How does a phd program work?

[nyknicks]

Im starting a phd program in the fall but Im actually clueless about how the program works, so I decided to post anonymously on this forum.

My Situation:

-I want to "be a sociologist"

-I have interests and passions in the field, although more general than specific

-Im starting a phd program in sociology in a "good program," which has been described to me as "very competitive"

-My expectations of myself in the first year of the program: work diligently, develop relationships with faculty and my cohort, begin to narrow my interests/focus of study

My Question:

-How many classes per semester does a phd student take? Or at least, how many classes per semester for a first year student?

-How does a student get a TA or RA? Are they typically for students who receive funding? (I have no funding). What if I want one for the experience?

-What should my schedule look like as a first year? Mixture of class and TA/RA or just class?

-If you have any advice for a first year student, I would be very happy to hear it, especially in terms of finding an area of study and producing quality work

Thank you for taking the time to read and answer!

[singlecell]

I'll add a question: do PhD students take classes year round?

[robot_hamster]

I'm not a PhD student (currently working on MS), but I think some of this stuff is pretty generic. At my school (and I think most places), full-time is 9 credit hours. I took 3 classes my first semester and two classes plus a thesis credit my second semester. If you don't have funding, then I imagine your first year (or semester at least) will be mostly classes. The way TA and RA positions work at my school is that they go to the "funded" students first. I was admitted my first semester without funding, but I was able to secure a position my second semester simply by being in the right place at the right time. I suppose it depends on how much money your school has and how many positions they are going to make available. If you're interested in finding one for your second semester, then I would suggest making it known to everyone you come across that you are looking. I don't really have any good advice for that part.

[pospsy]

Im starting a phd program in the fall but Im actually clueless about how the program works, so I decided to post anonymously on this forum.

My Situation:

-I want to "be a sociologist"

-I have interests and passions in the field, although more general than specific

-Im starting a phd program in sociology in a "good program," which has been described to me as "very competitive"

-My expectations of myself in the first year of the program: work diligently, develop relationships with faculty and my cohort, begin to narrow my interests/focus of study

My Question:

-How many classes per semester does a phd student take? Or at least, how many classes per semester for a first year student?

-How does a student get a TA or RA? Are they typically for students who receive funding? (I have no funding). What if I want one for the experience?

-What should my schedule look like as a first year? Mixture of class and TA/RA or just class?

-If you have any advice for a first year student, I would be very happy to hear it, especially in terms of finding an area of study and producing quality work

Thank you for taking the time to read and answer!

1. It varies. Some programs don't expect first year students to do any kind of research, some do. As you can imagine, those that do expect 1st year students to do research often have less class requirement (though they often need to take "research credits" to fulfill the requirement as a full-time student).

2. Priorities of TA and RA are often given to students who received internal funding. But if you just want experience and are willing to volunteer, you can usually find one.

3. Again, it varies. Some programs require first year student to TA, Some don't. But no matter what, you should get involved in research whether or not you get an official RA position. As you are not funded, I would assume your program does not require you to teach. If that's the case, then I think officially you only need to take classes, but you probably want to do some research for you own good (whether you get a RA position or not).

4. Think. I personally think thinking is an underrated aspect of graduate life. Read a lot, but set aside time to just think and to integrate what you have learned so far. Try to read something outside of your field too! True innovation often comes across field rather than within field. Do try to have a social life, make new friends, and develop new hobbies =)

[Eigen]

For chemistry (and most sciences), it usually goes like this:

1-2 years of coursework, heaviest in the first two semesters, lighter the second two.

You start research at the beginning of your first semester- either you do "rotations", wherein you pick several labs you're interested in and work for 2-3 months in each, or you already know where you want to go and you start there your first semester.

