1000Plateaus

Thanks guys, this is all really helpful. I apperciate it!

Hey all, I am half way through my PhD in Philosophy. I had a discussion with my PhD advisor several days ago, and his opinion is that PhD students should wait years until they decide to send any material off to journals for publication. His view is that it's better to wait until you have had years of study to distill your work into top-quality material before you submit anything. He said "bad publications are worse than no publications," and that "once you publish something it is out there forever." This seems a bit out of touch and dated advice, in my view. I understand his point about wanting to have better quality material, however with the level of competition these days, and post-doc or tenure-track position requires multiple publications at minimum. Newly graduated friends of my mine who have turned their PhD dissertations into books have told me that even having a book published in your field is no longer than impressive. Of course quality is better than quantity, I completely agree - but I feel as though the idea that students ought to wait years before submitting anything to journals seems antiquated. A lot of the PhD candidates I know are sending off articles to journals as well as working hard on their PhD research project. Why not do both? I should add that so far, I have 2 official articles published in two different journals. I personally would like to increase that number before I complete my PhD, but my advisor seems to think that it's better to wait. If I wait, I will be behind all the other newly minted PhDs who have more article publications. Thoughts?

Thank you, that's actually a good idea. I will give it a try.

Hi, I am a 1st year PhD in philosophy. I recently met with my advisor to discuss my research topic after I had submitted a proposal document to him. One of the things he mentioned was that (based of this said document), I needed to ensure that my writing was at the PhD level. Now, content aside, I was wondering if there are any helpful writing manuals for students working on a dissertation? How do I go about learning what constitutes 'PhD level writing'? After my meeting I picked up a copy of 'A Manual for Writers,' the famous Kate L. Turabian guide, and it is useful but I am wondering if any other PhD students out there have some tips for improving academic writing?

Any new graduate students excited about attending Kingston U in London, England?

Hello! I'm starting this thread for those of you who will be attending Kingston U in the fall of 2014. Personally, I will be starting my PhD degree at the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy there. As an international student who will be relocating to England, I am looking for possible roommates. I am going to try to live in Kingston, to cut down the cost of having to commute to campus. Anyone else looking for roommates?

So I have a phone interview for a PhD program coming up. While I have secured letters of reference, my MA advisor has refused to write on my behalf. This fact is vaguely mentioned in one of the letters, but I am wondering if I ought to mention it in the upcoming interview? I figure that if I put things into context, then the admin committee won't be surprised when they see that my ex advisor is absent. Thoughts?

So here is the rough draft of my SOP. I have already completed a M.A. degree in philosophy and am applying to M.A. programs in Political Science. I am interested in applying for 1-year M.A. programs, preferably course-work based, or with an MRP (I already wrote an M.A. thesis once). The main three points I have tried to hit are: i) How the M.A. degree in philosophy is an asset to me as a applicant (i.e., how it's useful). ii) How the M.A. program I am applying to will improve my academic training and further develop my education. iii) How the M.A. program I am applying to will provide the necessary foundations for me to continue onto a Ph.D in political philosophy. So, without further ado, here is my draft. I welcome all constructive criticism and input. My training is predominantly in the Continental philosophical tradition, with a specialized interest in social and political thought. The host of thinkers that I have studied include but are not limited to: Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Lacan, Benjamin, Lenin, Bergson, Adorno, Marcuse, Arendt, Derrida, Deleuze, Žižek, and Badiou. As a Masters student in philosophy, I completed seminars on Theodor Adorno, Hannah Arendt, Gilles Deleuze, Immanuel Kant, Henri Bergson. My research is oriented towards the intersection of political praxis and philosophy. In 2013 I successfully defended my Master’s Thesis in philosophy at ____ University, titled _______. It was during my thesis research that I became increasingly fascinated by the contribution of critical theory to advancing our understanding of dynamic material social forces, as well as how late capitalist culture informs and reifies our multi-faceted political subjectivity. My experience as a Masters student in _____’s philosophy program has given me an invaluable background in the history of philosophy, and contemporary continental philosophy. Given my research in political philosophy, I am confident that a Masters degree in political science will be greatly advantageous in solidifying and reinforcing my academic interest in political theory. Eventually, I intend to pursue a Ph.D. degree, focused on political philosophy, however I intend to improve and gain the necessary expertise and training in political science. So, it is to this end that I think the Masters graduate program in Political Theory at ____ University’s Department of Political Science will not only offer me an exceptional and necessary academic training in political thought and history. I believe that the program is the perfect choice for the continuation of my graduate education because of its strong emphasis on the history on modern political thought as well as its excellent commitment to contemporary political theory. I view _____’s M.A. in Political Theory as the appropriate program for pursuing my future academic goals. The Masters in Political Theory is the ideal next step for my ongoing graduate studies because it will provide the necessary intellectual background in political thought before I continue on to a Doctorate program.

