Full-time vs. part-time

[Averroes]

I am having trouble liaise between my family life and PhD. I finished one course-work semester (3 courses) in Fall 2013. Then took maternity leave for the winter. Now, I am getting back to school in Fall 2014 to finish the other 3 courses (extending to winter term too). I also relocated to another city 3 hours away and planning to commute once a week as my courses are once a week in Fall and same in winter.

 

Having 2 kids and and living in another city makes me re-think my readiness to return to school, especially with the infant (will barely be 6-months then).

 

I am worried the fall course will not be offered till winter 2016 as they have such random patterns.

 

If I extend my leave till winter 2014 instead of fall, take the winter course and wait for the other one until it is offered (not sure when), how bad are my other PhD requirements going to be affected? Candidacy exams while waiting for that course? Can I start on anything? Can I work on dissertation if the supervisor was helpful in that regard? Is it better if I change to a part-time student so I am more free when I ask the department for facilitation? What is exactly the difference in this case between part-time and full-time? How tolerant are departments and supervisors usually with part-time PhD students?

 

I don't care about funding at this point as much as just finishing the PhD and taking care of my family.      

 

Note that I will be talking to my department soon in detail, but this is just until I know more to benefit from others' experiences too.

 

Thanks in advance. 

 

 

[fuzzylogician]

First of all, congratulations on the birth of your child! 

 

I don't have any first-hand experience to share, but I do have some thoughts, presented here in a somewhat random order to fit in my 10 minute break from making dissertation revisions ( ). For starters, I think a LOT will depend on how your advisor reacts to your needs and how supportive s/he is. Commuting 6 hours once a week will mean at least that day is shot in terms of actual work beyond physical attendance in the classroom. Moreover, having two small children at home may make it difficult to get much work done there, not only because of the obvious distractions but also because many people find it hard to work on and off for short stretches at a time (though some people discover that they are very productive that way), and most people find it hard to work when they are isolated from colleagues and peers. Therefore, having a supportive advisor who will talk to you on skype and who will understand that your schedule is restricted is important.  

 

A second thought is that people who stop, take leaves, and switch to part-time are much likelier to drop out and not graduate. That's a risk you run if you go part time, but the real issue, I think, is what the difference is in terms of the requirements from you and how long you can take to graduate. It'd make sense to switch to part time if staying full time will make it very difficult to meet the required timelines. 

 

A related thought is that the longer it takes you and the more you postpone things, the likelier you are to not finish. There may be very legitimate reasons to postpone things just one semester while the baby is young, and if that's the case then feel free to ignore me because here I really don't know what I'm talking about. The only observation I have is that people who postpone requirements are some of the likeliest to drop out, in my experience, because things pile up and life tends to not get simpler (and in particular, young children need a lot of attention and from what I see from my friends that doesn't seem to change at least until they're in school).

 

A final thought on courses and postponing requirements, if it's possible to get all the course requirements done in one semester, and postponing would mean it'd take you another 2-3 semesters because you're not sure when the courses will be offered, there is something to be said for doing it and getting it done with. Commuting once a week for one semester is not as terrible as doing it for 2-3 semesters. Once you're done with classes, it's a lot easier to do your research long-distance without needing to commute to your department. 

 

As for doing research or studying for candidacy exams during the coursework period, I believe it should be technically possible--I don't see why you couldn't start your research before you're done with classes, and same with studying for exams. If you have a supportive department that allowed you to get started with the other aspects of the program as soon as you're ready and regardless of how you're doing on the formal course requirements, there shouldn't be any problem with getting started early. As you said, having a supportive advisor is again crucial.