In the sciences, almost all students are on TAs/RAs... Most of the time, someone who is not given funding is a polite "you didn't quite make the cut" move. That said, it's common to TA your whole way through if your advisor doesn't have enough money to put you on an RA. I think this is a bit different in the social sciences where you might be an RA for someone who is not your direct advisor- it doesn't usually work that way in the sciences.TAs and RAs are the source of funding, so unless there's an open spot that needs filling, chances are you'll have a hard time picking up either if you weren't offered funding, at least to start off. As you get better known in the department, spots might open up for you.

My advice for good research: read a lot. I mean a LOT. Not just books, but current literature. I probably spent 2-4 hours each day reading current articles in my field, and it has really helped me (1) build up a good reference library and (2) get to know the major players/recent works of interest in my field. The more you read, the more likely you are to see the connections that will make for good research projects down the road.

As to taking classes year round: no one I know takes classes in the summer, except under really unusual circumstances (there's an "ethics in human research" a lot of people are taking this summer, for instance). Mostly, you'll probably take a full load your first semester, maybe a full load your second semester, and then lighter loads from there on out. This is just from what I've seen, someone in sociology would be better to comment.

Edited May 4, 2011 by Eigen

[rising_star]

My Question:

-How many classes per semester does a phd student take? Or at least, how many classes per semester for a first year student?

-How does a student get a TA or RA? Are they typically for students who receive funding? (I have no funding). What if I want one for the experience?

-What should my schedule look like as a first year? Mixture of class and TA/RA or just class?

-If you have any advice for a first year student, I would be very happy to hear it, especially in terms of finding an area of study and producing quality work

Really, all of these questions are things that you should be asking current grad students in the department you are enrolling in. None of us know your department's requirements or your university's so all we can do is tell you what our experience has been. And, in all likelihood, your experience will be different from everything you read hear. That said, here goes.

1. Depends on the department. In my MA department, a full-time PhD student with a TA or RA took 9 credit hours. At my PhD university, that is 6 hours. So, it varies.

2. Ask the department secretary. Stay alert for emails about people looking for either a TA or a RA and then apply to those positions. Why you want one doesn't really matter.

3. Depends. I took 4 classes in the first semester of my MA and again in my PhD. I don't recommend doing this. Given that you don't have funding, it seems like you would just be taking classes.

4. There's an entire thread with advice:

I'll add a question: do PhD students take classes year round?

Typically, only in the spring and fall semesters or spring, winter, and fall quarters. Usually professors don't teach graduate level courses in the summer, though this varies by department.

[fuzzylogician]

My Question:

-How many classes per semester does a phd student take? Or at least, how many classes per semester for a first year student?

-How does a student get a TA or RA? Are they typically for students who receive funding? (I have no funding). What if I want one for the experience?

-What should my schedule look like as a first year? Mixture of class and TA/RA or just class?

-If you have any advice for a first year student, I would be very happy to hear it, especially in terms of finding an area of study and producing quality work

In general the answers all depend on the specific program, but here are the answers for my program:

- We take 4 classes in the Fall of the first year, three classes and an independent study in the Spring. Then we can make our own schedule; most people will spread the remaining classes over their second and third year, possibly with some leftovers for the fourth year (we are extremely an course-heavy program). I took 4 classes for credit in my 3rd semester, 2 + 1 as a listener in my 4th (and I also TAed). Next fall I hope to take 2 classes for credit, two as a listener and TA, or take 3 for credit + 1 as a listener. The normal workload is 3 classes, or 2 + TAship. Depending on the classes it's sometimes not too bad to do 4 in one semester, although I would not recommend it.

- In our department we only have to TA two semesters during our whole residency. We can choose when we want to do it, an email goes out with the openings before each semester and we reply with out availability. The rest of the time we are funded by the department without any service required. We can TA for additional courses for money, again, we just reply to the email that goes out before the semester. It's also possible to approach an instructor in person and ask to be their TA -- that can sometime help get a desired position too. As for RAship, that's strictly on a personal level. You get hired and payed by a certain professor who has funding, so you have to go to them in person and ask for the job.

