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9 things you should consider before embarking on a PhD

June 23, 2021 | 15 min read

By Andy Greenspon

The ideal research program you envision is not what it appears to be

Editor's Note:  When Andy Greenspon wrote this article, he was a first-year student in Applied Physics at Harvard. Now he has completed his PhD. — Alison Bert, June 23, 2021

If you are planning to apply for a PhD program, you're probably getting advice from dozens of students, professors, administrators your parents and the Internet. Sometimes it's hard to know which advice to focus on and what will make the biggest difference in the long-run. So before you go back to daydreaming about the day you accept that Nobel Prize, here are nine things you should give serious thought to. One or more of these tips may save you from anguish and help you make better decisions as you embark on that path to a PhD.

1. Actively seek out information about PhD programs.

Depending on your undergraduate institution, there may be more or less support to guide you in selecting a PhD program – but there is generally much less than when you applied to college.

On the website of my physics department, I found a page written by one of my professors, which listed graduate school options in physics and engineering along with resources to consult. As far as I know, my career center did not send out much information about PhD programs. Only after applying to programs did I find out that my undergraduate website had a link providing general information applicable to most PhD programs. This is the kind of information that is available all over the Internet.

So don't wait for your career center or department to lay out a plan for you. Actively seek it out from your career center counselors, your professors, the Internet — and especially from alumni from your department who are in or graduated from your desired PhD program. First-hand experiences will almost always trump the knowledge you get second-hand.

2. A PhD program is not simply a continuation of your undergraduate program.

Many students don't internalize this idea until they have jumped head-first into a PhD program. The goal is not to complete an assigned set of courses as in an undergraduate program, but to develop significant and original research in your area of expertise. You will have required courses to take, especially if you do not have a master's degree yet, but these are designed merely to compliment your research and provide a broad and deep knowledge base to support you in your research endeavors.

At the end of your PhD program, you will be judged on your research, not on how well you did in your courses. Grades are not critical as long as you maintain the minimum GPA requirement, and you should not spend too much time on courses at the expense of research projects. Graduate courses tend to be designed to allow you to take away what you will find useful to your research more than to drill a rigid set of facts and techniques into your brain.

3. Take a break between your undergraduate education and a PhD program.

You are beginning your senior year of college, and your classmates are asking you if you are applying to graduate school. You think to yourself, "Well, I like studying this topic and the associated research, and I am going to need a PhD if I want to be a professor or do independent research, so I might as well get it done as soon as possible." But are you certain about the type of research you want to do? Do you know where you want to live for the next five years? Are you prepared to stay in an academic environment for nine years straight?

Many people burn out or end up trudging through their PhD program without a thought about what lies outside of or beyond it. A break of a year or two or even more may be necessary to gain perspective. If all you know is an academic environment, how can you compare it to anything else? Many people take a job for five or more years before going back to get their PhD. It is true though that the longer you stay out of school, the harder it is to go back to an academic environment with lower pay and a lack of set work hours. A one-year break will give you six months or so after graduation before PhD applications are due. A two-year gap might be ideal to provide time to identify your priorities in life and explore different areas of research without having school work or a thesis competing for your attention.

Getting research experience outside of a degree program can help focus your interests and give you a leg up on the competition when you finally decide to apply. It can also help you determine whether you will enjoy full-time research or if you might prefer an alternative career path that still incorporates science, for example, in policy, consulting or business — or a hybrid research job that combines scientific and non-scientific skills.

I will be forever grateful that I chose to do research in a non-academic environment for a year between my undergraduate and PhD programs. It gave me the chance to get a feel for doing nothing but research for a full year. Working at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in the Space Division, I was the manager of an optics lab, performing spectroscopic experiments on rocks and minerals placed in a vacuum chamber. While my boss determined the overall experimental design, I was able to make my own suggestions for experiments and use my own discretion in how to perform them. I presented this research at two national conferences as well — a first for me. I was also able to learn about other research being performed there, determine which projects excited me the most, and thus narrow down my criteria for a PhD program.

4. Your current area of study does not dictate what you have to study in graduate school.

You might be studying the function and regulation of membrane proteins or doing a computational analysis of the conductivity of different battery designs, but that doesn't mean your PhD project must revolve around similar projects. The transition between college or another research job to a PhD program is one of the main transitions in your life when it is perfectly acceptable to completely change research areas.

If you are doing computation, you may want to switch to lab-based work or vice versa. If you are working in biology but have always had an interest in photonics research, now is the time to try it out. You may find that you love the alternative research and devote your PhD to it, you might hate it and fall back on your previous area of study — or you may even discover a unique topic that incorporates both subjects.

One of the best aspects of the PhD program is that you can make the research your own. Remember, the answer to the question "Why are you doing this research?" should not be "Well, because it's what I've been working on for the past few years already."While my undergraduate research was in atomic physics, I easily transitioned into applied physics and materials science for my PhD program and was able to apply much of what I learned as an undergraduate to my current research. If you are moving from the sciences to a non-STEM field such as social sciences or humanities, this advice can still apply, though the transition is a bit more difficult and more of a permanent commitment.

5. Make sure the PhD program has a variety of research options, and learn about as many research groups as possible in your first year.

Even if you believe you are committed to one research area, you may find that five years of such work is not quite what you expected. As such, you should find a PhD program where the professors are not all working in the same narrowly focused research area. Make sure there are at least three professors working on an array of topics you could imagine yourself working on.

In many graduate programs, you are supposed to pick a research advisor before even starting. But such arrangements often do not work out, and you may be seeking a new advisor before you know it. That's why many programs give students one or two semesters to explore different research areas before choosing a permanent research advisor.

In your first year, you should explore the research of a diverse set of groups. After touring their labs, talking to the students, or sitting in on group meetings, you may find that this group is the right one for you.

In addition, consider the importance of who your research advisor will be. This will be the person you interact with regularly for five straight years and who will have a crucial influence on your research. Do you like their advising style? Does their personality mesh with yours? Can you get along? Of course, the research your advisor works on is critical, but if you have large disagreements at every meeting or do not get helpful advice on how to proceed with your research, you may not be able to succeed. At the very least, you must be able to handle your advisor's management of the lab and advising style if you are going to be productive in your work. The Harvard program I enrolled in has professors working on research spanning from nanophotonics to energy materials and biophysics, covering my wide range of interests. By spending time in labs and offices informally chatting with graduate students, I found an advisor whose personality and research interests meshed very well with me. Their genuine enthusiasm for this advisor and their excitement when talking about their research was the best input I could have received.

6. Location is more important than you think — but name recognition is not.

The first consideration in choosing a PhD program should be, "Is there research at this university that I am passionate about?" After all, you will have to study this topic in detail for four or more years. But when considering the location of a university, your first thought should not be, "I'm going to be in the lab all the time, so what does it matter if I'm by the beach, in a city, or in the middle of nowhere." Contrary to popular belief, you will have a life outside of the lab, and you will have to be able to live with it for four or more years. Unlike when you were an undergraduate, your social and extracurricular life will revolve less around the university community, so the environment of the surrounding area is important. Do you need a city atmosphere to be productive? Or is your ideal location surrounded by forests and mountains or by a beach? Is being close to your family important? Imagine what it will be like living in the area during the times you are not doing research; consider what activities will you do and how often will you want to visit family.

While many of the PhD programs that accepted me had research that truly excited me, the only place I could envision living for five or more years was Boston, as the city I grew up near and whose environment and culture I love, and to be close to my family.

While location is more important than you think, the reputation and prestige of the university is not. In graduate school, the reputation of the individual department you are joining — and sometimes even the specific research group you work in — are more important. There, you will develop research collaborations and professional connections that will be crucial during your program and beyond. When searching for a job after graduation, other scientists will look at your specific department, the people you have worked with and the research you have done.

At the Asgard Irish Pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Andy Greenspon talks with fellow graduate students from Harvard and MIT at an Ask for Evidence workshop organized by Sense About Science. He grew up near Boston and chose to go to graduate school there.

7. Those time management skills you developed in college? Develop them further.

After surviving college, you may think you have mastered the ability to squeeze in your coursework, extracurricular activities and even some sleep. In a PhD program, time management reaches a whole new level. You will not only have lectures to attend and homework to do. You will have to make time for your research, which will include spending extended periods of time in the lab, analyzing data, and scheduling time with other students to collaborate on research.

