I've started working on my PH.D. in Eng. Comp. & Rhetoric and I worry that my dissertaion will take YEARS !

Question

I'm worried that the dissertation is going to take YEARS to finish. Have any of you received your Ph.D.? How long did it take you? Were you satisfied with your dissertation or are you basically finished when your graduate comittee says it's good enough?

Answer 1

Depending on the school that you are attending, whether you are full time, working, etc. your Dean and Committee should be working with you to help expedite the time. Some schools have designed their Ph.D. programs to be as flexible as possible, in order to allow students to customize their course work and their Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations to fit their own intellectual interests. As a result they havevery few fixed requirements in order to allow each student’s course of study to be shaped in close consultation with faculty mentors. Students are encouraged to take seminars in other programs to gain experience of various forms of critical theory and its history. I have received my PHD, but I have been studying and assisting my friend who is working on hers in English Literature/Instruction. It took her 18 months to complete her Masters and she took a short break before starting her Doctorate courses. The program that she is studying was a 2-year program. The balance of the work is basically on 'her'. She meets with her committee once a week and she is really getting through a lot faster than I thought. While she is writing a book - the final part of her study will include her working and examining a school system in Australia to compare. I dont' think it will take you five years - but - hey -don't stress yourself out. You'll be just as happy 2 years from now with your doctorate as 5 years. I know I will. The extra $$$ will be necessary to pay back the loans. (smile)

Answer 2

You mean, how did we get the experience we have now, and how do you follow in our footsteps? Great question- keep doing what you are doing. Go find a mentor, and pick a subject - either breeding, showing, or competition, but find the oldest and the best person you can- and carry their stuff, and get them coffee and lunch, and whatever they need. The more you can stick by them, the more you learn- and you won't know when that will be, it can be anytime they will say something that will be truly a gem of information. When I was a teen, I was volunteering in a vet's office - cleaning cages and observing surgeries. It was a small clinic, and we could do that. I worked at a stable, too, on the weekends. But mostly, I had a mutt... Much, much later, I made the acquaintance of a wonderful woman who raised some of the best dogs in the country, and is a multi-breed judge. I went to the shows with her and observed at ringside - I got lunch, and ran errands, and in general was her gopher - and the education she gave me in return while we sat at the opposite corner of the ring from the working judge...was priceless. She taught me how to select trhe parents of a litter by looking to the grandparents and otehr ancestors - and how to raise calm, well adjusted puppies that have been a joy to their families. Find someone who is respected in their field- whether it be training, raising great dogs, or judging, and ask them if they will mentor you. You will find someone, because good stewards of any breed will respect the fact that you want to learn - and be on time wherever you go, neatly dressed, and ready to do whatever it is that is planned for the day. You'll get there! And yes, I can remember that far back...the important stuff doesn't get forgotten. Sometimes some of the most important lessons are the ones you learn from your first mutt, so don't forget to listen to them, too.

Answer 3

Having finished a PhD program in American literature, I had many friends who obtained their doctoral degrees in rhet/comp. Usually, five years is expected in a doctoral program: two years for course work, one year for qualifying exam study, and two years for the dissertation. I was able to finish just under the wire of 5 years only because I felt the financial strain of losing my teaching assistantship, and I knew I wouldn't be able to work at a full-time job and complete the dissertation, too.

The best route to take is to choose for your committee the professors with whom you enjoy working and who inspire you to do your best work. They will guide you toward a focused dissertation and will probably allow you to work on individual chapters as seminar papers within their classes.

I've never known of anyone who was totally satisfied with their dissertation. Try not to suffer from the Magnum Opus syndrome, in which you feel you have to produce the best, most exhaustive work on a given subject. You can always polish it for publication after you have passed your defense.