- Our first-years never TA. The first semester is also normally too busy for research -- that begins in the second semester.

- There's a whole thread about this, as rising_star points out. My advice: prioritize, learn to say no, and make time for hobbies, proper meals and sleep.

As for the additional question: people don't normally take classes in the summer. Since we're payed for 10 months out of the year (9 regular + 1 month summer funding), a lot of people go away for extended periods over the summer. Those who stay mostly work on their research.

[singlecell]

Thanks everyone

[Roccoriel]

I have one!

I will be a TA in my department. I understand that I don't take classes in the summer, so will I simply continue to TA and work on my research? How do summers generally work out?

[UnlikelyGrad]

I will be a TA in my department. I understand that I don't take classes in the summer, so will I simply continue to TA and work on my research? How do summers generally work out?

At my school, there are very very limited slots for TAs in the summer; summer class offerings are pretty light. So there may be 3-4 openings (as opposed to 25+ during the school year.)

During the summer, most people's priority is to do research. That goes doubly for those of us (like me, and--if you're in ES--you too) who do field work; it's a lot harder to do field work during late fall/winter/early spring, at least in this climate. So summer is when we try to spend as much time as possible outside.

In my department, even profs who don't have funding for a school-year RA for their students will try to give them funding over the summer. It varies from prof to prof, though.

[ZeeMore21]

You should find answers to these questions on your school's website.

[juilletmercredi]

All of this depends on your department. The best way to find out is to go to your departmental website, search for a doctoral student handbook, and download and read it. Most departments put them online nowdays and it has most of that information there.

In my experience graduate students usually take between 2 and 4 courses a semester, with 2-3 courses being the most common. TAships and RAships are usually sources of funding within departments and students either get them competitively (at places that don't award them to everyone) or they get them as a condition of being a PhD student (at places that fund everyone). Some departments require you to do a certain amount of TAing - my psych department requires 5 semesters of TAing, for example. I think all PhD students should have an RAship even if it's an unofficial, 'unpaid' one because research is the purpose of a PhD, but not all are going to TA for various reasons.

My first year was 4 courses per semester, working with my advisor as an RA on a project, and reading a lot. That's my major advice for a first-year student, is read a lot in your field becaues that will help you formulate an area of study and narrow your field by finding where the gaps are. Building a relationship with your advisor is important then but also with some other professors in your department. Go to events. Meet people. Talk to your colleagues, talk to your profsesors, go to seminars and stuff...they're all important, you need to get involved in the lifeblood of the department and it's a lot easier to do it when you're a first year taking classes and at the department every day than when you are more advanced and you're not taking classes so you can decide to stay home.

We don't take classes year round here, but we are expected to do research year round, although it may be less formally structured during the summer.

Also to the last question, very few undergrads take summer classes here and there aren't many offered. So there are few summer TAships. There are opportunities to teach full courses for advanced graduate students (4th year plus) in one of my departments over the summer, and many who are interested in academic careers go for those. Most people here advance their research and work on papers and grants during the summer. In my primary department - which is more applied - it's also normal if not terribly common for students (like me) to get internships to get work experience outside of academia.

[captiv8ed]

I just finished my first year of a soc degree, so I will take a stab at the answers. Understand though, that the answers are really specific to your program. My department hooked us up with mentors, maybe yours will do that as well. If not, try to get in touch with a grad student (you could email the dgs and say you have questions and ask them to recommend a grad student to email)to ask them.

1. My first year we were to take three graded classes and a p/f professions course. The graded courses were in theory, methods, stats, and an elective.

After the first year we don't really have any course load requirements.

2. In our department, they don't accept people unless they can fund them or the student has outside funding (fellowship). I would suppose that you could volunteer to TA/RA. Most professors will not turn away free help.