Also, you will most likely have to teach for a number of semesters, and you will want to attend any seminar that may be related to your research or that just peaks your interest. To top it all off, you will still want to do many of those extracurricular activities you did as an undergraduate. While in the abstract, it may seem simple enough to put this all into your calendar and stay organized, you will find quickly enough that the one hour you scheduled for a task might take two or three hours, putting you behind on everything else for the rest of the day or forcing you to cut other planned events. Be prepared for schedules to go awry, and be willing to sacrifice certain activities. For some, this might be sleep; for others, it might be an extracurricular activity or a few seminars they were hoping to attend. In short, don't panic when things don't go according to plan; anticipate possible delays and be ready to adapt.

8. Expect to learn research skills on the fly – or take advantage of the training your department or career center offers.

This may be the first time you will have to write fellowship or grant proposals, write scientific papers, attend conferences, present your research to others, or even peer-review scientific manuscripts. From my experience, very few college students or even PhD students receive formal training on how to perform any of these tasks. Usually people follow by example. But this is not always easy and can be quite aggravating sometimes. So seek out talks or interactive programs offered by your department or career center. The effort will be well worth it when you realize you've become quite adept at quickly and clearly explaining your research to others and at outlining scientific papers and grant proposals. Alternatively, ask a more experienced graduate student or your advisor for advice on these topics. In addition, be prepared for a learning curve when learning all the procedures and processes of the group you end up working in. There may be many new protocols to master, whether they involve synthesizing chemicals, growing bacterial cells, or aligning mirrors on an optical table. In addition, the group may use programming languages or data analysis software you are unfamiliar with. Don't get discouraged but plan to spend extra effort getting used to these procedures and systems. After working with them regularly, they will soon become second nature. When I first started my job at Johns Hopkins, I felt overwhelmed by all the intricacies of the experiment and definitely made a few mistakes, including breaking a number of optical elements. But by the end of my year there, I had written an updated protocol manual for the modifications I had made to the experimental procedures and was the "master" passing on my knowledge to the next person taking the job.

9. There are no real breaks.

In a stereotypical "9-to-5" job, when the workday is over or the weekend arrives, you can generally forget about your work. And a vacation provides an even longer respite. But in a PhD program, your schedule becomes "whenever you find time to get your work done." You might be in the lab during regular work hours or you might be working until 10 p.m. or later to finish an experiment. And the only time you might have available to analyze data might be at 1 a.m. Expect to work during part of the weekend, too. Graduate students do go on vacations but might still have to do some data analysis or a literature search while away.

As a PhD student, it might be hard to stop thinking about the next step in an experiment or that data sitting on your computer or that paper you were meaning to start. While I imagine some students can bifurcate their mind between graduate school life and everything else, that's quite hard for many of us to do. No matter what, my research lies somewhere in the back of my head. In short, your schedule is much more flexible as a PhD student, but as a result, you never truly take a break from your work.

While this may seem like a downer, remember that you should have passion for the research you work on (most of the time), so you should be excited to think up new experiments or different ways to consider that data you have collected. Even when I'm lying in bed about to fall asleep, I am sometimes ruminating about aspects of my experiment I could modify or what information I could do a literature search on to gain new insights. A PhD program is quite the commitment and rarely lives up to expectations – but it is well worth the time and effort you will spend for something that truly excites you.

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Andy greenspon.

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5 routes to getting a Doctorate

While most of those studying for a PhD take the PhD by thesis pathway, there are five viable routes to achieving a Doctorate, with both full-time and part-time options available

PhD by thesis

This is the most common means of getting a Doctorate. Over the three or four years of research at university, your PhD supervisor will support you as you aim to produce a thesis based on your research proposal .

A thesis is typically 60,000-90,000 words in length - although this can vary between institutions. For instance, the University of Glasgow's College of Social Sciences expects a thesis to be 70,000 to 100,000 words including references, bibliography and appendices, while the University of Cambridge has set an upper limit of 80,000 words.

Once completed, you'll need to defend your PhD thesis in front of a panel of examiners during your viva voce .

Doctorate by publication

This route involves submitting previously published work - such as books, book chapters and journal articles, which together form a coherent body of work and show evidence of an original contribution to a particular field of study.

The PhD by publication route is often taken by mid-career academics that haven't had the opportunity to undertake a standard Doctorate degree.

Generally, a minimum of five to eight published pieces are required, but this varies between institutions and depends on their length. The published work will be assessed to the same rigorous standards as a traditional PhD by thesis.

You must also provide a written supporting statement, which typically ranges from 5,000 to 15,000 words.

For instance, the University of Westminster asks for a commentary of 5,000 words (science and technology subjects) or 10,000 words (arts, social sciences and humanities). On the other hand, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh requires 12,000 to 15,000 words on the rationale and theoretical context for the portfolio of published work.

The work will then be presented to an academic committee. A supervisor will assist you with selecting which publications to submit, as well as guidance on the supporting statement.

Some universities accept only their own graduates for a PhD by publication, while others restrict this route to their academic staff. In general, you should have graduated from your first degree at least seven years ago to be eligible.

For example, The University of Manchester has published its own Guidance for the PhD By Published Work , with eligibility only extending to current members of staff.

Professional Doctorate

This type of Doctorate includes a significant taught component and a smaller research project, and is geared primarily towards current professionals in vocational sectors such as:

• engineering and manufacturing
• teaching and education .

Professional Doctorates are often taken on a part-time basis and can last between two and eight years. Like their standard PhD counterparts, they usually begin in October or January.

While you won't typically be looking to get an academic job , your research is expected to contribute to theory as well as professional practice. Projects often revolve around a real-life issue that affects your employer.

Several professional Doctorates, such as the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy), are accredited by a professional body - for instance, the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) and The British Psychological Society (BPS) - and may also lead to a professional qualification .

Common titles for graduates of professional Doctorate degrees include:

• Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
• Doctor of Education (EdD)
• Doctor of Engineering (EngD)
• Doctor of Medicine (MD).

Unlike many professional Doctorates, the EngD is typically offered as a full-time course and is aimed at young engineering graduates with little or no professional experience.

Integrated PhD

This four-year qualification, also known as the New Route PhD, involves studying a one-year research Masters degree (MRes) before progressing onto a three-year PhD.

Offered by a select number of universities across the UK, integrated PhDs are supported by the government and the British Council through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) .

Visit Research Council funding for further information on research and funding for different types of PhD.

The integrated PhD involves a combination of taught materials, practical experience and advanced research. This allows you to learn subject-specific methodologies, while building the transferable skills that will enable you to become a leader in your chosen profession.

Institutions can also develop personalised integrated PhD programmes to meet each student's needs. For example, universities may offer you the opportunity to gain a postgraduate certificate (PGCert) in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education - perfect if you're considering a career as a higher education lecturer .

Online/distance learning PhD

As PhDs are based primarily on independent research rather than time spent in lectures and seminars, distance learning has always been a viable route for many Doctoral students.

PhDs by distance learning offered by course providers such as The Open University are therefore a good option to consider if you've got family or work commitments or are an international student - as this gives you the chance to undertake Doctoral research without having to live close to your chosen institution. It's also a suitable mode of study if your subject requires you to be based in a specific location away from the university.

For the most part, you'll be in touch with your supervisor by phone, email or Skype/Zoom. You'll need to bear in mind that even if you opt for this form of research, you'll generally still need to attend university for one or two weeks of each academic year for meetings and to receive research skills training. Your final exam may be undertaken either face-to-face or virtually.

With online PhDs, you can usually register as a full or part-time student. The level of fees you pay varies between institutions - some charge the same as for a standard PhD while others offer a reduced rate.

Check that any funding you plan to apply for is available to distance learning students, as this isn't always the case.

Search for online/distance learning PhDs .

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• Discover what is a PhD?
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• Consider what to do after completing your PhD .

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• Choosing Where to Do a PhD

Written by Mike Davies

Finding the best university for a PhD can seem daunting. After all, your choice of university will determine not only where you will be living and studying for the next three to five years, but also what that experience is going to be like.

There are many factors to consider when deciding where to study a PhD. A university that can provide good facilities and an enthusiastic supervisor is going to be a great boon to your research, while one lacking useful resources or holding a poor reputation in your field of interest may be best avoided. And, of course, some universities also have access to more PhD funding than others.

This guide will highlight some of the most important things to consider when choosing a university for your PhD – helping you research where you’d like to research.

On this page

Potential supervisors.

