

RBP- most of my advisors finished theirs in 3 years....the 4 year trend is rather recent (in the last 5-6 years, I'd say), but when applying for jobs if it's longer than that there are usually questions raised...

Are you in the US?

[sunshine608]

4-5 years full time, 5-7 part time.

[atouchofklasse]

May 22, 2012 10:07:38 GMT -5 cahabalily said:

May 22, 2012 10:05:01 GMT -5 atouchofklasse said:

The average in my program at my university is seven years.

Holy cow. I honestly would have thought twice about going for mine if I knew it would take that long!

What field is it? Does the research just take longer, or is your field more scientifically rigorous?

We take a lot more courses than you do and don't generally write our proposal until 3rd year or later. I finished mine in about 4.5 years, but those who collect primary data take much longer.

[Deleted]

My sister graduated from under grad in 2004. She graduated from her master's program in 2006. She's been working on her PhD since then. I think she'll defend her dissertation next year 2013. I suspect it is pretty common in the humanities.

[honeybee]

I'm just finishing my 2nd year....it should take me 5....6 tops. I'm a biology/neuroscience program.

Time line is pretty flexible.
We don't have "required" coursework, just what your committee wants. I've finished all that.
I'll hopefully defend my proposal in a month or so.

Qualifying exams this coming fall/winter.

Then just hammer away at research until I submit and defend.

[cahabalily]

May 22, 2012 10:09:59 GMT -5 @redbellpeppers said:

May 22, 2012 10:08:56 GMT -5 cahabalily said:

RBP- most of my advisors finished theirs in 3 years....the 4 year trend is rather recent (in the last 5-6 years, I'd say), but when applying for jobs if it's longer than that there are usually questions raised...

Are you in the US?

Absolutely, at a top-accredited R-1 research institution.

I'm telling you, it's just my field...as I've branched out and gotten to know students from other departments, I've found that they too often take 5-7 years (as is normal) in their fields, and the post above made me wonder my field really was that unique. I guess it is.

[missmis99]

I finished mine in 4 years. Mine is in curriculum and instruction. I took course work for 3 years while I was teaching middle school during the day. So I was only going part time. I had my comp exams after those 3 years. In my fourth year, I quit teaching and became a GA at the university so I could research and write my dissertation.

[cahabalily]

May 22, 2012 10:11:59 GMT -5 @septimus said:

My sister graduated from under grad in 2004. She graduated from her master's program in 2006. She's been working on her PhD since then. I think she'll defend her dissertation next year 2013. I suspect it is pretty common in the humanities.

I've come to realize that after taking courses with humanities grad students

[cahabalily]

May 22, 2012 10:14:36 GMT -5 @missmis99 said:

I finished mine in 4 years. Mine is in curriculum and instruction. I took course work for 3 years while I was teaching middle school during the day. So I was only going part time. I had my comp exams after those 3 years. In my fourth year, I quit teaching and became a GA at the university so I could research and write my dissertation.

Oddly, this makes me feel validated...I was beginning to wonder if my field of study is a big sham...

[compassrose]

Median time to degree was ~6.5 years in the Humanities, and about 5.5 years in Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Engineering at my Ivy, but the official program length was only 5 years.

[dr.girlfriend]

For us it's usually (ideally) four years of coursework/practica, with more coursework in the first two years and more practica/dissertation in the second two years, and then internship at a different place (computer-matched to a site) in the fifth year. Many people take six years, if you're in for seven or more they start to get tetchy. Then two years of postdoc. Sigh.

I think it really depends on a lot -- what are the clinical requirements (internships get more and more competitive all the time), are you plugging into an established research program or having to start from scratch, does your dissertation require original data collection, is your research mentor using you as a mule or actually trying to further your career, how self-motivated are you to get through fast, etc.

[keweenawlove]

Can I add on a question? How common is it to get a masters first? It's about 50/50 here. The general consensus is that if you know you want a PhD, there's not point to get it.

For our engineering lab, it seems to be 4-6 years. Part of it depends on if you get a masters along the way. The guy we just had finish in 4 years is in an MD/PhD program and worked 80+ hours weeks on a regular basis to move on. 5 seems to the average.

[womet]

I started in 2001, finished my coursework and took my comprehensive exam in 2003, worked on my dissertation while working full time until I defended in 2007.

