I was wondering, anyone here currently in or was in George Washington University's community health program? Or is there anyone here currently in or was in Drexel's public health program? If so what do you think about Drexel's community health oriented classes/program?
Hi everyone! I'm new to LJ and this community so thought I'd try introducing myself. I'm working towards a PhD with a major in English philology. I study social action online, more specifically online communities and how a sense of community is created online. I've been registered as a post-graduate student since spring 2010 but I only recently received my first grant so my work has not progressed very far yet. The grant is only small but I do now have an office at university and the opportunity to spend about 60% of my time on the PhD (I work elsewhere for the other 40%), at least for a few months, so I'm hoping to make good progress in order to convince those authorities that I'm a worth investment and should be given more grants!
It's been a long road to get to this point, and I've really struggled to get to grips on what PhD work is all about (since we don't have a lot of highly structured PhD programmes here). In the past month I've figured out that the most important ingredients for PhD success are:
a) the ability to break your project down to small pieces, and then break it down some more;
b) the ability to let go of control over the whole project; it will all come together in the end; and
c) community, i.e. the fellowship of others in the same boat as you.
The last point is especially important, since it's something I didn't have until recently. Being at university close to full-time helps, but more than anything I'm thankful that a good friend of mine has also started working on a PhD, and has become a major source of advice and comfort in helping me understand that my problems are not unique. The best form of stress-relief to me is having a cup of tea and a chat about our respective projects. Writing a PhD may be independent work but never discount the importance of sharing the experience with others doing the same! I wonder if anyone else has had similar problems of feeling aimless/not knowing how to structure your studies?
I have a day or so before I have to sign off to do one. I need advice. If you've done one, do you recommend it? Is it worthwhile? The only thing I know about it is that I get to pick 5 to 6 books to read and then I have to write a final paper that ties them all together. These books all deal with my topic for my thesis. I'd rather take an actual class, however there aren't a lot of interesting classes offered this term. Yay or Nay? Thanks!
I'm hoping you all can give me some advice as I seem to be in a bit of a bind. I'm a religion major and had always wanted to teach at the University level. I have my Master's and I am into my 3rd year of a PhD program. I'm at the point where I don't want to continue! It's not that I'm doing poorly it's more because jobs are almost impossible to come by and I really believe that all this effort is a waste of time, money, and effort. The big question I have is what do I do now? I have nothing to put on my resume except years of schooling - no real job experience. What type of job can I realistically think about applying for? Any ideas?
I'd like to hear from people who have switched into other fields after getting one postgrad degree. I'll be finishing my humanities MA in a concurrent program next year, but I've known for some time that I don't want to do a PhD in this field. I was planning on writing an MA thesis (you can do a nonthesis option also), but now I'm reconsidering that as well since my main motivation before was looking good to PhD schools within my current field. I'm kind of scraping to stick out the MA even, knowing I really don't want to go into a career in this field anymore.
I have a pretty good GPA right now but I suspect my grades from this spring will hurt it a little. I guess I'm wondering mainly:
a) if I don't write a thesis and later want to do an MA/PhD in a sort-of related or totally unrelated field, will this really hurt my chances?
b) If my GPA is just 'good' or they see that my grades slipped a bit towards the end of my program, will this really hurt my chances of getting in somewhere else for a different field? The grade slippage is partly from being disillusioned with the field, but also from other issues gong on. (By slip I mean getting B's instead of A's, so not totally failing, but still a big deal)
c)Are advisers/profs still generally willing to write you rec letters if you leave the field? What is the best way to kindly break that you're not going to do the PhD? (Am I naive to think they will even care?)
FWIW, I'm thinking if I do pursue another postgrad degree it will be something like public policy with more outside-academia applications.
Does anyone have a particular "How To Write Your Dissertation" guidebook that they recommend?
sleepy