The university you choose for a PhD will determine the supervisors available for your project – and vice versa. This means it’s often worth starting your search by seeking out a researcher whose interests overlap with your own. How you do this may depend on your subject area.

Self-proposed PhDs

If you are planning to propose your own research topic you’ll want to find a university with a supervisor who is as passionate about your project as you are.

The simplest way to do this is to look at the bio pages on university websites. Researchers will typically list their field of expertise as well as any previous publications, both of which can be used to assess whether you think they would be a good fit for your project.

Don’t be put off if your initial choice isn’t currently requesting applications from prospective students. They may still be interested in discussing your project if you contact them ; or they may be able to point you in the direction of someone more appropriate (the world of academia can be smaller than it seems).

Of course, you may already be familiar a supervisor at your current university. If so, it is well worth finding out whether they would be interested in your PhD proposal. Once again, even if this is not possible, they will likely be more than happy to help you find someone who is.

Advertised PhDs

Some PhDs will be advertised with a supervisor or principle investigator (PI) already attached to the project. If a university lists one of these that fits your interests then it’s likely that this is a good university for your PhD. Still, you may want to check their background and expertise in your area, using the steps above.

It can be tempting to judge a potential supervisor’s expertise by the size of their research group. However, this can be misleading. A smaller group is likely to have a greater focus on a single topic, whereas the PI of a larger group may be juggling many different areas of research. Consequently, the leader of the smaller research group may be more invested in your project than the supervisor of a larger group.

Having identified a shortlist of potential project supervisors you can then look in more detail at the university you might wish to study at.

Choosing a supervisor

Just because their academic interests align with your own doesn’t mean that they will make a good supervisor. If you’re interested in how to identify a good supervisor why not take a look at our guide on choosing a PhD supervisor .

Rankings and ratings

Most people will want to study their PhD at a ‘good’ university (and the fact that you’re reading this suggests you’re one of them). But how do you know how ‘good’ a university is? One way to check is to use university rankings.

Several companies produce annual league tables that examine and rank the performance of universities around the world. However, these overall ‘global’ rankings typically focus on undergraduate studies. This means they are of limited use to PhD students.

Rankings can tell you something about a university’s general reputation but, as a PhD graduate, you will be judged primarily on the quality of your research. You should therefore use rankings as a tool for identifying universities with high quality research outputs (and opportunities) rather than just thinking how they might look on your CV.

In order to do this, you’ll need to understand the metrics that the organisations use to rank universities. The most important of these metrics will be research output, which measures the publication output of the university.

Measurement of an institution’s research output includes looking at the impact of their research (how many people cite it) and their academic reputation (an assessment of the faculty’s standing by others in the field).

The ranking organisations also publish rankings by subject. These are typically far more useful than overall rankings when looking for a PhD. The reason for this is that although the university you are looking at may not score highly overall, it may still score very highly in a specific field.

Rankings for PhD study

Looking at rankings when evaluating a university for PhD study can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve put together a guide on rankings for PhD study , looking in detail at the various metrics used as well as the various companies that publish them.

Alternatives to rankings

Finally, for a more detailed look at a universities research performance, you can take a look at government research assessments.

Most countries award public funding to universities and, rather than rely on league tables, most will carry out their own assessments.

These can act as a very useful guides for prospective PhD students trying to assess the quality of a university. Furthermore, the reports are usually subdivided by subject, ensuring that you are not mislead by an overall score.

If you’re looking at a university in the UK then these results are published in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) report. We have developed an interactive tool to make it easy to view the results by university and area of study.

Research Excellence Framework

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) report may be one of the best tools for evaluating a university for a PhD in the UK. For a detailed look at exactly what the assessment measures as well as what the results mean, take a look at our guide on the latest REF report .

University facilities

The facilities a university has available for you to use in the course of your PhD are not necessarily the be all and end all of a successful research project, but a well-funded and well-equipped university will certainly make your life easier.

Additionally, some projects will require access to facilities that may only be accessible at a few universities in the world. This is perhaps most obvious when dealing with projects in scientific fields where the equipment required may be very expensive. In these cases, it would simply not be possible for many universities to own such equipment.

Humanities projects are not exempt from this however, as you may also find that certain resources such as archives or manuscripts are physically present at only one location and may not yet have been digitised (even they have, not all universities will subscribe).

Identifying and assessing available resources

If you want to know what facilities a university has available, you will often be able to find a list on the faculty pages of their website. Here you will also be able to discover the contact information of the facility manager should you need more information. You can find key facilities and resources available to potential applicants when looking at PhD projects listed on our website.

Alternatively, can get an idea of the facilities a university has to offer by looking at the research it publishes. Such articles will detail the resources used in the research and that will therefore be available for you to use.

Don’t worry if the university doesn’t appear to have direct access to the facility you need as many faculties have agreements to use other groups facilities when necessary.

Regardless of what information you are able to find out on your own, it’s worth talking with your potential supervisors about access to any facilities you think your project might require. Even if some resources aren’t available, they may well be able to suggest a workable alternative.

It’s all very well identifying a great university with an enthusiastic supervisor and great resources, but you will still need to pay for the research that you intend to undertake there. You may also feel the need to keep a roof over your head while you do so!

Fees don’t always vary significantly between universities in the same country (unless you’re choosing between public and private institutions). However, the availability of funding does.

This is especially true if you are moving to another country where international students may not have access to the same support as local students.

Finding out how much funding a university has

The first thing to do is to see if there is a project advertised by your prospective supervisor that already has funding attached. This is often the case with PhD projects in the STEM fields. These will often include a maintenance stipend.

If a funded project does not exist, you can look to see if the university that you’re applying to offers scholarships, as most do. In the UK these are often provided by the Research Councils , which allocate different ‘pots’ of PhD funding to different groups of universities. Some universities also have their own scholarships in addition to government funding.

The size of a scholarship should not necessarily be the deciding factor for the university that you choose, but it is something you should carefully consider. After all, the more funds you have available the easier your research (and your life) is going to be.

Looking for PhD funding?

There are many options availible when looking at PhD funding and we’ve put together a series of guides exploring what you need to know about each one. From scholarships to loans and even advice on working while studying, you’ll find all the essential information on our funding pages.

You are likely to spend the next three to five years living close to the university you intend to complete your PhD at. This being the case, you probably want to put some consideration into whether you’re likely to enjoy it there.

Extra-curricular opportunities

Focusing all your energy on your study and leaving yourself no free time might seem like the mindset a PhD student should have but, in reality, this isn’t good for your wellbeing (or the long-term success of your doctorate). You want to make sure that wherever you end up, you’ll have something of a personal life.

Think about whether you would prefer to study in the peacefulness of the countryside or the excitement of the inner city. Also think about any hobbies you have and whether the location you’re looking at has the opportunities to pursue them.

Travel and transport

If you are thinking of studying at university that is further away from major cities, you may need to think about how you are going to get to and from it. Public transport may be unreliable or more expensive and if you need to drive you need to decide whether this is practical for you.

Cost of living

You should also take some time looking into the costs of living in the local area. You may well find that your stipend doesn’t cover as much as you thought it might if you’re living in a major city. On the other hand, you may discover that what you thought was a comparatively low value scholarship, is actually worth considerably more in real terms due to a relatively low cost of living.

Advice on studying abroad

If you’re looking at international universities, make sure you have a good idea about any additional difficulties you may face applying for a PhD, such as visas or additional exams. We have a whole section dedicated to studying abroad if you’d like more information.

Once you’ve looked at several universities, and considered the above points for each one, you should have the information necessary to compile a shortlist of possible options for your PhD.

A good next step is to visit these universities at an open day or meet with them at a PhD study fair . Alternatively, you can get on with your PhD application . Good luck!

Ready to do a PhD?

Search our project listings to find out what you could be studying.

Want More Updates & Advice?

You may also like....

We've answered some of the most frequently asked questions about PhDs, covering course types, applications, funding and the benefits of further study.

Getting ready to apply for a PhD? Our guides explain research proposals, references and entry tests for doctoral programmes.

Understand what a successful PhD research proposal needs to include and how to go about writing one for your project application.

Our guide explains how to contact a potential PhD supervisor to discuss your proposal or ideas with them before applying.

A checklist of the things you'll need to do when making an international PhD application, from meeting the entry requirements to sorting out your visa.

What documents you need for a complete study abroad application, what they are and what they should and should not include.

