Before applying to a PhD program, it is wise to discuss your plan with your family, friends, and potential supervisors.

1. Applying to Doctoral
Programs:
Discussing the Decision With
Others
by Laurie Prange-Martin
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2. Agenda
• Some sobering facts.
• What are the top 3 reasons people don’t
complete their doctoral programs?
• So, what are your plans to make sure you’re
ready to be resilient with all 3 challenges?
• Regardless of your gender, you will likely have
some sort of crisis during those years. What’s
your plan for it?
• What are your plans for the inevitable
challenges that will come up working with a
dissertation committee?
• Consider seriously, what do you want out of
your main research supervisor?
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3. Somewhere around 50% of PhD students do
not complete their degrees.
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4. There’s even a term for it.
ABD = All But Dissertation
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5. In the social sciences and humanities,
non-completion rates are even higher.
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6. The process to getting a doctorate is more like an
apprenticeship and very much unlike any type of university
degree earned by a typical student.
This has its benefits and challenges.
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7. What are the top 3 reasons people don’t
complete their doctoral programs?
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8. 1. Financial, often handled by taking on work that
ends up leaving the doctoral student without enough
time to complete their dissertation.
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9. 2. Family pressures or crises,
often quite serious.
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10. 3. Losing momentum on the dissertation, for a
variety of reasons including discord with dissertation
committee or learning one doesn’t like research.
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11. cc: Daniel Y. Go - https://www.flickr.com/photos/84172943@N00
There are several books available to read on
this topic. I recommend chapter 16 in:
Bruno, F. J. (2001). Going back to school
(3rd ed.). Lawrenceville, NJ: Arco.

12. So, what are your plans to make sure
you’re ready to be resilient with all 3
challenges?
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13. Talk with your family beforehand
about how life will change.
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14. Plan for many years of less than ideal
wage earning. In STEM, 3-5 years. In Social
Sciences and Humanities, 7-10 years.
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15. The biggest financial pressure you
will likely experience will be for
family expenses.
(And housing some parts of Canada)
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16. Since employment for PhD students pays so poorly, don’t
quit your day job if you help it. Also, explore other financing
options like borrowing from your RRSPs.
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17. Then, plan on a yearly basis to allow for the peaks
and valleys of teaching while handling a large
research agenda.
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18. Thinking about having a family one
day? Plan when you will have babies.
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19. If you are woman, plan to have
children while you are still a student.
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20. Unfortunately, research and anecdotal evidence shows you will
pay a career price for motherhood, but during your student years
the payment is the lowest.
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21. There is little evidence showing men pay a
price for parenthood in academia.
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22. There is new research showing that men actually
benefit from parental leaves while on the tenure
track compared to women taking the same leave.
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23. For members of the LGBTQ community and members of
other equity groups, there are even greater challenges that
cannot be covered in this presentation. Therefore, I suggest
you seek one-on-one support to plan your doctoral studies.
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24. Regardless of your status, you will likely
have some sort of crisis during those
years. What’s your plan for it?
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25. I recommend establishing a village to
support you through it, as suggested by
other authors. http://bit.ly/2eDbDJW
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26. Make a list of all your commitments.
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27. See how many commitments you can start
withdrawing from now and make a plan to step back
from others before beginning studies.
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28. Make a plan with family and friends that you will
step back from commitments for those years of
study, but commit to returning once completed.
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29. Choose to keep at least one commitment (but
no more) that will support your mental health
during the stressful years ahead.
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30. Activities to support your mental health that you should
consider building into your life as a doctoral student include
low-commitment exercise, yoga, meditation, mindfulness,
spiritual practice, or religious worship.
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31. What are your plans for the inevitable
challenges that will come up working with
a dissertation committee?
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32. The best plan to deal with conflict with your
dissertation committee is to give great consideration
to who you ask to be on your committee.
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33. Consider the possibility that the most brilliant and prolific
researcher may not be the kindest communicator of
constructive criticism, and may not be timely either in
communications.
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34. Consult the books out there on forming
dissertation committees and make a plan
for what will work for you.
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35. Read books and take courses
on Project Management.
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36. Adopt strategies that will help you keep
the group focused on you completed your
dissertation.
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37. Learn how to take good Minutes at meetings!
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38. Make a Gantt chart, post it somewhere
you will see every day, and use it.
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39. Learn what Scope Creep is and make sure
it doesn’t happen to your dissertation.
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40. Finally, always consider the fact that the
most important person on your
committee is your main supervisor.
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41. So, when applying to a doctoral program,
make sure to prioritizing finding this key
person first.
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42. Discuss with the doctoral program you are
interested in who is available to supervise
doctoral students at the next program start.
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43. Consider seriously, what do you want
out of your main research supervisor?
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44. cc: kylesteed - https://www.flickr.com/photos/12673610@N04
Review the profiles of potential
candidates, read their publications,
watch any online presentations
they have, and ask colleagues
about their working styles.

45. Think about how you like to be coached
and look for someone with these skills.
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46. Prioritize finding a research supervisor
who has done well supervising others
doing their own research.
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47. Look for someone who uses approaches in
their publications similar to what you
want to use.
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48. Contact the faculty member you think
would make for a good supervisor and ask
to meet.
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49. You can meet in-person, by
phone, or through video chat.
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50. Discuss your research interests and gauge
the level of interest of your potential
supervisor.
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51. Listen to what they say about how they
like to supervise and communicate with
students and colleagues.
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52. Assess whether their way of handling the evitable
challenges of working with dissertation committees
aligns with your working style.
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53. But, always keep in mind that the only
perfect research supervisor is you.
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54. In summary, make sure that everyone is
on board with the next 3-10 years of you
being a student in doctoral students.
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55. And always, make sure that being a researcher
is why you are pursuing a doctorate and that
the steep cost will be worth it to you!
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56. Questions? Comments?
Feedback?
Contact me at the Learning &
Teaching Centre at Capilano
University
laurieprangemartin@capilanou.ca