But the trend in PhD students from the past years was to choose for a full-time job and part-time PhD or entirely devote to a full-time degree, opening the chance of getting a job or any type of paid work that requires work for just a few hours.

Another option is a part-time PhD; which is best for those who have made their mind to choose an online degree. This way, they never have to travel.

Here, I am going to talk about:

• Why many candidates prefer a part-time PhD course?
• Why choosing an institution is best for PhD scholars?
• Best tips to combine work with your PhD degree

The Best Option is a Part-Time PhD if You Like to Have a Good Job

A part-time PhD means that it will include twice as long to complete the degree; however, it can give you some benefits: After graduating, you will have a PhD degree, but you can have added some years of work experience to your CV.

Contrarily, you must not consider that a part-time PhD is easy than a full-time one. The scholars who have made their mind for part-time PhD studies usually find it more demanding as this case needs giving equal importance and attention to work and research. A PhD program means intensive research and reading work, including more learning hours, than a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree.

A significant issue part-time PhD student needs to experience is having no idea which is more practical (the PhD degree or the job). Bear in mind that a few highly demanding jobs usually involve you keep on working late, which results in investing the time supposed to be devoted to learning for the PhD at the list’s bottom with the things you can do.

The other concern of employed PhD scholars is how to explore the time to work for the PhD thesis. Because they are quite busy with their job and feel tired, they keep procrastinating the time while sitting in front of the computer or laptop to initiate their writing and research. With less time, organization, and management, a part-time PhD united with full-time work is possible. A valuable tip is to do your study at the end of office working hours, not when you come home when you are too tired already. You need to sacrifice some of the free time in the evening and devote yourself to working on the thesis during weekends.

Job Opportunities at Institutions are Best Jobs for PhD Scholars

The PhD scholars who had the chance to work at an institution (the same place they were studied), whether as a teacher or in any other post, have announced it was a great work experience, and it was pretty well-paid and flexible considering the working hours.

Many institutions post job offers for scholars; thus, it is essential to check the statements and apply before the deadline if you consider these types of opportunities. Jobs in the universities include administrative work. Other institutions concentrate on laboratory work. If you are blessed to explore a suitable position for your study, it is better. You need to do proper research for the thesis during the job and get highly paid for this.

Beneficial Tips and Tricks

If you get a collaboration or job that is relevant to your degree, this case is quite beneficial for your entire learning routine. It can keep you attentive to thinking and exploring the latest ideas for the thesis, and it can increase the likelihood of being the best PhD student.

While considering the PhD degree, choose a topic you are interested in that stimulates you. A PhD course includes hard work; however, if you prefer a subject you really love, you cannot think of the PhD as a problem or a demanding duty in the long run.

Look for the best supervisor who can supervise you for your thesis. You must prefer an instructor you admire in your PhD program or a prior degree you think you love working with. The student-supervisor relationship is crucial and will regulate your thesis’s success; good communication and constant dialogues with the supervisor are critical for keeping you free of stress and enabling stable and continued progress in the learning journey.

For more content, visit our website.

It is a relatively demanding process to write a motivation letter for PhD studies; however, never be disappointed! If you know some essential tips and principles, you will get through the process quickly.

The significance of a motivation letter is in the fact that it allows the admission committee to differentiate between outstanding scholars and excellent students. Both will be successful in becoming the best research scholars; however, the admission committee will think about the exceptional students will bring a significant contribution to the university’s research community.

Demonstrating that you are an outstanding student does not essentially depend on what you write; however, more on the way of your writing, particularly the tone you use and the enthusiasm level you express in the letter.

All About Motivation Letter

A motivation letter must include a short introduction explaining the program you like to apply for.

First, explain a clear career goal of your impending research and the reasons for preferring this specific PhD program.

This letter must include all the information about your prior professional and academic experience. Besides, you can provide the research and teaching experience, work outside the educational place, and volunteer, given that all are related, regarding knowledge and skills you learned. All the expertise must link to your preferred PhD program, as you need to explain how your professional and academic achievements make you an ideal candidate for the PhD program you are applying for.

What has Driven You to Do a PhD? Main Text of Motivation Letter

Depending on the background knowledge you provide, you need to demonstrate 3 to 4 essential factors that drive you to go for a PhD.

A recent piece of research reveals that the PhD application can be motivated by numerous factors, like:

• The aspiration to learn and discover new stuff
• Passion for teaching and research work
• Readiness to improve career opportunities

You should clearly explain what drives you and what you want to achieve due to this PhD.

If you have any academic journal publications, you must mention them and give evidence or details of your published content.

Write some of your qualities and focus on how they can be considered valuable for your research topic and your study field in general.

Closing of Motivation Letter

At the end of the motivation letter, write some sentences on your research impact on your life, study area, and society. It will assist you in explaining the significance of your study in the context of a significant picture. Mostly, show how the university and scientific community can get an advantage from taking you as a scholar.

Besides, you must state that you know that PhD programs they offer attract numerous competitive and prospective candidates.

Usually, a motivation letter must not go more than one page. The ability to show the impact and value of your research project, passion for the research topic, and a clear structure is all you need to succeed.

Statements and Details, You Must Avoid in the Motivation Letter

You must not include fake achievements, facts and must not try to use pompous metaphors and make an overstatement. The team from the admission committee will find out if the motivation letter is real or fake.

Do not use cliché such as “I am always fascinated by scientific research,” my ambition is to take scientific research to the top level,” “I am motivated to study ABC,” or “It is my childhood dream.”

Do not try to appreciate the institution too much, and never close your motivation letter with something such as “it will be an honor to get enrolled for a PhD in this university.”

Essential Things to Remember While Writing a Motivation Letter

Essential details you must focus on throughout the motivation letter include your interest in the PhD program and the field you choose to study and the experience you had. Don’t forget to keep a serious and professional tone; however, at the same time, be enthusiastic and positive.