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• Applying to graduate school
• Master’s vs PhD | A Complete Guide to the Differences

Master's vs PhD | A Complete Guide to the Differences

Published on November 27, 2020 by Lauren Thomas . Revised on May 10, 2024.

The two most common types of graduate degrees are master’s and doctoral degrees:

• A master’s is a 1–2 year degree that can prepare you for a multitude of careers.
• A PhD, or doctoral degree, takes 3–7 years to complete (depending on the country) and prepares you for a career in academic research.

A master’s is also the necessary first step to a PhD. In the US, the master’s is built into PhD programs, while in most other countries, a separate master’s degree is required before applying for PhDs.

Master’s are far more common than PhDs. In the US, 24 million people have master’s or professional degrees, whereas only 4.5 million have doctorates.

Table of contents

Master’s vs phd at a glance, which is right for you, length of time required, career prospects, costs and salaries, application process, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about master's and phd degrees.

The table below shows the key differences between the two.

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A PhD is right for you if:

• Your goal is to become a professor at a university or some other type of professional researcher.
• You love research and are passionate about discovering the answer to a particular question.
• You are willing to spend years pursuing your research even if you have to put up with a lot of dead ends and roadblocks.

A master’s degree is the better choice if any of the following apply:

• You want to continue studies in your field, but you’re not committed to a career as a professional researcher.
• You want to develop professional skills for a specific career.
• You are willing to pay a higher upfront cost if it means finishing with your degree (and thus being able to work) much faster.
• You want the option to study part-time while working.

The length of time required to complete a PhD or master’s degree varies. Unsurprisingly, PhDs take much longer, usually between 3–7 years. Master’s degrees are usually only 1–2 years.

Length of a master’s

Master’s degrees are usually 2 years, although 1-year master’s degrees also exist, mainly in the UK.

Most of the degree consists of classes and coursework, although many master’s programs include an intensive, semester-long master’s thesis or capstone project in which students bring together all they’ve learned to produce an original piece of work.

Length of a PhD

In the US, a PhD usually takes between 5 and 7 years to complete. The first 2 years are spent on coursework. Students, even those who choose to leave without finishing the program, usually receive a master’s degree at this point.

The next 3–5 years are spent preparing a dissertation —a lengthy piece of writing based on independent research, which aims to make a significant original contribution to one’s field.

Master’s degrees tend to prepare you for a career outside of academia, while PhDs are designed to lead to a career in research.

Careers for master’s graduates

There are two types of master’s degrees: terminal and research-intensive. The career prospects are different for each.

Terminal master’s degrees are intended to prepare students for careers outside of academia. Some degrees, known as professional degrees, specifically prepare students for particular professions; these include the Master of Public Policy (MPP), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees.

Other master’s degrees, usually Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Sciences (MS or MSc) degrees, do not necessarily lead to a specific career, but are intended to be a final degree. Examples include an MS in Communications or MS in Data Analytics.

In research-intensive master’s programs, students take coursework intended to prepare them for writing an original piece of research known as the master’s thesis . Such programs are usually intended to prepare for further study in a doctoral program.

Careers for PhD graduates

As research degrees, PhDs are usually intended to lead to an academic career. A PhD can be thought of like an apprenticeship, where students learn from professional researchers (academics) how to produce their own research.

Most students aspire to become a university professor upon the completion of their degree. However, careers in academia are highly competitive, and the skills learned in a doctoral program often lend themselves well to other types of careers.

Some graduates who find they prefer teaching to producing research go on to be teachers at liberal arts colleges or even secondary schools. Others work in research-intensive careers in the government, private sector, or at think tanks.

Below are a few examples of specific fields and non-academic careers that are common destinations of graduates of those fields.

• Computer Science
• Lab Sciences

Many government jobs, including economists at a country’s central bank, are research-intensive and require a PhD. Think tanks also hire economists to carry out independent research.

In the private sector, economic consulting and technology firms frequently hire PhDs to solve real-world problems that require complex mathematical modeling.

Graduate students from the humanities are sometimes hired by museums, who can make use of their research and writing skills to curate exhibits and run public outreach.

Humanities PhDs are often well-suited to research and grant-writing roles at nonprofits. Since so much of research is funded by grants, PhD students often gain a lot of experience applying for them, which is a useful skill in the nonprofit sector.

There are a wide range of non-academic research jobs for lab scientists with doctorates in subjects like chemistry, biology, ecology and physics.

Many PhD graduates are hired by pharmaceutical companies that need to perform research to create and test their products. Government agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), also hire lab scientists to work on research projects.

Job prospects after graduation vary widely based on the field. In fields like management, computer science, statistics, and economics, there’s little underemployment—even graduates from less well-known programs can easily find jobs that pay well and use the skills they’ve gained from the PhD.

However, in other fields, particularly in the humanities, many PhD graduates have difficulty in the job market. Unfortunately, there are far more PhD graduates than assistant professor roles, so many instead take on part-time and low-paid roles as adjunct instructors. Even non-academic careers can sometimes be difficult for PhDs to move into, as they may be seen as “overqualified”  or as lacking in relevant professional experience.

Because career options post-PhD vary so much, you should take the time to figure out what the career prospects are in your field. Doctoral programs often have detailed “placement” records online in which they list the career outcomes of their graduates immediately upon leaving the program. If you can’t find these records, contact the program and ask for them—placement information should play an important role in your choice of PhD program.

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Although PhDs take far longer to complete, students often receive a living stipend in exchange for being a teaching or research assistant. Master’s degrees are shorter but less likely to be funded.

Both master’s degrees and PhDs lead to increased salaries upon graduation. While PhDs usually earn a bit more than those with a master’s degree, in some fields, the wages are identical, meaning that no financial benefit is gained from going on to a PhD.

Cost of a master’s

The upfront cost of a master’s degree is usually higher than a doctoral degree due to the lower amount of financial aid available. However, increased salaries also arrive faster than with a doctoral degree, because people graduate much earlier from a master’s program.

Some master’s students do receive stipends for their degrees, usually as compensation for being a teaching or research assistant. In addition, many people complete master’s degrees part time while working full-time, which allows them to fund their living costs as well as tuition.

The cost varies significantly by school and program. Public schools are usually cheaper than private ones. Some master’s degrees, such as MBAs, are notoriously expensive, but also result in much higher wages afterwards that make up for the high cost.

The master’s wage premium , or the extra amount that someone with a master’s degree makes than someone with just a high school diploma, is 23% on average. Many universities provide detailed statistics on the career and salary outcomes of their students. If they do not have this online, you should feel free to contact an administrator of the program and ask.

Cost of a PhD

PhDs, particularly outside the humanities, are usually (though not always) funded, meaning that tuition fees are fully waived and students receive a small living stipend. During the last 3–5 years of a PhD, after finishing their coursework (and sometimes before), students are usually expected to work as graduate instructors or research assistants in exchange for the stipend.

Sometimes students can apply for a fellowship (such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program in the United States) that relieves them of any obligations to be a teaching or research assistant. Doctoral programs in the US tend to be better funded than in the rest of the world.

Sometimes, PhD degrees can be completed part-time, but this is rare. Students are usually expected to devote at least 40 hours a week to their research and work as teaching or research assistants.

The main cost of doctoral programs comes in the form of opportunity cost—all the years that students could be working a regular, full-time job, which usually pays much better than a graduate school stipend.

The average wage premium for PhDs is 26%, which is not much higher than the master’s degree premium.

In the US, the application process is similar for master’s and PhD programs. Both will generally ask for:

• At least one application essay, often called a personal statement or statement of purpose .
• Letters of recommendation .
• A resume or CV .
• Transcripts.
• Writing samples.

Applications for both types of programs also often require a standardized test. PhDs usually require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which tries to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative, critical thinking , and analytical writing skills. Many master’s programs require this test as well.

Applying for a master’s

Master’s degrees programs will often ask you to respond to specific essay prompts that may ask you to reflect upon not just your academic background, but also your personal character and future career ambitions.

Northwestern University’s Kellogg Business School requires Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) applicants write two essays, one about a recent time they demonstrated leadership and the second about their personal values.

Who you should ask for your letters of recommendation varies by program. If you are applying to a research-intensive master’s program, then you should choose former professors or research supervisors. For other programs, particularly business school, current work supervisors may be a better choice.

Some professional master’s programs require a specific test. For example, to apply to law school, you must take the Law School Admissions Test, or LSAT. For business school, you must take either the GRE or the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT).