I am preparing my applications for my 2nd M.A., this time in Political Science. I just completed an M.A. in philosophy. I am mainly looking into 1-year M.A. programs, preferably course-based. My LOR are okay, and my grades are decent, but I was just wondering what the admissions in like for someone like myself who already has a Master's degree? I realize that the majority of applicants will be B.A.s, but will my M.A. be seen as an asset or a hinderance to my application (I realize this is a very general question and that it depends on a number of contingent factors such as the admissions committee, my application, funding, etc)? I'm just curious to know if anything has gone through the process of applying for a 2nd M.A., and whether or not the fact that I have an M.A. in philosophy will be seen as an advantage?

So I recently sent in an abstract for a proposed article to an online, peer-reviewed journal, in philosophy. I answered a call for papers posting. My abstract was accepted and the article itself is due on Dec 1. I just have a question regarding the procedure of journals: Can the editorial board still reject my article after they have reviewed it, or will they most likely work to get my article published now that they have accepted the abstract?

Whoa, rising_star what's with this the intense hostility? I know for a fact that the majority of MA/PhD students under the supervision of my ex-advisor have taken longer than others in my Department to finish. There were two other MA students who, like me, finished in their 3rd year, rather than their 2nd, all under the same supervisor. The argument that I will take longer than most to finish a PhD because I took longer in my MA assumes that I will make the same mistakes and simply repeat the past (i.e., choosing a difficult topic, not research advisors prior to selecting on, etc). I believe that I have learned enough from my MA experience to recognize and acknowledge what factors contributed to my taking an extra year to finish. And why are you being so hostile towards me? I have thanked everyone who has bothered to read my (rather long-winded) summary and have taken everything said into consideration. I do appreciate and am thankful for all the advice people have left for me on this forum, and have been reflective and self-critical. I have been actively replying to the majority of posts here, so I don't understand why you think I am being stubborn. And why do I keep posting? Well, isn't this forum designed for graduate students to discuss and help each other out? I don't think I have been doing anything out of the ordinary here. emmm, I am a he, not a she.

Yes I do acknowledge that I made many mistakes that resulted in taking an extra year to finish my degree. But this isn't an anomaly, lots of grad students take longer than they are funded for to finish, especially at the PhD level. The average # of years is somewhere between 6-8 years, when most PhD program are supposed to be 3-4 years. So this whole "you took too long" isn't convincing to me.

So here's an interesting development. I have just learned from a former PhD student of my Dept. (now a Dr.), that my former advisor has had a bit of a track record of 'failing' MA students by being unsupportive and refusing to recommend them to PhD programs. Apparently the last guy this happened to managed to get LOR from other professionals who did value his work and he got accepted into a PhD program in philosophy. While this doesn't change the fact that I don't have a LOR from my advisor, it does boost my confidence a bit to know that I wasn't the first student that my advisor has done this to. I am kicking myself for not doing better background research on him prior to selecting to work with him.

