Time to Degree

[whirledpeas13]

I'm wondering why it tends to take 8 years for most students to finish a phd anth program. It seems to be a bit much. Is this accounting for grad students taking time off to have kids or other personal matters? I realize coursework is 2-3 years, fieldwork 1-2, and dissertation is the remaining time, but why would one need 3 years to write a dissertation (especially compared to other disciplines!)?

[anthropologygeek]

Depending on the program determines how many years of classes. Most are two years of classes if entering with a masters, then a year to do research, a year to write and defend so four years if you have enter with masters if not then add 2 years so six.

[anxiousanthro]

i think one of the main factors that slows people down is how extensive their teaching responsibilities are... just another thing to consider!

[msafiri]

Other factors: how much teaching you have to do, how comps are structured in your department and the amount of time needed to prepare for them, success in getting funding when applying for fieldwork money the first time, success in getting a fellowship so you don't have to teach while writing...

 

whirledpeas13, your timeline depends on everything going correctly. In my experience, there are plenty of people that apply for research funding more than once and, if you're doing international research, most deadlines only come once a year. So, in the fall you apply for NSF, SSRC, Fulbright, Fulbright-Hays (and maybe IAF in the winter if you're studying Latin America), then you wait until April/May to hear whether or not you've gotten one of these. If the answer is no, then you're kinda up a creek for going in the field so you either have to self-fund your research or TA/teach while applying again.

[CarlieE]

My program is set up for 3 years of coursework, during which you also take your MA comps and PhD Quals. You're expected to a pilot study in year 2. Year 4 you should be off at your fieldwork site. And, ideally, in year 5 you return to write, do one course of teaching solo and - if you write well/quickly and with the approval of your committee and advisor - you could defend in year 6. 

 

Things that have slowed down the time-line may include:

 

1. Not getting enough funding for field work and having to go through a second season of grant applications. 

2. Changing your field site out of choice or necessity ie. some areas are not politically stable, you can't get IRB approval for the group you want to study i.e. refugees, children, vulnerable populations etc. 

3. You can't get enough subjects/informants/participants in your study and just need to wait it out. This can happen in bio and cultural. For instance if you're studying uterine processes and you have 4 variables you have to meet and you only have a sample size of 12 when you need 50. You either have to radically change your research or wait. Or you're studying LGBT communities and find that you are having a hard time "breaking" into the community because you're straight, or they perceive you as an outsider even after 6 months. 

4. You have a hellish committee and they can't decide on what should stay in or out of your dissertation. This DOES happen and can hold back approval for defense. 

5. Writing is hard. And lonely. And you might find that once you begin writing that you need to go back into the field because something is missing or you need more of something or you notice something WONDERFUL is going on and you totally missed it while you were there. There are in fact several grants which allow you to return to the field for follow up work. This may very well tack on an additional 6 months or more. 

 

Just a couple of scenarios I have seen and heard of in my current and previous UG dept. 

[anthropologygeek]

Head cold- I have noticed cultures do take longer than physicals due to the difference is research and a major actor is getting the correct approvals. Also, since you are dealing with live people vs dead people research tends to take longer

[CarlieE]

anthropologygeek - yes, I think you're right. Cultural does take longer than the other 3, generally. And IRB approval can be very sticky depending on your topic..

 

However, with that said, I have come across a few archaeologists who have complained that they can only work on their sites a few months out of a year and so excavation for them has taken years - or they also run into problems about property ownership and getting approval from government agencies. A few Bio/cultural people in my program are having a time getting IRB I hear as well because of the collection of bodily fluids and what not - especially if dealing with minors or other "vulnerable" populations (the ill, mothers, etc.)

 

I'm not sure about linguistics - that might be easier! But I'm sure there are issues there too.  

[jacib]

What I often see: people who plan to be at their field site year four, are actually there year five (usually because the proposal isn't done at the end of year three, either because the project isn't clear, the student isn't done with classes,  hasn't applied for grants, etc.).  In sociology, and I assume anthropology, there are a lot of advisers who don't push you through.  I'm hoping to get into the field year four (I'm in my third year now), but other students with my same adviser didn't get researching until year five.  Let's say you follow that plan, then you have a year in the field, a year analyzing and beginning to write, a year on the job market, that's seven right there.  Any slow downs (you know, for kids, or illness, or laziness, or adviser problems, or confusion about your topic, or organizational snafu) beyond that just add more time.

 

Keep in mind that the job market is a full year.  You probably can't do it the first year you're back from the field.  And there's more teaching and less money after year five in all programs, which means less time for writing. 

[anthropologygeek]

I'm in my third year and will have all my research done by June. I'm currently doing my research made possible by a grant I applied to last February. This will put me on pace to graduate within 4 years

[whirledpeas13]

Anthropologygeek-- really?? That's amazing. Did you go in with an MA? Are you sociocultural? Sounds like an anomaly -- but a VERY favorable one. Which program are you in?

[anthropologygeek]

I'm physical and yes I had a masters going in.