Applying for a PhD

When applying for a PhD, your resume should focus more on your research background—you should especially emphasize any publications you’ve authored or presentations that you’ve given.

Similarly, your statement of purpose should discuss research that you’ve participated in, whether as an assistant or the lead author. You should detail what exactly you did in projects you’ve contributed to, whether that’s conducting a literature review, coding regressions, or writing an entire article.

Your letters of recommendations should be from former professors or supervisors who can speak to your abilities and potential as a researcher. A good rule of thumb is to avoid asking for recommendations from anyone who does not themselves have a PhD.

If you want to know more about college essays , academic writing , and AI tools , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

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A master’s is a 1- or 2-year graduate degree that can prepare you for a variety of careers.

All master’s involve graduate-level coursework. Some are research-intensive and intend to prepare students for further study in a PhD; these usually require their students to write a master’s thesis . Others focus on professional training for a specific career.

A PhD, which is short for philosophiae doctor (doctor of philosophy in Latin), is the highest university degree that can be obtained. In a PhD, students spend 3–5 years writing a dissertation , which aims to make a significant, original contribution to current knowledge.

A PhD is intended to prepare students for a career as a researcher, whether that be in academia, the public sector, or the private sector.

This depends on the country. In the United States, you can generally go directly to a PhD  with only a bachelor’s degree, as a master’s program is included as part of the doctoral program.

Elsewhere, you generally need to graduate from a research-intensive master’s degree before continuing to the PhD.

This varies by country. In the United States, PhDs usually take between 5–7 years: 2 years of coursework followed by 3–5 years of independent research work to produce a dissertation.

In the rest of the world, students normally have a master’s degree before beginning the PhD, so they proceed directly to the research stage and complete a PhD in 3–5 years.

A master’s degree usually has a higher upfront cost, but it also allows you to start earning a higher salary more quickly. The exact cost depends on the country and the school: private universities usually cost more than public ones, and European degrees usually cost less than North American ones. There are limited possibilities for financial aid.

PhDs often waive tuition fees and offer a living stipend in exchange for a teaching or research assistantship. However, they take many years to complete, during which time you earn very little.

In the US, the graduate school application process is similar whether you’re applying for a master’s or a PhD . Both require letters of recommendation , a statement of purpose or personal statement , a resume or CV , and transcripts. Programs in the US and Canada usually also require a certain type of standardized test—often the GRE.

Outside the US, PhD programs usually also require applicants to write a research proposal , because students are expected to begin dissertation research in the first year of their PhD.

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The Savvy Scientist

Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

PhD FAQs – A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Doctoral Study

Tempted to do a PhD but have lots of questions? Hopefully this collection of popular PhD FAQs will help you to tick a few off the list!

Note – If you’re already sure that you want to do a PhD, and are looking for guidance on the applications process, check out my post on How to apply for a PhD which includes advice from successful PhD applicants. My post-PhD reflections on the things I regretted from my own PhD may be useful for you too, you can find that post here .

Let’s start with the absolute basics of PhDs!

What does PhD stand for?

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy. Doctor of Philosophy ? No matter which subject area your PhD is in you’ll become a Doctor of Philosophy because philosophy derives from Greek to mean “Love of wisdom” which make a bit more sense.

What is a PhD?

A PhD is a type of research degree classified as a doctorate. You get a PhD by doing original research into a topic, typically for at least three years.

There are loads of other types of doctorate and a PhD is simply the most common. EngD is another which is relatively common for industry-funded engineering students here in the UK.

PhD & DPhil what’s the difference?

There is no real difference between a PhD and DPhil, they’re both Doctor of Philosophy qualifications. A small number of historic institutions in the UK such as Oxford and York offer DPhils but the degree itself is equivalent.

How common are PhDs amongst the population?

Approximately 1% of the working population (25-64 years old) have a PhD. This varies a lot by country:

Can you call yourself Doctor with a PhD?

Yes you can. Though to avoid confusion with medical doctors, rarely will PhD-holders use the “Dr” title outside of their workplace.

Sometimes PhD-holders will add the abbreviation PhD after their name if they want to make it clear they are a non-medical doctor, for example “Jeff Clark PhD”.

What have I done about my title since getting my PhD? Nothing so far!

Why do a PhD?

Unlike a lot of other degrees, most PhD students get paid to study . Read more in the finances section below.

There are lots of potential reasons to want to do a PhD. The PhD students from our monthly PhD Profiles series said the following:

Sara found research the most enjoyable part of her undergraduate degree and a PhD was a way to carry on with research.

Ornob wants to pursue a career in evolutionary biology so began with a PhD in the field.

Vivienne has aspirations to be a professor so a PhD is a job requirement to progress in academia.

Jeff (me!) had an interest in the field and enjoyed research. I wrote a whole post with a deep dive on why I decided to do a PhD here .

Floor had enjoyed research during her Masters and didn’t think that she wanted a career in industry, so decided to do a PhD.

It’s important to mention that you don’t need to have a desire to stay in academia to do a PhD. In fact, even if you do want to go into academia afterwards, it’s probably good to know early on just how competitive it can be. Many people sadly cannot make a career out of academia long term.

Enjoy the subject matter and want to spend a few years researching it? That is reason enough to do a PhD. I’ve also now written a whole post about the benefits of having a PhD .

Applying for a PhD

Do you need a masters degree to do a phd.

No you don’t necessarily need a Masters degree to do a PhD as long as you can demonstrate you’d be suitable for a PhD without it.

For a more in-depth answer see the separate post here :

Can You Get a PhD Without a Master’s?

If you don’t have a Masters, I’d recommend checking out Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) which offer combined Masters + PhD courses. We have discussed CDTs with a graduate in Floor’s post here .

What grades do you need to do a PhD?

Entry requirements for PhDs can vary. In regards to the UK system usually you’d generally be expected to have at least a 2:1 from your undergraduate degree, plus some research experience.

My experience : I (narrowly) got first class honours in my undergrad (MEng) which certainly does help. But if you can demonstrate aptitude in research you usually don’t need a 1:1. It would be expected for you to have done well in any research projects. If you can get your name on a publication then even better!

The easiest way to find out what is expected is to check the PhD advert for entry requirements. For details on applying for a PhD, including how to find PhD adverts, check out my guide here :

How to apply for a PhD

I work in industry, can I come back and do a PhD?

Absolutely! I worked for almost four years between finishing my first degree and starting my PhD.

A PhD is more similar to a job than any other point in your education, so if you’ve spent time in a structured role it can provide you with a good work ethic. If your time in industry adds relevant skills and experience to your application, even better!

I’ve met loads of people older than me who are pursuing PhDs. If it’s your dream, it’s never too late to start a PhD!

What is the social life of a PhD student like?

Let me get this out the way first: PhD students should be able to have a life outside of the lab! If a PhD student has no time away from research I would personally suggest that they were doing things wrong.

Even if you really enjoy your project, it is good for your mental health to have a social life!

No matter the size of your research group there are often departmental and university-wide events. Plus, besides everyone you may meet through your research and department, PhD students can still join societies and sports clubs through the students’ union. I spent one of my birthdays during my PhD on the beach in Morocco with the surf club, don’t let being a PhD student put your off getting involved!

Check out the full post I’ve written: Do PhD Students Have a Social Life? Sharing My Experiences Making Friends and Avoiding PhD Loneliness

If you do go on to do a PhD, make sure to make the most of all the opportunities ! Your time as a PhD student is fantastic for personal growth.

How much holiday do PhD students get?

Sadly unlike undergraduates, PhD students don’t follow fixed semesters. This means no more three month long summer holiday, sorry!

However most departments recommend PhD students take 7-8 weeks of holiday a year , which is more than practically any job outside of academia.

I kept track of all the time off I took during my PhD and you can find the details here , including a month by month breakdown:

Do PhD Students Get Holidays? Sharing How Much Annual Leave I Take

Getting a PhD

How much work is a phd.

For a month I tracked how many hours I was working and what I was working on, so you can see a breakdown of my calendar here . I found I was working for roughly 40 hours a week. Now that I’ve recently finished my PhD, I’d say that that amount of hours was pretty representative of the whole PhD.

How Much Work is a PhD?

I do of course know some people who worked much longer hours, but most PhD students were on a similar schedule to me. Working roughly 9-5 on weekdays. Treat it like a job and you’ll be fine. PhD students don’t need to be slaving away long hours.

