PhD FAQs: 9 questions from first-year doctoral students

Niles Zhao & Juerong Qiu

Commencing a PhD is no joke. You may be overwhelmed by the coursework subjects and numerous workshops in these three weeks. We spoke to several first-year doctoral students to brainstorm some questions they had and invited some 4th-year PhD candidates and Amy from our amazing Arts GR team to answer those questions. Here’s what we came up with:

How do you plan your PhD journey?

It involved a lot of careful and written planning! At first, I set up a very strict schedule, being that I’d be at the university working from 9-5 every day. I also laid out an entire outline for my thesis using sticky notes tacked onto large scrolls. I became a lot less structured throughout the PhD, as everything always changed, but the initial planning was beneficial to my progress, I think. (Orrin, 4th-year PhD student, President of the SOLL Postgrad Club)

I didn’t have a plan until the second year, and I was quite anxious for more than a year. It didn’t become clear until I started collecting some data, after which I felt more confident and started thinking about publications. (Yizhou, 4th-year PhD student, Graduate Research Teaching Fellow)

What should I achieve each year?

For the first year (or nine months in the case of SOLL), it is expected that you have a feasible and fully developed proposal by the time of confirmation. To achieve that, you need to read literature related to your project and meet with your supervisors on a regular basis to finalise the research questions and design. For requirements for the confirmation, please refer to Question 5.

In the second year, data collection should be completed. If your project involves human participants, you need to get your ethics application approved before collecting data.

The third year is for data analysis and writing up the thesis. It would be good to have a full draft by the end of the third year. You may also consider presenting at academic conferences and editing some chapters for publications.

In the first half of the fourth year, you need to prepare for the completion seminar and revise your thesis for submission. Job hunting usually starts in the second half of the fourth year after submission, but you may start early if that’s when recruitment happens in the country/ region where you plan to work. While waiting for your thesis examination results, you can start considering getting your thesis published. For more information, you can visit the Faculty of Arts website. (SOLL Blog team)

What PhD electives should I choose?

You need to discuss PhD elective subjects with your supervisors. There are two points that we want to note, though. First, each elective is only 12 hours (six two-hour seminars). It would be unreasonable to expect to learn to master a complicated quantitative technique. What can be achieved is to have a better understanding of some topics and get to know your fellow PhD students. Second, upon consultation with your supervisors, it is possible to replace two PhD electives with one master-level subject especially when this subject is very closely related to your PhD project. (SOLL Blog team)

What do I need to prepare for pre-confirmation?

A pre-confirmation meeting is the first progress review meeting for PhD candidates. For Arts PhD candidates, this process occurs around 4-4.5 months after commencing. The meeting is an opportunity for the candidate and full advisory panel to agree to the framework for the project and clarify the expectations and timelines for its completion.

Normally candidates are required to provide a research plan outlining the activities in preparation for the confirmation. The primary aim of pre-confirmation is to ensure the candidate is making adequate progress and is on track to confirm their candidature at 9 months full time equivalent. The University Graduate Research Hub outlines the key points to consider when preparing for pre-confirmation. (Amy, Team Leader, Graduate Research, Academic Support Office)

What are the differences between pre-confirmation and confirmation?

The confirmation process provides an opportunity for the candidate to submit and obtain feedback on a plan for the structure of their research project. The confirmation review usually involves both an oral presentation and a written report. Visit the website for more details and faculty milestones guidelines. (Amy)

What funding opportunities are available for PhD students?

Research support funding is available to graduate researchers post Confirmation. SOLL PhD Researchers are eligible to apply for up to $2000 essential costs associated with their research. The school will provide additional funds to support PhD research data collection costs associated with research participants up to $2000. PhD Candidates can apply for up to $2000 towards undertaking research-related activities that will enhance their thesis through GRATS. Eligible PhD Candidates may apply for an AGRIG or PhD Fieldwork Grant to support essential research travel or fieldwork. (Amy)

A series of candidature videos are saved in the Orientation and Induction resources module in the Arts GR LMS Community.

Come along to a Q&A session organized by the Arts GR team on the 28 March (10:30 am – 11:30 am) to ask questions! Click here to register.

You can also email the Arts GR team (arts-gr@unimelb.edu.au). They will guide you through the application process.

Faculty and School newsletters or newsletters from professional organisations also include some external funding opportunities. See this post for tips on external grant applications.

How do I adjust my proposed topic if the data collection is affected by the pandemic?

Find out Leila’s solution in one of our graduate researcher series.

How do I improve academic work-life balance?

Balancing life and research is very taxing. Doing a PhD is a very isolating experience, and those outside of academia won’t see the amount of work you’re putting into your career development. You’ll feel left behind and indolent, even though it’s not true that you are. I suppose my advice would be to make friends with your colleagues and try to socialize with them outside of the university, as they’ll understand. (Orrin)

What is your plan after graduation?

Doing the PhD has not been a fulfilling experience for me, though I’ve loved getting to know the other students here. I find that a lot of academia nowadays is filled with abstract thoughts about things that don’t matter. I’d initially planned on becoming a professor, but now I feel like my skills would contribute more to society within the corporate sector, preferably at a big-name company or firm. (Orrin)

Leila and Yizhou have answered this question in their interviews.