There is no shortage of advice available to new doctoral students. But as a vice chancellor for student affairs, and someone who worked throughout graduate school, I thought I could offer some advice to my fellow student-affairs professionals who are working full time in our field and seeking a Ph.D.
Be clear about your goals. It is critical to have a clear sense of your reasons for pursuing a doctorate. Are you seeking the credential for career opportunities? Or for personal or professional enhancement? You may be doing it for both of those reasons, but it’s likely that one of them is more important to you. Your answer may well inform how you approach the challenge of balancing your academic activities with your work and life responsibilities.
Theory can and should inform practice. That is one of the core beliefs of our profession, and it’s certainly true for those starting a doctoral program. It would be a wise investment of your time to review Nancy Schlossberg’s theory of navigating transitions that describes the 4 S’s (situation, self, supports, and strategies), Robert K. Merton’s notion of the potential power of self-fulfilling prophecies, and John Weidman, Darla Twale, and Elizabeth Stein’s “Socialization of Doctoral Students to Academic Norms.” Praxis makes perfect when it comes to thriving in a doctoral program.
Take a colleague to class. As you move through your doctoral program, you will need the support of your colleagues. Let them know when you start the program, and keep them informed ahead of time about points in the process at which you will be facing particularly heavy demands from your academic pursuits. Be sure to let your supervisor, subordinates, and peers know that you intend to handle your work duties, but that you may need some flexibility with regard to deadlines or other considerations. Be sure to let your work colleagues in on your successes in the classroom. Everyone likes to invest in a winner.
A question that may arise: Should you invite your supervisor (or the senior student-affairs officer) to serve as a member of your doctoral committee, assuming he or she has the requisite academic credential? As with all good questions, the answer is: It depends. What is your relationship with that senior official? Have he been supportive of your doctoral studies? Will she bring valuable expertise to the table, or is an invitation merely a political consideration? Who won’t you be able to include on your committee if you invite your supervisor? Will adding that person to your committee require special permission from your department or college? If so, what has been the department’s or college’s attitude toward such special appointments?
You are not the first, and you are not alone. The doctoral process has deep roots in the history and culture of academe. Those roots have helped make the process strong but also inflexible. For better or worse, the doctoral process is both challenging and, at least as you move into the dissertation phase, isolating. It can be helpful in the difficult moments to recall that there are others who have been through it before you, and still others who are going through it at the same time as you.
The point at which you move beyond taking courses and start focusing on your dissertation is a particularly vulnerable time. You won’t regularly see your classmates and will spend a good deal of time alone reading, reviewing, doing research, and writing. Reach out for advice, support, and the all-important safe place to vent.
Pursuing a doctorate is a process, and completion is the goal. It is never too early to take action in support of that goal. While they may seem like a distant concern when you start, comprehensive exams will come quickly.
A word of advice on preparing early on for the exams: flashcards. Yes, flashcards. As you move through your studies, create a flashcard for each of the readings you are assigned. Include the title of the article, name of author(s), topic phrase, and brief notes outlining the highlights. Use different-colored cards for different core courses. It may seem tedious work at first, but a modest investment of effort now will pay great dividends when it comes time to prepare for your exams.
Another bit of advice related to comps is to start looking around early in your program to identify folks with whom you may want to form a study group. You are looking for people who are dependable, easygoing, successful in the classroom, and willing to share. You might be strong on developmental theory, and other members of your study group might have a thing for finance or the law. The closer you get to comps, the more you will appreciate a strong, supportive study group.
You can also apply the principle of starting early to selecting paper topics. You may not have nailed down your dissertation subject, but if you have narrowed it to one or two ideas, use any freedom you are offered in writing assignments to begin exploring literature related to your possible dissertation topics.
That can be a valuable time-saving strategy in several ways. First, you can compile and develop material that will make up the literature-review section of your dissertation. Second, it presents opportunities to bounce ideas and arguments off of various faculty members. Their reactions can inform both your choice of dissertation topic and your choice of people to serve on your dissertation committee.
It’s all about finishing. There is a great deal of wisdom in the adage that the best dissertation is the one that is finished. Beyond the surface, however, what factors increase the likelihood that your thesis will be not only finished but good? I see three essential elements: Your dissertation topic has to be compelling to you, acceptable to your committee, and doable within the scope of your time and resources.
A good dissertation topic is one that you want and need to understand. It has to hold your interest over a period of time in the face of critical examination by others and a host of intervening life circumstances. It has to get you out of bed on the bad days, call to you through writing blocks, and compel you to write the paper once you have the answers you seek.
Few doctoral students have a problem finding a compelling dissertation topic; many have a problem cutting their list down to one. An important principle in pruning is to keep in mind what is acceptable to your committee. You might have great interest in a cutting-edge issue or a perspective on an important question, but that may not be a great choice for a dissertation. Why? Committee members may not believe there is a sufficient literature base to inform or support your work. Members of your committee may feel ill-prepared to provide guidance or critical oversight if they feel ignorant about or disconnected from the topic. Worse still, you might find yourself caught up in a debate among committee members regarding the emerging or unsettled area of the field, and have your dissertation delayed or denuded as a result.
A dissertation can be costly in terms of both time and money. Have a realistic budget in mind for both as you move into the final stage of your doctoral program, and be sure that your choice of dissertation topic is in keeping with that budget. Keep in mind that research involving humans involves a strict clearance process, which takes time. Getting approval to gain access to data sets takes time. Cleaning data sets takes lots of time. Transcription of data takes lots of time and money (in varying combinations, depending on exactly how you get the work done). Most institutions charge a dissertation-filing fee, and you are probably going to want to buy some additional copies of your printed and bound dissertation to share with family and others who matter to you.
In selecting a compelling, acceptable, and doable topic for your dissertation, keep in mind “topical heat” where possible. What does that mean? Simply put, some dissertations can be worth more to you down the road than others, based on their topic. A more market-friendly topic can help you land jobs in student affairs that pay more than others, lead to publication opportunities (including more financially rewarding ones), and position you to do more consulting and speaking. I am by no means suggesting that potential financial considerations be a primary means of selecting a topic, but it ought to be something you have in mind when it comes down to choosing from a shortlist of topics that have met your primary criteria.
One final bit of advice relates to the power of language and the importance of self-concept. Doctoral students are actively pursuing doctorates through coursework. Doctoral candidates have completed the coursework and are now working on dissertations. A.B.D. is not a credential. At best it’s a temporary condition; at worst it is an indicator of a stalled goal and work not yet completed. It might just be me, but seeing A.B.D. on someone’s résumé is more likely to raise doubt than inspire confidence.
Enrolling in a doctoral program is not for everyone, but if it’s for you, then I hope my advice will help. Remember, some discomfort is likely to occur. Report any swelling or signs of redness immediately. Trust me. I’m a doctor.