I managed to be strict with my time, largely avoiding work late nights or going in at the weekends. One of the main perks of doing a PhD is that you have autonomy and can be flexible with when you work. As long as you get the work done, any reasonable supervisor won’t mind when you’re there.

Yes I’ve heard stories of PhD students having to clock in and out with an expectation that they spend a certain number of hours in the office. I personally think this is stupid and doesn’t build trust. Try to speak to current PhD students from the group when choosing a supervisor .

How is a PhD assessed?

What you submit at the end of your research varies between universities and countries. Sometimes it’s a thesis and other times it can be a bunch of published papers. In all situations you give some kind of presentation and answer questions about your work.

In the UK you usually submit a thesis in preparation for a viva voce . The viva is an oral exam where you discuss your research with several academics and at least one will be an expert in your field. My viva wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be, but nonetheless it was five hours ( FIVE HOURS! ) long. At the end of your viva you’ll get told the outcome of your PhD with any changes to be made to your thesis.

There is often no requirement , to publish your work in journals during a PhD in the UK but it does help.

In other countries you may have to publish a certain number to pass your PhD and effectively these can be submitted instead of the thesis. This approach makes much more sense to me.

How long does it take to get a PhD?

In the UK, typically between three and four years to complete your research and submit the thesis. It can then take a few months for the exam (viva voce) to take place and then for any corrections to the thesis to be made.

Nosey about my PhD? For me personally, I started the PhD on 1st October 2016, submitted my thesis on 17th February 2020, had the viva on 25th March, submitted my minor corrections on 30th March and had the email to say it was officiated on 1st April 2020. Yep, April Fool’s Day…

When you realise your degree certificate will forever say your PhD was awarded on April Fools Day! #academiclife @imperialcollege pic.twitter.com/hKsGFyuc0x — Jeff Clark (@savvy_scientist) April 14, 2020

We cover all the stages of a PhD here, including putting the length of a PhD in the perspective of a whole career:

How Long Does It Take To Get A PhD?

Are PhDs really difficult?

No, well not how you might think.

You don’t need to be a genius, but you do have to be smart with how you work. Here I go into how a PhD is pretty different to all the prior years spent in education:

How Hard is a PhD?

Check out my new post covering academic challenges and failures relating to my own PhD: Overcoming Academic Challenges and Failure During a PhD

Money-Related Questions

How much does a phd cost.

If you have funding, which is explained below, all your fees are paid for by the funding source. If you are looking to self-fund, then you’ll have to pay bench-fees/tuition fees, which are usually approximately £4,000 a year for home students in the UK.

Fees vary massively depending on both the country the PhD work takes place in and where you’re from. For example, I believe Australian universities charge around $100,000 in fees to overseas PhD students. Of course ideally you have funding which covers both this and pays a stipend!

Do PhD students pay taxes?

In the UK, PhD students do not pay income tax, national insurance, council tax and student loan repayments. This means that if you can secure funding, even though you may earn less than friends in typical jobs, you get to keep all your earnings!

Do PhD students get paid?

Most PhDs, at least in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) get a stipend: basically a tax-free salary.

How much do PhD students get paid?

At the time of writing, most PhD students in the UK get around £16,000 a year . Doesn’t sound like a lot, but:

• As mentioned above, you don’t pay income tax, national insurance, council tax or make any student loan repayments. My most popular post is this one , comparing the income of PhD students vs grad jobs and the difference really isn’t that big. Plus it’s only for 3 to 3.5 years!
• You’re getting paid to learn science, working on something you’re really interested in. It’s amazing.
• You have a lot more freedom than practically any “proper job”.
• You’re getting paid, to be a student…

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid?

In summary, PhD stipends are really not that different to grad starting salaries. Please don’t be put off from a PhD simply because for a few years you might be earning a bit less than if you were working in another job.

Depending on what you want to do with your career, having a CV may lead to higher salaries. What is 3 years of lower wages out of a 40+ year career? The answer: nothing!

Where do I find PhD funding?

Getting funding will likely be the biggest hurdle for you to secure a PhD. I have a post here detailing the different types of funding and how you can find a project with funding attached.

How to Find PhD Funding in the UK

Can you self-fund a PhD?

Yes you can self-fund a PhD, and some students are in a position to do so. Just be careful that you account for university fees and not just your living costs.

Are you allowed to have another job at the same time?

Most universities encourage you to get involved with work within your department as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA). Some countries even insist that you work a certain number of hours as part of a contract for your monthly stipend.

Working as a GTA you might be invigilating exams, helping in tutorials, marking coursework etc and at Imperial you usually earn around £15-£26 an hour.

If you’re looking to work a full time job in tandem with your PhD (and doing the PhD full time), it is best checking your university’s policy. Some may have regulations against you working over a certain number of hours which could impede you from concentrating on the PhD.

There are extra ways to make money on the side which I address here :

How to Earn Money Online for Students

Can you get a mortgage as a PhD student?

Since I did my PhD in London I didn’t even consider buying somewhere during my PhD. I’m not interested in being tied into a massive mortgage for 25 years to buy a shoebox!

If I’d accepted my PhD offer for a CDT at Leeds I certainly would have tried to buy somewhere with my partner. I found this page useful when doing research. Buying a property with a partner who has a normal job would definitely make the mortgage application a whole lot more successful.

Will a PhD help your career?

This depends on what you want to do with your career. Some example scenarios:

• Staying in academia – a PhD is usually required
• Certain technical jobs in industry – a PhD may be required or a big bonus
• Non-technical jobs – a bonus

I do not imagine any scenarios where having a PhD is worse than not having one. It is true though that for certain careers there may be other things you could do which would be a better use of your time, for example gaining more direct work experience.

If you want to do a PhD that shouldn’t stop you though, and considering the length of your career taking a few years out for a PhD is inconsequential.

Whichever career path you fancy taking, if you are at all interested in doing a PhD I think you should at least apply.

PhDs in London

Can someone afford to live in london as a phd student.

Yes! I lived in London for my PhD and actually was able to save money every single month while taking many holidays and not living in a tent.

I have a few posts sharing my experiences living in London which you may find useful:

For a month last year I tracked all my expenses to get an idea of my costs living in London as a student, you can find it here .

Sharing my monthly living expenses as a student in London: September 2019

Related to reducing costs, I learned to cycle in London and loved it. It saved me about £100 a month too!

Learning to cycle in London: my first 1000 miles

On top of that, for the whole of 2019 (third year PhD) I tracked my money, and the report is here :

My personal finances report for 2019

Where is good to live in London?

I’ve lived in three different houses during my PhD in London and have a pretty good idea now of good places to live in London. You can read this whole post talking about living in London as a student and the associated costs including a breakdown of rent :

London student accommodation: Breaking down the cost of living in London for students

Bonus: Read the journeys of PhD students

Before I started my PhD I had a ton of questions and nobody who I could ask about their experience. The reality is that many of these PhD FAQs have a variety of answers as everyone’s PhD story is different. Therefore if you’d like to hear first hand from people who are going through the journey check out my series of PhD profiles , with a new profile every month. You can also discover some of their top tips for applying!

If you’d like personalised help with your PhD application I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

Is there anything else you’d like to know to help with a potential PhD application? Let me know and I’ll write about it! You can subscribe to stay up to date here:

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Related Posts

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?

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The Benefits of Having a PhD

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My top PhD regrets: 10 lessons learned by a PhD grad

21st April 2022 25th September 2023

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Doing Research Outside Your University: A Giant Mistake?

Sometimes when you are doing research as a graduate student, you want to work on another project with a professor at another university. You might really like their work, gravitate towards their ideas, or have some data that they can use. Should you do research with this professor at a different university? If so, what should you think about before you do?

You can do research with another professor at another university, and often you might be encouraged to do so. Doing research with other researchers, students and professors is an important part of doing scientific research.

Yet, there are important caveats for you to think about before you reach out to another professor at another university.

Here are things that you need to ask before you seek to do research with another professor:

• Have you fully discussed this option with your current advisor? Are they aware of you wanting to work on a project with another professor?
• Have you thought about the ethics of it? Have you first discussed your desire with your current professor, department coordinator, and department chair? Are they positive with you wanting to work with this other person?
• Do you truly have the time to work with another professor? Or, are you just wishful thinking?
• Can you leverage your skills to work with this research professor?
• Does the other professor know that you want to work on a project with them?

Are you interested in “do professor…” questions? Check out this blog post if you are curious.

Benefits of Working With Other Researchers.

