About PhD programs

Ross Woods, 2023

Universal PhD requirements

Every modern PhD program requires the following:

  1. Intellectual rigor
    It must be done in a field of study that requires intellectual rigor.
  2. Theory
    The research must relate to the theory of the topic, even if it has obvious practical benefits. A purely practical work is not acceptable.
  3. Original contribution to knowledge
    This normally means a work of original research. Original usually means that the research must answer a unique question or problem. However, it may also provide a new and better answer to an existing question or problem.
  4. Significant
    The results must be important enough to answer the questions: So what? Who cares? and Why bother?
  5. Valid
    The methodology must produce a valid result.
  6. Ethical
    Methods must comply with ethical standards, e.g. referencing the work of others, work ethically with human and animal subjects.
  7. Written
    Dissertations must be written in a style that conforms to the standards of academic publications addressed to a research community. Dissertations are written very much like a book manuscript presented to a publisher, although most dissertations are too specialized to be published for a wide readership.
  8. Peer in the research community*
    Candidates must demonstrate themselves to be a peer participant in the research community. They can share research with their peers, accept the research of others, and discuss research as a fellow researcher. Some supervisors deliberately look for the upper limits of the student's ability.
  9. Work independently*
    Candidates must demonstrate enough initiative to run their own research, work ethically, and reach valid conclusions. They can correct their own mistakes and notice any necessary improvements. Consequently, if a student depends so heavily on supervisors that they cannot work independently, the supervisor is entitled to terminate them from the program.
* Required but not usually written down as requirements.

Different kinds of programs

  1. Dissertation only
    In some countries, the program is to write a dissertation and defend it. There is no coursework, and any research preparation is a prerequisite for admission.
  2. Research internship
    The PhD is a research internship that comprises much more than the dissertation. The student might be assigned assistant roles in other research, work in a team as part of a larger project, and/or teach university courses.
  3. Series of coursework units
    In some programs, students go through the coursework as if the units were not very different from any other coursework units, although the way they are taught is more challenging. The dissertation is a special kind of unit.
  4. Integrated coursework and dissertation
    In another variation, students go through the coursework units to define a topic, write a literature review, and write a methodology plan. These eventually become the first three chapters of the dissertation: Introduction, Literature Review, and Methodology.

Variations

  1. Despite the requirement of intellectual rigor, the dissertation length and nature of knowledge vary greatly according to the discipline; for example, a dissertation in mathematics is very different from an ethnographic study.
  2. Some PhD programs allow critical reviews as long as they add up to an original contribution. Some don't allow critical reviews at all.
  3. Some allow wholly original ideas. Others require that new topics grow out of the existing research literature.
  4. Programs vary greatly in the amount of collaboration. Some student's work is almost completely solitary, while others work in a team.
  5. Some departments require (or strongly encourage) students to collect new raw data in the field. Others allow students to work with existing datasets.
  6. Dissertations were once given orally, but this practice ceased in the 19th century.
  7. In one PhD program in creative writing, students write a creative work and then an exposition. Students must make an original contribution to the theory of the subject but it is not research in the normal sense.
  8. Some PhD programs allow unique new interpretations of existing information.

Different financial models

  1. Students pay fees, just like any other program. In practice, this means they must often apply for their own grants or get loans.
  2. The government pays for everything, including providing a student stipend.
  3. The research funder pays for the program, including a student stipend. This might be a private organization or a government department under contract.
  4. The student is required to teach as part of the PhD, effectively earning a stipend.
  5. The institution provides a scholarship, either as reduced fees or as a bursary. Scholarships usually, probably always, come with conditions attached, so applicants need to understand them and be willing to accept them. Conditions might include research area or topic, specific research funding, living allowances, research costs, time limits, and reporting.