Hi all,

I read an article on Chronicle.com and was wondering how many of you agree that a PhD thesis can be completed in 12 to 18 months.

Any comments from those who are now near completion.

"On the time needed to complete a dissertation, Cahn's advice is equally brisk and demanding: "Any time beyond two years is excessive. Indeed, I would expect the task to be completed in 12 to 18 months."

http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2009/02/2009020301c.htm?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Looking at the article I think he's just referring to the actual writing (not the research part) - in which case 12 to 18 months is certainly more than enough.

======= Date Modified 06 Feb 2009 12:17:23 =======
Yep, I think Smilodon is right, the professor is referring to the actual completion of the thesis, not the whole research time. 12/18 mths will be the back end of a 5 year US PhD programme.

Yeah, I think you are right !

Although for someone doing a PhD by research only, it might be possible to complete the whole thing in 2 years.

What on earth is 'PhD by research only'??? Everyone has to write a thesis - even scientists!

Apparently you can do PhD by publication...

http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/resources/phd.html

But the publications need work to go in before they happen, so even if the thesis is each chapter as an article, I don't see how the whole thing can be done in 12-18 monhts..

Smilodon: PhD by research only means that there is only a dissertation to write as compared to 'research and coursework' where both are required.

Well I must be doing a PhD by research then. No coursework for me :) But you still need to allow time to do a meaningful amount of research, and then the thesis writing. I think 2 years is very impractical.

But if there's 'only a dissertation' to write for a PhD, what goes into it? Research, presumably? Otherwise, what would be the original content and contribution to knowledge?

Neither do I have any coursework to do, and have plunged into research. But it is still going to be a minimum of 3 years. thats why it's a PhD. So, I am not quite getting what "phd by research" means...

Linguist -- are you a UK student?

Because what you're saying suggests not, and this is a UK based forum, so you're going to be speaking cross-purposes with most people.

I can offer anyone a PhD in just five minutes: for the small sum of £50 I will provide you a worthless piece of paper for a worthless qualification. Any takers? 8-)

The OP was referring to a US publication...in the US many PhD programmes involve both 'coursework' and 'research' i.e. a student will spend the first two years of their PhD attending courses, and then the latter years of the PhD researching and writing up a thesis (thus, a thesis will often state that it's only 'in partial fulfillment' on a PhD).

Linguist, from start-to-finish, it is possible to do a 2 year PhD, but exceptional. I know one person who did a second PhD (crazy? probably) in two years, and I also know a few people who are very established in their professions who submitted a PhD based on their niche knowledge in two years. I believe it is also possible to submit a PhD to some institutions based on one's previous body of work...once again this is exceptional and I'm not sure if all universities allow this.

By far the easiest way to do a 2 year doctorate is to go to Germany or Austria...but then you run the risk of having a qualification that is not the same calibre as a British PhD.

I think it all comes down to the question „how much work should be involved in a PhD thesis?“ and also, „how well should it be done?“

According to the link Linguist gave above, the author of this book seems to conclude that we use too much time in revisions, to produce the perfect thesis, so if I quote from the link linguist gave:

„In the end, as Cahn points out, "no one will ask you whether your dissertation was passed with major or minor revisions. All that matters is that you have fulfilled every requirement for the degree."“

I don‘t agree with this.  I think it is important to do a good job, and if I were to hire someone for a postdoctoral position, I would consider the one that does his (or her) job well, although it is important that the person knows when to stop and actually publish something.

Although I‘m a bit suspicious about this 12-18 months thing, I think that this could be an interesting book, might be some good suggestions there...