3. My first year: 20 hours (or less) of TA duties, 10 credit hours of coursework. Busy pretty much all the time.

4. Talk to lots of faculty and grad students to find out what they are working on, read tons. Don't be shy about setting up appointments with faculty members to chat about their research and your interests. They may be able to point you in a good direction. Don't be afraid to say no if they are trying to morph your interests into something that isn't you, though! As far as producing quality work: Read, listen, take notes. Be prepared to feel completely and utterly stupid and unqualified. And don't let tons of "constructive feedback" get the best of you. That part was pretty shocking to me, who was used to getting lots and lots of praise for my writing in undergrad.

[aginath]

As for the additional question: people don't normally take classes in the summer. Since we're payed for 10 months out of the year (9 regular + 1 month summer funding), a lot of people go away for extended periods over the summer. Those who stay mostly work on their research.

This totally varies by university, college, and department. I'm on a 12-month schedule, whereas many of my friends are on a 9 (summer funding is rare around here). At UGA, in general, students receive a tuition waiver for summer if they held an assistantship for the preceding spring. For that reason, a number of students take classes (generally seems to be more humanities/social science than other science, though). I took 2 classes last summer and am taking 1 this summer.

[fuzzylogician]

This totally varies by university, college, and department...

Yes, and that's exactly why my post starts with the words:

In general the answers all depend on the specific program, but here are the answers for my program

Edited May 9, 2011 by fuzzylogician

[PhDMKTG]

That's my major advice for a first-year student, is read a lot in your field becaues that will help you formulate an area of study and narrow your field by finding where the gaps are

Thanks for the sound advice above; I am also about to start my first year as a PhD and have a ton of questions that haven't been answered by the interviews I had with profs and current students in the program. I have been busy reading academic journals in my field to get a sense of the scope and nature of the work that is being done in research; However, coming from the corporate world (MBA + hedge fund background), a lot of the writing in these journals is like Chinese to me! Is this a cause for concern, or is it normal to feel this way?

ANY advice would be very much appreciated on how to shorten the learning curve and get to become a productive researcher in Academia.

[ZeeMore21]

I'm sure your program has some kind of timeline on their website that would give you some kind of guideline in regards to what has to be done by a certain time.

[eco_env]

Thanks for the sound advice above; I am also about to start my first year as a PhD and have a ton of questions that haven't been answered by the interviews I had with profs and current students in the program. I have been busy reading academic journals in my field to get a sense of the scope and nature of the work that is being done in research; However, coming from the corporate world (MBA + hedge fund background), a lot of the writing in these journals is like Chinese to me! Is this a cause for concern, or is it normal to feel this way?

ANY advice would be very much appreciated on how to shorten the learning curve and get to become a productive researcher in Academia.

what's the subject? If you are studying East Asian literature, it's normal .

[mandarin.orange]

You should find answers to these questions on your school's website.

Yes, or in the "Graduate Student Handbook" that most universities/departments have developed.

[Arcadian]

I have questions more related to the research aspects of grad school, directed at lab-based experimental sciences. How many hours do you spend in the lab per day during your first year? Is there a specific work schedule, like having a 9-5 job? I was told that I will be learning from post-docs my first semester and starting my own project in the spring. So what exactly (in your estimation) does that entail? I have read my student handbook and asked the current students some questions, but there is still some uncertainty.

As for coursework and TA duties, I'm all set. My grad courses are in the evenings and my TA class is in the afternoon, presumably freeing up mornings for research. Is this typical?

[wtncffts]

I have questions more related to the research aspects of grad school, directed at lab-based experimental sciences. How many hours do you spend in the lab per day during your first year? Is there a specific work schedule, like having a 9-5 job? I was told that I will be learning from post-docs my first semester and starting my own project in the spring. So what exactly (in your estimation) does that entail? I have read my student handbook and asked the current students some questions, but there is still some uncertainty.

As for coursework and TA duties, I'm all set. My grad courses are in the evenings and my TA class is in the afternoon, presumably freeing up mornings for research. Is this typical?