I will be taking time off, that's a sure thing. I do understand the severity of not having LOR from my advisor or 2nd reader, and so if I do eventually decide to pursue a PhD degree, I need to lay down the groundwork, and plan it very carefully. It's something that will require a year or so of hard work and networking. It's very discouraging. It would be all too easy for me to quit my dreams of getting a PhD and just work dead-end office jobs. Right now, the thought of doing anything else besides a PhD in philosophy doesn't seem appealing or satisfying in the least. Philosophy is something I love, but my recent experiences has left me feeling rather apathetic. From my perspective, if I do choose to continue, it'll be an uphill battle. I had my heart set on a PhD in philosophy. I have devoted the past 3-4 years of my life, getting contacts through conferences and peers, I have been building myself into the role of 'grad student', and now there is this giant roadblock in my way. The prospects of submitting a successful PhD application without any LOR from my MA committee is very slim, and unless I balance that out with an outstanding CV, my chances are next to nil. All of this has made me realize that Grad school is full of petty politics, and that you have to learn how to 'play the game' to be successful at it. I just want to be a philosopher (I realize how pretentious that sounds..), write articles and books, teach classes, enlighten students, etc.

Thank you all for the feedback. Your input has both informed my thinking and helped me through this very stressful crisis. It's never easy trying to re-evaluate your life goals. At the end of the day, philosophy is my passion. I will figure something out.

Right, this is why directly applying to PhD programs with LOR from non-committee members is going to be a gamble. There are other means of getting to programs, but they would require some out of the box methods on my part.

Yes, if I do choose to continue, I need to address the main problems both within my MA program (bad advisor, etc) and myself (not proactive enough). I have been thinking through all of this every single day for the past 2 weeks or so. I'm determined and ready to learn from my mistakes, improve myself, and move forward. But what really does deter me is that if I cannot get LOR from anyone on my committee, then the chances of my PhD application being successful is low. I need to attend more conferences, try to get articles published and boost my CV. And that's another thing, in grad school you're supposed to learn the ropes of how to get something published. Typically, if a course essay is good enough, a professor will encourage you to send it to journals and try to get it published. And again, students need to be proactive and take the initiative to learn what goes into a publishable paper. I didn't do this, sadly. So without an advisor's guidance and informative suggestions, my work becomes that much more difficult. I would need to learn the ins and outs of publishing on my own. It has been a huge learning experience. If I do decide to continue with academia, then I need to network and get a lot of allies/ supportive professors on my side. shockwave, you mentioned that perhaps I could try contacting Departments that I want to apply for and explain my situation to professors, but will they be able to do anything? I'd imagine they would simply say that I apply like anyone else and see what happens.

It is all vert frustrating. I've been thinking it over the past several days, and it does seems like I did 'miss the point', if that's the way to put it. I ought to have been more proactive and assertive, but the downward spiral and pressure of the work got to me, and it was difficult for me to handle it. Anxiety is something that I'm dealing with in other aspects of my life too, not simply in academia. So it's an on-going process to try to manage it better. I realize PhD programs are designed for candidates to be independent researchers, I just needed a 'smoother' transition in my MA. I'm not saying that I wanted my advisor to hold me by the hand, so to speak, but that just being able to better communicate with him would have done wonders to ease my anxieties. But that's all in the past. I do have to take time and think about whether or not doing a PhD is right for me. If the answer is 'yes', then the difficulty will be: 1) getting professional philosophers to write on my behalf; and 2) getting accepted to a PhD program despite the hinderance/red flag of not having LOR from my MA advisory committee. In a sense, I royally fucked up.

