Episode 7 - The 10 Steps of the PhD Process: Part 1 [Steps 1-5]
What steps does an individual take in order to earn their PhD? On this episode, I share steps 1-5 out of the 10 steps of the PhD Process. This episode is part one of a two part segment, so please also check out the other part/episode.
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Here is a transcription of Episode 7:
0:17: Hello and welcome to the Broke PhD Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. G.
0:24: This episode of Broke PhD Podcasts will be part one of a two-part segment titled “The 10 Steps of the PhD Process”. On this episode I will share steps one through five. I want to preface by saying I'm sharing about my own experience as an individual who has gone through a special education PhD program. So please keep in mind that the requirements for the educational program that you may be currently in or that you may be interested in participating in, in the near future, may either be more similar or may differ from what I share in this segment. Nonetheless, I hope that the insight that I share can still aid you as you navigate along your own educational journey.
1:06: For steps, one through five, I like to think of them as collectively being a part of the Before Dissertation Era, as each of these steps are actions that occur before doing dissertation related or dissertation specific things. With that all said, the first step of the dissertation process is to apply and to be accepted into your respective PhD or doctoral program. For me, I decided to take the approach of putting all my eggs into one basket, as I only had applied to one doctoral program. When I was looking for programs and I was going through the process of deciding which would be a best fit for me, I found that there really was one program that worked with what I wanted. I wanted to do a PhD program. I wanted to do a program that was online only in my area of special education and I was able to find that. And so with that, I really put all my eggs into one basket and took the leap and just applied to that program. And fortunately it worked out that I got accepted and I was able to do the program that I wanted to. In hindsight, I probably would not recommend this for anybody to do that approach. I would definitely try to put your eggs into multiple baskets, if possible, to really open your opportunities and widen your search to try to find multiple programs that you can apply for just to be on the safe side. Again, it's better safe than to be sorry. But if there is only one program that peaks your interest and that fits what you are looking for in a doctoral or PhD program, then I say go for it. Put all your eggs into that one basket and see what happens, because you never know.
2:48: I didn't know what was gonna happen. I had to take a GRE for my process and in transparency my writing score was not the greatest and so I was worried that that would be something that would hinder me from getting accepted. But I was fortunate enough that my program didn't weight as much emphasis on the GRE scores. And some other programs tend to do the same where the GRE scores may not matter and they're trying to look at the holistic applicant. And so that's something to consider too, is that even if your scores aren't where you would like them to be or up to par in your eyes, still try because you never know what can happen. I've definitely heard and read stories from other individuals that they didn't have the set benchmarks that they thought they would need to get into their program, but they were still able to get in and are doing successful in their program currently or have finished their program. So again, if you don't have those scores that you may have desired or that you may have been seeking, sometimes programs are fully looking for the holistic applicant and not just focused on those scores themselves. But on the flip side, there are some programs that do focus on scores and so that's something to consider. But you never know if you don't try, so I highly encourage you just to give it a shot and see what happens.
4:03: Step two of the PhD process is to complete the required coursework. Typically programs will outline the coursework or the classes that an individual needs to complete throughout their program. And depending on how many credits you have to take and how many classes you have to take can also impact how long your program will last or the length of time that it will take you to complete your program
4:27: Step three of the PhD process is to complete any additional requirements outside of the required coursework. For my program, we were required to complete what we called matrix projects, and these were projects that we have proposed earlier on in our program that would comprise the items that we would talk about during our oral examination. And these projects included and could be comprised of externships that we were part of, presentations we were part of, any pilot studies that we might have wanted to conduct before we kind of focused on our dissertation research, or any manuscripts that we were part of, any collaborative manuscripts that we were part of. And for our matrix projects, they fell under certain categories to kind of help us develop skills within the categories that were outlined for our specific program. But for you listeners out there, please keep in mind that these additional requirements will vary dependent on your respective program. For some of you, you might have to complete a certain amount of hours in order to meet a certain licensure that you'll get at the end of your program. For others, you might have to participate in internships or externships. For some of you, you may have to conduct a certain amount of research studies or be a part of a certain amount of presentations or conference experiences for your respective program. So all of these additional requirements again, will vary. But, most programs tend to have some additional requirements outside of their coursework that the students have to complete before being allowed to fully embark on the dissertation part of their program.
6:05: For the next two steps, I will say that they can happen simultaneously or they might happen in reverse order from what I'm sharing in this segment. Again, I'm going from my own experience and this is the order that I took them in. But I did want to preface that so that you listeners out there had the insight and awareness that sometimes the oral and written examination are taken together. Or they might be taken in a different order from what I'm sharing in this episode. Step four is to pass a written examination and step five is to pass an oral examination. For my written examination, I was required to write a manuscript that was rooted in theory. Now I will say after I completed my written examination my program has since gone on to revamp their written examination. The new requirements for the examination involved students being given several writing prompts to choose from, having to pick, I believe, about three of those prompts, and having to write manuscripts of certain lengths meeting the requirements outlined for each of those prompts. And the students were also given a certain amount of time to complete their respective examinations so that they could be submitted for evaluation. Now this process might sound similar to what you have experienced in your own program or it might sound different from what you've experienced in your own program. If that resonates with you in any way, please feel free to reach out via the podcast website - brokephdpodcast.com - or via any of the social media outlets and share with me about your own experience going through your written examination.
7:46: For step five, for my oral examination, as I mentioned earlier, my program required that I completed matrix projects. And so for my oral examination, I shared about the six different projects that I completed and then I was asked various questions from my dissertation committee as well as anyone who sat in on my oral defense. They were able to ask me questions too pertaining to my specific projects along with trying to extend my knowledge beyond my projects. As I've mentioned before, this process might look different for others and if that again resonates with you, please feel free to share about your experience via the podcast website - brokephdpodcast.com - or via any of the social media outlets and I would love to hear about your experience going through your written examination or your oral examination.
8:36: So in summary, these Before Dissertation Era steps, steps one through five, had included step one - to apply and to be accepted into your respective PhD or doctoral program, step two -completing required coursework, step three - completing additional requirements outside of coursework, step four - passing a written examination, and step five - passing an oral examination. After hearing these first five steps of the PhD process, I ask you, the listener, to please pause and reflect about your own experience. Do any of the steps resonate with what you have gone through, or are they completely different from what you went through? I ask you to please share with me about your own experience via the podcast website - brokephdpodcast.com - or via any of the social media outlets. I ask you to please tune in to episode eight where I share the last five steps of the 10 steps of the PhD process.
9:39: Again, I share about my experiences with the hope that even one listener can feel less alone. Embarking on any type of educational journey is not an easy feat. So I call on you, the listener, to share this podcast with your colleagues and to engage in conversation with your peers. So that you can all navigate this journey collectively rather than feeling like you're braving storms on your own. Well that concludes this episode, but I am so excited to have you on this journey with me. So please hit that subscribe button or that follow button. And check out the website - brokephdpodcast.com - to continue to follow along. Thank you for listening and no matter where you are in your own journey, remember – You Got This! Again, I'm your host, Dr. G, and I hope you have a wonderful day!