[cincygirl]

I work in doctoral admissions and out humanities Ph.D. is a minimum of 3 years, full time. Most of our students complete in 4 - 5 years.

[cahabalily]

That's a good question, kewee... I knew I wanted a PhD before I even finished my BS. At the time, straight-PhD's were unheard of and no one was even offering them, so I got my MS first. Now that I'm a couple years into the PhD, our program has just now started accepting straight-PhD's. Those WILL take 6-7 years (and honestly, one of the girls probably won't make it at all, she's hopeless).

Our field expected PhD students to have an MS because we came knowing what we wanted to do, how to do research, and and how to write. The PhD is very hands-off in terms of the committee, and the student just busts ass to get everything accomplished.

I believe straight-PhD's are more common in other fields, though

[dr.girlfriend]

May 22, 2012 10:31:58 GMT -5 keweenawlove said:

Can I add on a question? How common is it to get a masters first? It's about 50/50 here. The general consensus is that if you know you want a PhD, there's not point to get it.

In our program it was mildly frowned upon, because they thought it might tempt people to leave with their Master's in hand. However, you still have to do your Master's thesis and all, so it was just some fees to get the degree, and I did it. A bird in hand, and all that.

[cahabalily]

May 22, 2012 10:39:51 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

May 22, 2012 10:31:58 GMT -5 keweenawlove said:

Can I add on a question? How common is it to get a masters first? It's about 50/50 here. The general consensus is that if you know you want a PhD, there's not point to get it.

In our program it was mildly frowned upon, because they thought it might tempt people to leave with their Master's in hand. However, you still have to do your Master's thesis and all, so it was just some fees to get the degree, and I did it. A bird in hand, and all that.

Oh, see that's something else - my MS is from a different institution. Going to a different university for the two graduate degrees makes a person more marketable in my field, because he or she is considered more 'diversified' (think this is silly, but whatever)

[honeybee]

No masters for me...but thats kind of uncommon. Most get their masters then decide on the PhD. I know I want to teach so the masters was a bit pointless.

[missmis99]

May 22, 2012 10:17:03 GMT -5 cahabalily said:

May 22, 2012 10:14:36 GMT -5 @missmis99 said:

I finished mine in 4 years. Mine is in curriculum and instruction. I took course work for 3 years while I was teaching middle school during the day. So I was only going part time. I had my comp exams after those 3 years. In my fourth year, I quit teaching and became a GA at the university so I could research and write my dissertation.

Oddly, this makes me feel validated...I was beginning to wonder if my field of study is a big sham...

I am glad I could help! I sometimes felt that I rushed through it, but I was happy with the timeline. I got my Masters beforehand. As a teacher, you get a pay bump for each degree, so I would never skip it because I felt like I would be missing out on money while I worked on my PhD.

[drloretta]

5 years, give or take, and people are usually going from BA/BS straight to a PhD. The only people with a Masters were those who dropped out before defending, and the dept gave them an MS. I'm in the biological sciences. Timeline was:

First year: coursework and lab rotations
Second year: pick a thesis lab and work toward putting together a thesis proposal. Spend second into third year defending the proposal and getting it approved by committee
Third-fifth year (give or take): Do enough research to defend thesis

Mine took me 5.5 years: Sept 1990-March 1996

[allez]

Six years - not really full time though. Four years seems quick, even for plant sciences.

[noodleoo]

Friend of a friend just got his PhD in Chemistry after I think 8 years in the program. He just turned 30. I can't imagine not having started my career at 30. But then I had a BS in Engineering at 23.

Last I heard he was so burnt out he didn't even want a job in chemistry anymore.

[Deleted]

May 22, 2012 11:20:49 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Friend of a friend just got his PhD in Chemistry after I think 8 years in the program. He just turned 30. I can't imagine not having started my career at 30. But then I had a BS in Engineering at 23.

Last I heard he was so burnt out he didn't even want a job in chemistry anymore.

This is pretty much me. LOL

[fbf2006]

My sister got her PhD in Electrical Engineering in 5 years. She started right after her BS but I believe she did get her masters during her 2nd year.

[Sheepy]

At my former institution it was about 4 years average for a PhD, however, my PI pushed for 3 years to get done. I did not end up finishing the PhD but it only took me a year and half to finish my MS but that required some serious dedication.

This was in Animal Science/ Genetics