PhD programs in philosophy do require at least 2 LOR. So I need to get them from other profs who will vouch for me

Lynx, You do raise a valid point, which is that I need to prove that I am capable to being successful at the PhD level. I need to present at more conferences, write articles and get them published to boost my CV. I never said I had a 'mental illness'. I have anxiety issues, and am seeking professional help. While it's true that the anxiety posed some problems for me when I was writing, I have learned a lot about what works for me and what doesn't. The main factors that went into my having difficulty at the MA level was choosing a bad advisor (for my needs), and misconstruing what was expected of me. One of the major difficulties in my MA was that I never felt as though my advisor was supportive of me. He's an odd fellow and doesn't emote much, which is fine, but because I was an insecure grad student, not having that kind of support really did a number on me. I had heard that my advisor usually waited till after the defense to give positive feedback, but unfortunately that didn't happen in my case. I'm not merely blaming my advisor for all of my problems. Please don't think that. I admit that I was angry several days ago, but my main argument is that the reason I performed so poorly was partly due to the conditions (e.g., bad advisor-student relationship, working through personal problems, etc). I know myself well enough to know that I have done better work in an anxiety-free environment and it has paid off. So, if the conditions had been different in my MA, I would have done much better. It's not that I am expecting an "idealized version" of myself to emerge in a PhD program. I understand that the workload is extremely difficult and it requires a certain level of steadfastness and self-discipline to see it through to the end. Maybe what I need is to take some time off and revitalize myself before I make any decisions. "Personally I think that your advisors refusal to write you LORs for PhD programs might be the biggest gift they've given you. Don't ruin the next decade of your life attempting to do something that will only damage you." Will it 'damage' me though? This is what is my biggest problem with my advisor's judgment. He makes the assumption that I will naturally struggle more and more in a PhD program, but that's something he's assuming - it's not necessarily true. Now I may fall flat on my face. I may fail horribly and drop out of a PhD, who knows? But I want the opportunity, I want to demonstrate that I can endure it and work hard. I don't believe in letting someone else decide what my own limits are, I don't like in the least when someone says that I can't do something, when it hasn't been proven. So my plan is to get articles published. If I can prove to myself that I can cut it professionally, then that's all that matters.

Perhaps I needed to take a break between my undergrad and my MA. I left my undergrad feeling mentally exhausted, and jumped right into a MA program. I realize that grad studies are about learning new scholarship skills and research skills, and looking back now, I can safely say that I expected more guidance from my advisor. I made too many assumptions about what was required. By 'struggling student', I basically fit all the characterizations you mentioned. I overestimated the amount of research I needed to do, I overestimated the material, I had problems with transitioning from the BA, and adjusting to Grad school. But everyone goes through that transition, right? It's difficult for all undergrads to adapt to the Grad school life and experience. On top of that, I have some personal transitional issues which I am seeking therapeutic help for, so it was much harder for me than for most of on peers. See, I didn't read any Theses or dissertations in my MA, so I didn't have a working model of what was expected. That was one of my mistakes. My committee signed off on my Thesis, but I suspect part of my Supervisor's motivation was that he is traveling abroad from Sept. 1 - May 2014, so he did not want to 'deal with me' any longer, regardless of whether or not the thesis represented my work. My 2nd reader was hesitant to sign off on it, he had issues with my last chapter and wanted me to spend some more time revising it. So all of these conditions contributed to a less-than pleasant MA experience. But I know for sure that if I had been better prepared, and had an advisor that was a better match for me, I would have performed much better. Also, just a curiosity, but I have several friends who are doing PhDs who took 3+ years to finish their MA degrees. Not only that, it's the rule, not the exception, that PhD candidates average around 6-8 years to finish their PhDs - only a numbered few finish 'on time'. So the fact that it took me an extra year to finish my MA degree isn't that strange. I know that I made a lot of novice mistakes. I know that I had difficulty adjusting to the graduate student life. I know that I picked a very challenging thesis topic, the scope of which was more suited for a PhD dissertation, rather than a MA thesis. I know that I wasn't a good match for my advisor, but instead of recognizing the warning signs and switching advisors, I powered through, naively thinking that if I endured, it would be worth it. But this is all to say that I know myself well enough to know that I can perform much better and do better work. Unfortunately, my MA thesis doesn't reflect my best work, because I was under so much stress, anxiety, and not to mention an unsupportive advisor. I do need a break from academia, if only to figure some things out before I make any decisions.

