Introduction
Welcome to this first post on PhD Tips and Dissertation Advice.
I decided to start this blog as a way to share some helpful tips for those in the pre- or current stage of a doctoral dissertation.
Whether you’re contemplating a run at a doctorate, are in the throes of the application process and orienting yourself to the overall project, or you’ve started your research / writing, there’s bound to be something in these words that can be of use to you.
A Few Words of Orientation
My words will be most applicable to those who are working on a British PhD, in the field of Biblical Studies / New Testament. Beyond that, you’ll have to extrapolate for your own particular discipline or region of the world.
The British model, like most of Europe, is a dissertation only model. This means you are accepted to a PhD program based on the viability of your dissertation topic and, generally speaking, you begin researching for your dissertation immediately. The writing of the thesis takes about 3-4 years full-time. I have been working on my dissertation for the past 15 months.
It is perhaps best to start at the beginning to share some things that might be helpful as you think about pursuing a PhD.
Pre-PhD Work
First and foremost, try to make the most of your pre-PhD academic opportunities. For most people this means a Master of Arts, Masters of Divinity, ThM or some combination thereof.
If you even have an inkling that you will one day pursue a PhD (and for me, the feeling was there early and consistently throughout) then take advantage of the academic resources and opportunities you will have to better prepare for this time. What does this entail?
- Think through your master programs carefully, crafting it to give you an advantage going into a PhD. Make your studies focused. Take courses in one particular discipline, on one particular book, write term papers about ideas for a dissertation.
- Get to know your professors well, talk to them at length about the PhD process and about ideas for a dissertation.
- You will need to be able to translate French, German, Latin, Hebrew and Greek at a minimum if you are doing work in Biblical Studies so you might as well use some of your course work to get that out-of-the-way. The MDIV does a good job of giving you Hebrew and Greek but there are no requirements for the other languages.
- Consider doing a ThM, which is an excellent degree in preparation for a PhD. It is not required to get into a PhD program, but it does allow you to take 8 or more courses in one particular subject. The work is harder, you may be required to take a research methods course which is extremely beneficial to you and you can even take a stab at writing a 40-80 page thesis paper. (The average dissertation is about 250-300 pages, so if you end up liking your masters thesis, you may be able to slip right into writing your doctoral dissertation.)
In short, you want to be better prepared when you arrive at the decision to apply to a PhD program and when you begin writing your dissertation. Your pre-PhD academic work is the time to test out ideas, gain knowledge, network and fill out any academic gaps you might have.
Recommended Books
There are three books that are worth reading prior to applying to a PhD program:
It is not specific to any particular discipline; however, it simply begins to orient you to the nature of the beast. There is so much to learn about the PhD process that it won’t be possible to grasp every concept the first time through.
I found it helpful to read the book about every 6 months or so after I had some experience in researching and writing.
2) Authoring a PhD Thesis: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Dissertation
This book is more of the nitty, gritty of actual writing, which includes the mechanics, suggested lengths and time frames of the writing process as well as the planning, drafting and writing phases of a dissertation.
Again, it is a lot to absorb and it is applicable to any discipline. Still, it was very useful to begin understanding the writing process itself.
3) The last book I would recommend as a start is Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day
Essentially, the book advises you to sit down and begin writing down your PhD thoughts and ideas for at least 15 minutes every day. This can include ideas for a dissertation topic, specific chapters, specific directions or methodologies you might want to use, interactions with authors, books or scriptures, etc.
If you get into the habit of doing this you will have several pages of written text within a few short weeks that you can begin to sift through to give you ideas for your dissertation, to help you sort through problems in your writing and to help you organize your thesis and so on…
Early on, I put this idea to the test and I ended up with nearly 30 pages of written text. As I read and reread my text, I noticed certain patterns that kept appearing, certain questions that were being highlighted. These patterns, ideas and questions, went on to become the topic of my dissertation.
Conclusion
Well that’s about all for this first post.
To recap, you should be maximizing your pre-PhD academic opportunities, orienting yourself to the PhD process and writing in general, and finally, beginning to log 15 minutes of sustained writing to help you think through some important issues in your PhD work.
Happy researching!