Leverage your skills and ideas..

The first benefit of working with other researchers at different university is obvious: You share research ideas, and you can sometimes leverage your skills. You might also be able to capitalize on the prestige and status of the more senior professor. Many doctoral students that are in less high status institutions may have to reach out to others in high status institutions to be able to more learn the skills to publish in top journals.

Working with other researchers at different universities is sometimes a trick to get your name out to the research community, and get your research ideas known. It will help you meet more people and ultimately can help you find an academic position.

Travel to other institutions.

One of the non-obvious benefits is that you might be able to travel to different institutions and meet people that you always wanted to get to know. For example, say you read an article by so-and-so, and so-and-so is at another university, you can sometimes research out to them, and travel to their university. You can not only learn about their ideas, but also how things are done at that other university.

Every university has its own unique way of doing things, and its own unique culture. You get to learn about this academic culture.

Need help with meeting your research goals? Check out this helpful blog post on meeting your research goals in academic research.

Increasing your network.

You can sometimes benefit by creating ties with others in different areas of research. If you create that tie, sometimes you can ask for advice and favors in the future from that person. They might know about what it’s like to work with another person or at another university, and they can provide this great advice for you.

Watch this video if you are looking at how to actually collaborate and network in academia:

Meeting new people is fun.

I think this is overlooked, and we should not de-emphasize it. Working with different people, and new people provides new adventures. This is the main source of news in your life, and sometimes people are just a hoot to be around.

Costs of Working With Other Researchers.

Being stretched too thin..

Being stretched too thin is going to be the biggest cost of working with too many collaborators. You are highly likely to do so especially when you are junior scholar, and you do not know the demands of the career. Doing research is far more difficult than you think it is. Do not underestimate how difficult it will be.

Everyone wants to have their name on a publication, but few want to put in the work.

This is a reality of the incentive scheme in academia. We get paid to have our names on publications, but we rarely get paid to “do” the work. Consequentially, most people will agree to work with you, but you will have to assume you will put in all of the work in the project.

You might annoy the people that you are currently working with.

Remember, research is always hard than you think, and it will take more times. Consequentially, if you go and work with other people, you are highly likely not working on projects with your current advisors and research team. They are working with you at the moment because they are hoping that this will turn into a few publications. If you are under-delivering on this, you might tarnish your academic reputation, or worst your career prospects.

Academia is a very small world, and people do talk.

Can You Have Supervisors From Different Universities?

Yes, having supervisors from different universities is common. What you often want to look for is a situation where your advisor is friends or colleagues with someone at another university. What you often have is a lead supervisor / advisor at your university, and then your outside committee member is this people from another university.

While you might not officially have the supervisor at another university because of the regulations at your university (you should check with your department chair and supervisor), but you can always work very closely with these colleagues at another university. It is actually quite common, especially if your supervisor has a good relationship with another research some place else.

If you are having challenges with your current PhD supervisor, you should watch this video:

Can You Do Research At Another University?

Absolutely, you can do research at another university. You can research at another university in the following different ways, and all of these are common:

• You travel to another city and want to use another university’s library to study or to borrow a book. This is common. They often have great places to grab a coffee and work.
• You do research for a semester as a sabbatical or just hanging out. My mom used to say if you are loitering, you are just bumming around. In academia, if you are a serious researcher from a good school, it is actually encouraged for you to go visit and hang around another university. You might be able to arrange meetings with folks there, and if you are on sabbatical, sometimes you can get an office too.
• You can partner with another researcher at the other university. Some universities have different resources than others. You will be surprised how different university resources are across even well known universities. You can often partner with this researcher at another university to gain access to these resources.
• If you are interested in sabbaticals, check this video out:

How Do You Reach Out To A Research Professor?

If you want to research out to a research professor at another university, I would first run it by your advisor or department chair. You might be able to get inside information on this person. Often, you will find out if this person will respond, and/or if this person is nice. You will be surprised how much inside information is available by simply just asking someone who has already been there and done that.

Also, you want to be ethical and upfront with your advisors. They might want you to finish up working on a project with them first. Remember what project you are working on now means that you are foregoing another project that you could be working on. This may mean the different of your current advisor from getting research funding, grants, prizes, and even tenure.

Can You Transfer Your PhD To Another University?

Transferring your PhD to another university is tricky, and it is likely not recommended. There are different options that you might want to consider.

• If you are only 1-2 years into your current PhD, consider just quitting your current university and starting fresh at the other one. This is very common, and it is a much cleaner cut than trying to negotiate anything. It really won’t matter in ten years, but it will save you a lot of headaches and stress in the short-term. If you are dealing with PhD headaches and bad experiences, you should read this blog post.
• If you are about 1-2 years from finishing your PhD, I would just finish the PhD and seek out working with the other person under different arrangements. Perhaps, a visiting professor position, or post-doc will be very helpful for you. The reason is that a “done thesis is a good thesis.” Completing your PhD puts you in a much better position to negotiate on the job market than being “just” a student.
• If you are looking for a post-doc position, you should watch this video:

Final Thoughts:

Working with another researcher at another university is a big decision. In order to do well in the academic career, you might want to consider working with other researchers from different universities. However, it does come with costs, and navigating the politics of academia can be quite challenging. If I were you, I would talk to senior scholars in near to you, and other people that you trust before you do so. You will definitely learn a lot!

Did you benefit from this post? Do you know of anyone at all that could use feedback on their writing or editing of their documents? I would be so grateful if you read this post on how to get feedback on your writing using R3ciprocity.com or let others know about the R3ciprocity Project. THANK YOU in advance! You are the bees knees.

Check out these other great blog posts that you will like:

Top Writing Tips from A Law Student

How do I Motivate Myself to Finish my Thesis or Dissertation? Tips for Getting Motivated When You Want to Quit

How To Advance Your Career While Working at Home

David Maslach

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Gregory lawrence kaster.

Gregory Lawrence Kaster, of Minneapolis passed away unexpectedly June 22 at the age of 70 surrounded by his partner, spouse, and best friend of 38 years Kate Wittenstein and loved and loving friends. He was predeceased by his parents, Theodore and Wilma Jean Kaster of Park Forest, Illinois. He is survived by Lawrence and Elizabeth Kaster of Los Angeles, Jessica and David Barranco of Paradise Valley, Arizona, Andrew and Vicki Wittenstein of Brooklyn, New York, Cousin Alice Arnold of Chicago, Illinois, and many loved nieces, nephews, great nieces, and nephews.

Greg attended school in Park Forest, Illinois, and received his BA (1975) and MA (1978) from Northern Illinois University, and his PhD (1990) from Boston University before joining the Gustavus Adolphus College History Department in 1986. His PhD dissertation examined the language that he called the "labor jeremiad" of organized workingmen in nineteenth-century America. His research and teaching interests included labor history, the history of masculinity in America, slavery and abolitionism, the Civil War, film, visual culture, biography, dissent, and memory and history. His publications include a chapter comparing the films Django Unchained and Lincoln in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (Bloomsbury, 2014), an essay on the American labor movement, 1790-1860, in Encyclopedia of American Social Movements (M.E. Sharpe, 2004), and "Labor's True Man: Organized Workingmen and the Language of Manliness in the USA, 1827-1877" in Gender and History (April 2001). The latter grew out of a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers directed by distinguished labor historian Melvyn Dubofsky.

In the classroom, there is nothing Greg liked more than informed and energetic discussion of the course materials or what he called "working out" with the sources. An outstanding, compassionate, and gifted teacher, his work in the classroom was recognized when he was named the 2018 winner of the Edgar M. Carlson Award, the College's highest teaching honor. He particularly enjoyed teaching courses on the U.S. Civil War, the 1960s, and recent U.S. history. He also served as the inaugural holder of the James and Patricia McPherson Endowed Professor of American History position from 2019-2023.

Above all, Greg will be remembered by the Gustavus community as a passionate advocate for the power of the liberal arts, especially the humanities, and for being a trusted mentor to faculty and students alike. He was instrumental in bringing many notable speakers to campus, who helped the Gustavus community appreciate the value of the liberal arts in understanding and navigating the present. He was the creator and host of Learning for Life @ Gustavus, an in-depth podcast celebrating Gustavus, its people, and the liberal arts. The podcast recently aired its 150th episode. Those interviewed include Jillian Hiscock '05 (owner of A Bar of Their Own, the only bar in Minnesota devoted entirely to women's athletics); English Department colleague, Dr. Martha Ndakalako (whose areas of study include Namibian women's digital literatures and the #ShutItAllDown feminist protest movement); Representative Samantha (Sam) Vang '16 (one of the first two Hmong American women to win a Minnesota House seat); and Dr. Bernard Powers '72 (Professor Emeritus of History at the College of Charleston and founder/director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston). Greg was a leader on campus in many ways, most visibly in chairing the Faculty Senate and Faculty Personnel Committee. He also worked closely with the Board of Trustees, holding several Board committee positions over the years.