I do think I can. My MA thesis does not reflect my best work because I was transitioning from the BA to the MA. I had to break bad old habits that I developed in my undergrad (5 years), and relearn a lot of things - which wasn't easy. Again, I realize that programs are very competitive and given that I struggled so much does not bode well for me. I honestly do think that if I had been more attentive and aware of what was expected in a MA thesis, then I would have taken measures to ensure that I performed better. So yes, I do think I can do better. I do have to take some time off to rethink a lot of these things, obviously. The thing is, I know for sure that the MA thesis experience did not best reflect my abilities. I have strong ideas, but clearly communicating them through writing was one of my biggest challenges. I eventually did manage to write them down is a very clear manner, but it took awhile to break the old habits. It was a huge learning process for me, like I said. I personally made many mistakes (some out of ignorance, others out of naiveté). My advisor and I were not a good match. His method of interacting with students is very hands off, he has 5-8 grad students to deal with, and rarely bothers to communicate to his students. He's also very intimidating, and not personable in the least. So while some students thrive under his supervision, I of course didn't. My mistake was to believe that if I endured all his nasty comments and verbal insults, that if I saw this thesis through to the end, then it would be impressive in some respect. Of course my assumption was wrong, I assumed too much and expected too much from him. I miscalculated the relationship, and there was enough miscommunication between us to give him the impression that "I had no idea what I was talking about ", when in fact it was me struggling with the writing process and attempting to properly articulate my ideas. So yes, I am partially to blame here. And I suppose my Supervisor's judgment is based on what he saw: an anxious, struggling student who picked a topic that was way over his head. All of this is to say that I need to re-evaluate myself, my goals and aspirations, my limits and boundaries. I still have my heart set on pursuing a PhD in philosophy, but I need to demonstrate that I can be successful at it. Again, thank you all for the feedback.

Thanks Andean Pat, It has been a huge learning opportunity, if nothing else. Perhaps my advisor was trying to tell me to change my topic, albeit in a very passive and indirect way. I do need to take time off and let things cool down. I really do thank all of you for taking time to read and reply to what I've been through. It hasn't been a positive experience, and I was miserable in many ways (still am).

Thanks St Andrew Lynx, You're right I do need to take time of and rethink my life decisions. That's what I plan to do now.

Thanks fuzzylogician, Roquentin, and IRToni. I appreciate the honesty and the advice. I was really naive when I proposed my thesis topic. It was too challenging, and if I had discussed it in detail with my advisor, maybe I would have come to the decision to change the topic to something more doable. I approached the challenging of tackling the MA thesis from a novice's position. I had never written something this big (I didn't do a BA thesis), so I had no idea what the right steps to take were. I did research, wrote a drafted outlined, and then started writing. My advisor's instructions were that I just give him drafts of chapters when I think they're ready. I suppose what pains me is that I was already accepted to the PhD program in my Dept., with LOR from bother my Advisor and 2nd reader. Now, this was before my thesis was rejected. It's true that I unfortunately underwhelmed my advisor with my work, but I do sincerely believe that if I had chosen a smaller, manageable topic, the research and writing would have been smoother. And the main reason I struggled so much with my thesis was the challenging topic, plus a bad advisor-student match. The thing is, I know what I did wrong. What my mistakes were with this thesis. I've learned from my experience and know what I need to do to improve myself. I realize that PhD programs are that much more challenging than an MA, and if I were to continue onto a PhD program, I would have to really revise my approach to research and writing. I think I can grow and improve myself, my advisor doesn't. I want to continue on with a PhD because philosophy is my life's passion. It's what I want to do with my life, and as clichéd as that sounds, it is true. So to be told that I can't do a PhD philosophy is analogous to telling a artist that they can't paint, or a writer that she can't write, and so on. I realize that I don't necessarily need a doctorate in philosophy to do philosophy, or continue reading, etc., but the degree is a symbol of recognition in many ways. But we'll see what happens. I understand that my advisor made the judgment call based on what he saw I could do. But I know that I can do better. Maybe the academic system isn't conducive to my learning and working abilities. Thanks again for the feedback, I do appreciate it.