PHd: Some questions

Do you have a degree, and what in?

I have a Masters in Mass Communication. I'd like to go to Brunel.

1) Check out the graduate school section on the websites of whatever schools you're interested in. Generally, they need all your previous transcripts, your GRE exam results (like the SAT, but not quite -- and actually, they've changed the exam since I last took it, so it might be less SAT-y now), letters of recommendation, and often a writing sample and/or personal statement.

2) Classes, many classes. Depending on the program, whether or not you have a Master's degree, and whether or not you're simultaneously teaching, you could be taking classes for as many as three or four years, assuming full-time enrollment. You take fewer classes per semester than as an undergrad, but they're much more demanding and reading-intensive ("here's a textbook, have it read for Monday" is not out of the question; multiply that by four classes.)

3) Expect to go every weekday, especially if you'll be teaching (some PhD programs only accept people to whom they award teaching assistantships, so you could potentially wind up in that boat even if you didn't need to for the money). Days when you don't need to go to class are often days when you need to go to the library, either for research (and bear in mind ahead of time that you may have a good deal of research which can't be dealt with by simply checking books out) or photocopying reams of readings which have been placed on reserve.

1. Contact the departments of the schools you're interested in, or alternately the schools themselves. Many universities have separate grad studies staff employees who handle these issues in general, or can readily direct you to the right person. On-line searching should turn up a lot of info pretty easily.

2. Depending on the program, it can vary, but you will almost certainly be taking classes first and foremost unless you propose one heck of an individual study plan.

3. You'll have to be on campus as often as you need to be -- night classes aren't usually the case with regular grad programs. There are always exceptions, to be sure, but they tend to be specific, such as the part-time programs here at UCI for MBAs and for teachers getting MA degrees via summer courses.

(Alternately, what Tep said, the fast-posting bastard. ;-))

Fear my hunt-and-peck kung fu!

Do you have a subject that you're burning to learn more about? Or are your preferences dictated more by "Oh, that doesn't sound too bad..."?

I tend to think that doing back to get a degree for its own sake = dud. Not so much because it's morally wrong or anything like that, but most PhD programs are fairly strenuous, and after two or three years of coursework you're left to your own devices to craft a research project or a reasonably long dissertation. If you don't have the passion for the subject matter then you're liable to get bogged down by petty distractions and never complete the work. Either that or produce something rote and unsatisfying.

(I'm talking to myself as much as you, Jel.)

I agree with Amateurist, but I have been thinking about this recently ie, telling myself "i'm not going to go back to study til I have a specific topic I am obsessed with" but now I think that it is quite hard to develop a specific question while working/away from the university atmosphere. So maybe it is enough to have a general field you are interested in, and the rest will come?

Thanks everyone, yes, I'm going to think about this seriously for the next month or so.

But I think you have to have a history of being drawn to the subject (by "subject" I don't mean "calorie intake of Welsh Anthracite miners in the years 1872-76" but something more like "Welsh history") in your non-academic life. Are you taking books out of the library? Broaching the subject to all and sundry? If not I can't see how anyone can expect to suddenly have a fire in their belly as soon as they matriculate.

(that was a response to Isadora's post)

Couple things you should check out first before considering professional academia.

The book Disciplined Minds, and this article in the Washington Post about the lives of recent PhDs.

Contact Brunel for a postgraduate prospectus.
Read it.
Fill in the application form.

Bingo!

Jel,

Amateurish = spot on. If I could offer some personal advice:

1) I'd echo the sentiment of definitely DO NOT go for a Ph.D. (Masters as well, I'd say) if your primary reason seems to be "well, it seems like the thing (or something) to do". It is something that requires some degree of commitment, considerable preparation, and a sense of bigger picture and how it will fit with your interests and goals, personal and/or professional.

The thing to keep in mind is the considerable investment you will be making, as most Ph.D. programs I'm aware of are about 5 years, sometimes longer. From my own viewpoint, after one year, you can foreseeably bail out of a Ph.D. with not too much damage, deciding it's not for you and not much has been lost. However, I think that even by the end of two years, it's already considerably more difficult to bail out, knowing the time, money, and energy you've already put in. By the third year, in my view there's pretty much no going back without significant feelings of heartache and wasted time, money, effort, etc. unless your graduate program experience has been truly awful and just about anything else would be a better alternative.

2) The other thing to keep in mind (if it applies to your case) is the issue of mentoring/advising, as most graduate programs I'm aware of have some sort of mentoring model. Many graduate advisors are well attuned to that notion I've described above, of how much their students have invested over time towards their goal of obtaining a degree. BE SURE you gather as much info as you can as to whether or not the person you are considering as a potential mentor is reasonably sane and genuinely cares about their students (beat the grapevine, usually in the academic world advisors' reputations precede them). Ask yourself if you are ready for the possibility of deferring to people for 4, 5, or even greater number of years. Even if you get the nicest, most caring advisor in the world, that inherent power differential and sense of working UNDER someone is almost always implicitly there. Graduate school is not for everyone. It can exact a pretty heavy psychological toll, again, especially as the years roll by and the stakes get higher and higher.

What do you have in mind to do long-term, jel? If you're planning on going on to teach (at the college level, anyway) a PhD is pretty much a necessity. As many others have said, if it just seems like something to do while you think of what you'll do with your life, it may not be the best idea. I'm finishing up my Master's in English right now, and I've -- thank god! -- finished my applications for PhD programs. I've been teaching these past two years, and it's been really very satisfying for me. But it's not for everyone. There is a lot of frustration and bs to wade through, but the love of learning and teaching can outshine that. If it doesn't, you may want to look elsewhere.

what did you end up doing, jel?