Good communications with your advisor is the one remedies against negative feedback. Make sure you take advantage of the weekly lab. seminars and private discussions with your advisor. Good luck.

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This is indeed a serious debate because most of the players of this system notice that there is something wrong with it. For example, in 2005, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation proposed an interesting initiative about innovation in the US graduate system.  You can read its report titled " The Responsive PhD.: Innovations in U.S. Doctoral Education" at  http://bit.ly/JvbYtT.

My idea is that the PhD degree in its current format is irrelevant and need to be replaced with one or two more efficient degrees.  It does not make sense to me that a PhD candidate in literature spends ten years in order to get a degree.

My dream is that there be  a focused, professional three years degree after the Master degree. Then a two years exclusively research-oriented degree. This degree, in contrast to the PhD, would expose the candidate to a multitude of inter-related fields and grant him/her a broad understanding of many aspects of modern society.

I am aware of the fact that this is very challenging but not exactly new. Remember, in the 17th century, scientists (those who had knowledge and wisdom, not the modern definition)  knew pretty much about everything from mathematics, chemistry, theology, literature to philosophy. For example, the French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal  is an eloquent example of such scientist.

This is a difficult question to ask but given the current state of modern society, we really need
to ask ourselves if the PhD degree is still a useful and relevant degree.

I am giving some reasons to justify that it is time to put an end to the existence of this degree:


1. The world is producing too many PhDs,

2. The future of the PhD labor market is disturbing. What is a PhD worth anyway ?

3. Jobs in academia have become elusive and some industries are shying away from PhDs,

4. A number of countries do not know what to do with all their PhDs (ex. Japan, USA),

4. The nature and quality of some PhD programs have become questionable (I am not naming any country),

5. Statistics show that earning a PhD does not make a person happier in life than others,

6. The hidden completion|Attrition rates of PhDs in many institutions tell a story about life in PhD,

7. Since the first PhD degree was awarded in Paris, France in the year 1150, did its purpose and
methods evolve with our needs and expectations ?


Whatever your position on this issue, whether you are a proponent or an opponent of the abolition
of the PhD degree, I will be glad to hear from you.

Thank you.

Maria Livingstone

Is procrastination a common issue in the life of PhD candidates ?

If you really have a problem with have things done on time in your PhD life,
I suggest you the article titled "The PhD procrastination issue" that is
worth reading. It's summarized in this blog http://bit.ly/IbxJjs with an
appealing illustration.

Maria L.

Thanks Ian for your cooperation.

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*Removed by admin*

Hi,

Would you accept answering the following simple questions about PhD programs in your university:


1. What is the official completion time of a PhD in your field at your University ?

2. On average how long does it *actually* take to complete a PhD ?

3. Is there an official deadline (time limit) for completing a PhD (full | part time) in your University ?


Thank you for your cooperation.

Hi,

You may have taken a wise decision in your best interests. Would you share with us the details of the reasons of your quitting the program.
Your explanations may help aspirant PhD candidates or current ones better reflect on their situation. I have the intuition that, PhD students
are the most isolated and misunderstood persons in society. What do you think.

Maria Livingstone

Hi Mary,

You may want to try resources in Open Access repositories here: http://www.academicjoy.net/resources-oa.html


Best of luck.


Maria Livingstone

Hi Alan,

Although you have received a lot of uplifting advice and encouragement, here are a couple more in a creative way:

1. Jimmy Cliff / "You can get it if you really want" URL http://youtu.be/18EAqHx2lMk

2. Jimmy Cliff / "I can see clearly now the rain is gone" URL http://youtu.be/0jsw_r0hILQ


I hope that your spirit is what is sung in the second one.


Best of luck.


Maria Livingstone

Hi Alan,

Although you have received a lot of uplifting advice and encouragement, here are a couple more in a creative way:

1. Jimmy Cliff / "You can get it if you really want" URL http://youtu.be/18EAqHx2lMk

2. Jimmy Cliff / "I can see clearly now the rain is gone" URL http://youtu.be/0jsw_r0hILQ


I hope that your spirit is what is sung in the second one.


Best of luck.


Maria Livingstone

Hi Alan,

Although you have received a lot of uplifting advice and encouragement, here are a couple more in a creative way:

1. Jimmy Cliff / "You can get it if you really want" URL http://youtu.be/18EAqHx2lMk

2. Jimmy Cliff / "I can see clearly now the rain is gone" URL http://youtu.be/0jsw_r0hILQ


I hope that your spirit is what is sung in the second one.


Best of luck.


Maria Livingstone

Hi Cornflower,

There are a couple of excellent articles written in a document titled "A Word to the struggling PhD Student" that may help you a lot.
You can find it at: http://www.academicjoy.net/phdcandidate-Resources.html (top of left column) . I hope this helps you take a wise decision.

Maria Livingstone