I hesitate to answer because you specifically asked about lab sciences, but in my experience it was usually more a matter of dividing up the week rather than the day. Our grad courses were in the morning or afternoon, once a week, so you might have courses two or three times a week, and there was choice in when you wanted to TA. So some people would try to fit everything into Monday and Tuesday, for example, and then have the rest of the week without any 'official' duties. I don't think anyone I knew had something (a class or TAing) every single day such that it became like a 9-5 job; I certainly didn't, though I got myself to campus almost every day anyway.

[Eigen]

The lab sciences really depend on the university, the department, and the lab. I'd say the "standard" would be around 30 hours per week of lab work your first semester, although it's not uncommon to do a good bit more than that.

My general schedule was something about 9-6 most days, and I was in the lab working when I wasn't in classes.

My wife just finished her first semester in Neuroscience, and I'd say her experience was pretty similar to mine. I think the handbook "mandated" 15-20 hours per week for rotations, but there was "strong encouragement" to be in between 30 and 40 hours.

Most of the time, you can set a regular schedule- but often experiments won't cooperate, more often in Neuro than for me in Chemistry. Mice/Rat based experiments often have to be done on the right biological cycle for the rat- I've spent some 11pm-4 am work periods with my wife, because that's when it needed to be done. There can always be issues around scheduling time on shared resources that leaves you working early mornings or late nights, as well.

Talking to people in the lab you are going to be working in is best, they can help you get a feel for what your PI specifically expects from his/her students- and that's the really important thing. Most PIs want their students to be in the lab when they come by (unless they're in class or something else), so you *generally* work at least during the time when they're around. The post-docs that are training you can help you get a good feel for when/how much you should be in, I would think.

[Arcadian]

The lab sciences really depend on the university, the department, and the lab. I'd say the "standard" would be around 30 hours per week of lab work your first semester, although it's not uncommon to do a good bit more than that.

My general schedule was something about 9-6 most days, and I was in the lab working when I wasn't in classes.

My wife just finished her first semester in Neuroscience, and I'd say her experience was pretty similar to mine. I think the handbook "mandated" 15-20 hours per week for rotations, but there was "strong encouragement" to be in between 30 and 40 hours.

Most of the time, you can set a regular schedule- but often experiments won't cooperate, more often in Neuro than for me in Chemistry. Mice/Rat based experiments often have to be done on the right biological cycle for the rat- I've spent some 11pm-4 am work periods with my wife, because that's when it needed to be done. There can always be issues around scheduling time on shared resources that leaves you working early mornings or late nights, as well.

Talking to people in the lab you are going to be working in is best, they can help you get a feel for what your PI specifically expects from his/her students- and that's the really important thing. Most PIs want their students to be in the lab when they come by (unless they're in class or something else), so you *generally* work at least during the time when they're around. The post-docs that are training you can help you get a good feel for when/how much you should be in, I would think.

Alright, thanks for the insight. The difference between your wife's research and mine is that I'll be working exclusively with human subjects (as in common in cognitive neuroscience, especially in the functional brain imaging methodology).

I have stats/research methods Monday at 7-10, a cognitive science course Wednesday at 7-10, and a seminar Thursday at 1-4. My TA class is Tuesday/Thursday 4-5. One inconvenience with my program is that our research lab is a 30-minute drive away from main campus, so commute times have to be factored in as well. (On the other hand, it's a really nice research center, so I can't complain.)

[Eigen]

I have a few friends at our medical campus working in your area- they work fairly straightforward 9-5 hours in the lab, although there are some variations when it comes time to do data processing and such.

[Elimba]

Typically, every graduate school has a a number of pages of their Web site that explain in details the process of study and getting a PhD degree in their institution. This process is particular to every institution and depends on the nature of the subject and countries . For the detials, you need to speak with the students office and your potential advisor and students who are already in the program. In addition, it is good to read for yourself advice on some Web sites dedicated to PhD students like "Academic Joy".