Successfully completing a doctoral program requires commitment and perseverance. The most important step in this process is to consider whether academic life is right for you and what kind of doctoral program — from discipline to environment — will be the best fit for your goals and preferences.
We asked our current students and faculty, “What is key to making this decision?” Following are some questions they suggested you ask yourself, and answer, in order to select the appropriate program.
First, a basic description of a doctoral program:
As a doctoral student, you will spend the first two years of your program exploring areas of interest through coursework. In the two to three years that follow, you will select and pursue your own research topic, one which will make an original contribution to the existing body of knowledge in your field. Your original research culminates in an extensive written document known as the doctoral dissertation.
General Questions
If you are considering your career options, answering these questions will help you clarify your goals and ambitions — and determine if a doctoral program is the right decision for you.
- Am I the type of person who is suited for a career in academia? Am I independently motivated to answer questions that I find interesting?
- Do I want to spend the rest of my career doing research, as well as reading and talking about it?
- Do I have a strong enough academic background in order to apply and be accepted by the program?
- Is now the time for me to pursue a PhD?
- What are my goals after completing the PhD?
Program Questions
If you know you want to pursue a doctoral degree, answers to these questions will help you select the right program for you.
- How many faculty are working with students?
- How many faculty members are doing research in areas related to my own interests?
- What opportunities are there to work with a variety of faculty and to be exposed to different approaches in research (modeling, work with data, experiment design)?
- Am I technically prepared to learn to do research in this field?
- Most PhD students change their vision of research and many change their intended concentration area after joining the program and being exposed to a variety of research styles. Does my program of choice offer flexibility needed to do so?
- Is there financial support for students to attend academic conferences to present their own research?
- What opportunities are there for students to participate in colloquia, both as an attendee and as a presenter?
- What is the department’s placement record? What types of jobs do graduates take and where?
- Finally, how well do graduates of the program perform in the long term (contributing to the field through publication, practice of management and earning tenure)?