A proud Chicagoland native and New Yorker by marriage, Greg was a city person who delighted in the political-cultural energy and diversity of vibrant cities, including Minneapolis and St. Paul. Among his favorite pastimes were dining out with family and friends and shopping at different food purveyors in the Twin Cities. His favorites included Eli's black and blue burger, the hollandaise sauce at Our Kitchen, octopus at Gardens of Salonica, sandwiches and meat at Clancy's, and feta and olives from Bill's Imported Foods. He also loved Greek Town restaurants in Chicago (serving horta and saganaki), Union Oyster House in Boston, Zabar's in New York, and going from the Logan airport directly to lunch at the Daily Catch on trips to Boston's North End. His love of good food was matched by his love of conversations about food with servers, chefs, fellow diners, family, and friends. Every Wednesday, he drove to Sun Street Bakery in Minneapolis to get doughnuts for the breakfast group at Grant Park. Greg also enjoyed walking city streets and parks; traveling; going to the movies, jazz clubs, and the theater; following politics; and working on his courses and projects amid the life-affirming sounds and smells of a great coffeehouse.

He loved celebrating and supporting colleagues, students, alumni, and friends through food, notes of encouragement, and phone calls and catalyzing connections between them. Greg loved children and was so proud to be adopted uncle or grandpa to many. He took children and their ideas and feelings seriously and treated them with much dignity. He not only had an inherent magnetic capacity for human connection on a personal level, but also a compassion for humanity in a universal sense.

Greg and Kate, also a member of the History Department at Gustavus Adolphus College, were the happy companions of a black lab named Sam, who was predeceased by his and their feline companion, Cooper (named by Kate in honor of the brilliant African American scholar, feminist, and writer, Anna Julia Cooper).

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Greg’s name to the Shelf of Hope (at Agate Housing and Services), the National Endowment for the Humanities, or a cause of your choice. A memorial service will be held at the Elliot Park Hotel (823 5th Ave. South, Minneapolis) on Sunday, July 28th at 1:00p.m. An additional memorial will be held at Alumni Hall at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN on Saturday, October 12th at 9:00 a.m.

Published on June 28, 2024

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Program PhACE - 25 & 26 November 2024

During  PhACE  (PhD Activating Career Event), PhD candidates can ex­plore different career options the Dutch labour market has to offer. PhACE is a 2-day event and consists of plenary talks by experts, discussions and 4 workshop rounds.

Monday 24 June 2024

Tuesday 25 June 2024

Please note that the program may be subject to change.

In each track two experts from different work fields share their work experiences. Each expert gives a short presentation about his or her background, current job and skills. After these presentations there will be a Q&A session. You can prepare for the tracks by thinking of questions you would like to ask the guests. 

You are going to attend 4 workshops in total during PhACE. In each of the 4 workshop rounds you can choose in what workshop you would like to participate. 

You will find a description of the PhACE workshops at the website later when the program is set.  

Registration opens later this autumn.

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Can I pursue a master's and a PhD at the same time?

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I am currently in undergrad and I know that I want to go to grad school after I graduate. I am definitely going to do a master's but I'm not sure if I want to make the time commitment for a PhD just yet. My reason is that I don't want to take a break after getting my master's and then change my lifestyle again to go be a student. I want to study computational mathematics/ some combo of math + cs. Thanks!

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Is it allowed/legal to do two PhDs at once in slightly different subjects? [duplicate]

I am doing a Ph.D. in a university in New Zealand. I started 3 months ago and am about two years away from finishing. Since they do not issue visas (due to the pandemic), I had to start online and paid one year of tuition. For the next year, it looks like I will have to do the same thing.

Now I got admission to a different PhD program in a slightly different subject in Europe with funding. Can I study for two PhDs at the same time? I am confident I can handle the workload (already finished much of the work for the NZ program). I am not asking whether this is a good idea, just whether it is allowed / legal.

• 2 Some places do not accept students who have a PhD. Not sure what happens if the PhD at location 2 is obtained during PhD at location 1. Presumably, you won't be fired from the program, but make sure not to get studentships or contracts from both sides at the same time without checking this does not violate the conditions of your PhD program. –  Captain Emacs Commented Jun 12, 2021 at 22:07
• 2 I had a PhD student in my group who started and completed two PhDs simultaneously. I think it was a combined program that was approved on an individual basis. I'm not sure if the submitted theses were different or the same. In principle, I think what you are talking about is possible, even if the PhDs are in separate topics. –  Jake Commented Jun 12, 2021 at 22:14
• 1 If you want to know their policy in details, contact both universities. Only they can help you know if they allow that. I guess you could call them or email them and ask. If you are afraid that contacting them can cause you problems do so with a different email than your usual or don't identify yourself over the phone. Also, if you have already finished your thesis, just submit it, get a PhD, and apply for postdoc positions. You get a better wage and some freedom to research your own projects. –  jDAQ Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 19:51
• 2 I edited some information from the comment chain into the post itself -- Turkan, feel free to make further edits if I botched anything. –  cag51 ♦ Commented Jun 14, 2021 at 17:49
• 1 Yes sir I got...Thanks –  user141724 Commented Jun 14, 2021 at 17:54

2 Answers 2

It is unlikely that any law would restrict your earning two doctorates simultaneously. That doesn't seem like something any law would be concerned with.

However, the funding from the European institution might well come with restrictions about what sorts of outside activities you can pursue while accepting the funds. In particular they might regard the funding support as "full time" and thus disallow some other activities. You can explore that with them.

• 1 Yes sir the only rule about the scholarship in europe is that you should not hold phd. –  user141724 Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 5:12
• And even here they could not prove someone has phd or not unless she tells them. –  user141724 Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 5:13
• 8 @Turkan Saying that "... they could not prove someone has phd or not unless she tells them" is hinting at unethical behavior at best. Eventually you will publish some papers right? One of the advisors might notice all that cross-hemisphere collaboration. –  jDAQ Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 5:25
• 1 Yes I know. I did not do that –  user141724 Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 7:39
• 3 " the only rule about the scholarship in europe [...] ", I'm fairly sure this isn't a European regulation as such and will vary across countries and even depend on the funding body within that country or specific institution. –  Bruno Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 11:55

Short answer: Read the PhD candidature rules for those two institutions; at best, they might allow you to go part-time at each institution. A better option would be to apply for suspension of candidature in NZ.

Longer answer: Most PhD programs have a set of rules for students that set out rules/expectations for the amount of hours the student will commit to the program each week. In cases where this is specified, usually the stipulated hours will be commensurate with a job ---i.e., a full-time candidature would be approx 36-40 hours per week and a part-time candidature less. Usually there are specific rules for taking leave from the program, and you get about the same amount of leave as in a job. In some cases, approval will be required for outside study or work that impacts on the student's ability to meet the required time commitment. Even if specific approval is not required, it would usually be considered to be a breach of the rules if a student does not put in the stipulated hours when they are not on approved leave.

If such rules are present in one or both of these programs then it is difficult to see how you could do both programs full-time. You might be able to apply for part-time candidature at one or both of the institutions in order to cut down the hours, but it would probably be difficult to get approval for this.

In view of your circumstances, let me offer an alternative. Since you are prevented from attending the university in New Zealand, your best bet here would be to apply for a suspension of your candidature for one year, so that you don't have to pay tuition for that year. Suspension of candidature means that you do not lose your place in the program, but you take a temporary break with the expectation that you will return to candidature afterwards. In present circumstances, where the pandemic is preventing you entering the country, such an application would probably be viewed favourably, and I suspect it would be granted. A one-year suspension of candidature would allow you to attend the other university for a year and see which you prefer. If you decide you prefer the program in Europe you can then apply for withdrawal from your university in New Zealand.

• Thank you so much sir. You know the corona changes the meaning of full time and part time. In normal situation of course I was in New Zealand and I did not think about an alternative but now... –  user141724 Commented Jun 13, 2021 at 5:10
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