For more content, visit our website. Especially, we recommend 10 Tips to Prepare Your PhD Application. I wish you the best of luck!

Onboarding your team

The way that you introduce the concept of time tracking to your team can impact how they are able to track time. There are many tips from Tracktime24 that can help you get your team onboard:

Provide them with the presentation

Although your workers may not want to have an additional meeting, it’s important to introduce them to these new tools. Everybody should be on the same page. It gives you a great opportunity to connect with your workers about their concerns and any questions that they may have.

Here are a few things that you up to talk about:

Understanding the benefits – You need to go over all of the reasons that tracking time is important. It’s a good idea to show invoices or sample reports that can help them understand this information.

Understanding their options – When they are going to start using this tool, they will likely do this in several different ways which may include the use of applications on the desktop or mobile devices, allowing them to use browser extensions that can integrate easily with the jobs that they are responsible for. This will ensure that they can track time and you can do this through educating them. You can also show them what would be best suited for their particular position and what they are most likely to benefit from.

Show them a timer – Logging time is something that must be done on a spreadsheet, and by introducing these concepts, it can help them out. You will want to show them how to stop and start the timer, something that they will assume will be very difficult to do. After they have tried this out, they will discover it’s very easy. By giving them a quick demo, they will understand the process.

Set a schedule

If they are able to maintain a consistent schedule, this can reduce the stress that they are likely feeling at their job. Also get them due dates for when the timesheets are due. Many of the organizations will choose Monday or Friday as that date. Once they are completed, you can then follow up with them to go over the information.

Don’t forget to tell them, during the week, to focus on time tracking. A Slack reminder might be the best way to do this. When you are having them learn how to use a tracking tool, you need to remember that it is advantageous for them to use the systems.

Create a legend

Tracking time is something that your team can do when they are working with a project, client, and they will discover how useful all of this is. For many people, they may not be clear as to what they should be tracking. Is this going to be for development or design? Perhaps they are trying to craft a blog post and if that is the case, do they need to use this for conceiving their content?

By creating a legend, you can show them how to complete each task and project. This will allow them to become more proficient when attending meetings or using emails. It’s a great way to show them that the tracking tool is going to help them with all of their new projects as well.

Assign accountability to somebody

In reality, when you start to track time, it’s possible that, every now and then, even your best teams are going to have some problems. You should give them reminders, from time to time, just to make sure they get everything done.

By making someone the accountable person for those they are responsible for, you can add this to their job description and see what happens. Therefore, by having one team member that is responsible, you can get feedback just from them, which is a fantastic way to get everyone engaged with the entire process suggests Justin Barrett.

Don’t neglect to consider new employees

If you have all of your questions answered, and the team witnessed a great presentation, not everybody is going to understand. This may include the new people that you have recently hired and they will need to go through this onboarding process. By sitting down with each of these individuals, perhaps just for 10 minutes or so, you can show them how to use the time tracking tool and also go over their responsibilities. If you have clearly communicated everything to them, including your expectations for their new job, they are likely to be more open to using this time tracking tool.

Get more tips for your career from PhDCareerGuide.com, e.g. 9 Alternative Careers for PhD Science Graduates.

The way to complete a PhD degree is not similar to a walk in a park; you may face numerous stumbles along the way, a reason for you to be confident about your preferred PhD abroad program.

Therefore, why do students get a PhD degree?

Improve Career Opportunities

One of the most apparent reasons is improving an individual’s career opportunities. Whether you will love to carry on working in academia or start your career in the industry, a PhD abroad is a highly valued factor that can improve your career opportunities. You need to be vigilant, though, as in some jobs, having a PhD can be difficult.

You can be seen as ‘too academic,’ mainly if you do not have experience outside the academic world. Due to this, if this motivation drives you, it is suggested to check the requirements for the jobs in advance. It will give you the idea of whether a PhD abroad can help you or not.

Make a Significant Difference in the World of Research

Can a PhD abroad make a difference in the research world? Well! Of course, PhD can. I consider it is significant that there are numerous altruists among us who have made their minds to devote 3 – 4 years of their lives to contribute to their knowledge arena.

With a PhD, you can do in-depth research, and in this way, you can differentiate yourself from other non-PhD scholars.

100% Interest or Passion for a Research Subject

Well! The next option is that perhaps you are sincerely passionate about a research subject. A significant characteristic of a great researcher is his/her curiosity. If you have a serious interest, it is sufficient for you to manage all the hurdles of a PhD journey and be prosperous.

The academic experts explain that interest in the topic will help you overcome any difficulty during your degree, and it will help you become an expert when it comes to the research proposal, which eventually leads to an outstanding thesis.

Get Funding for Your Research Work

The financial aspect must not be neglected while deciding to take the PhD. Numerous institutions offer scholarships to do research projects, which means that you will get a monthly stipend for your research project. It differs based on university and country; however, it is enough to do a full-time study without including any other activity in most situations.

But, in most situations, funded PhD abroad degrees are accessible for predefined research work. These are PhDs recommended by universities, including a particular topic or theme.

To make it easy regarding the right topic and including a PhD abroad cost, some students choose the same degrees funded by different universities.

The Next Step After a Master’s or Bachelor’s Program is a PhD

Some individuals do their PhDs as they have no idea what they can do. You can see yourself at the crossroads, and the future picture is not clear. In this situation, the prospects of a PhD abroad may appear better than other choices.

Unluckily, this kind of motivation does not make your PhD abroad journey easy; thus, it is excellent to think twice before making your decision.

Taking a break between your PhD degree and last graduated school or undertake a work opportunity and an internship is a great suggestion. This case will offer you a great view of what you must do about your higher studies.

Think it Before Choosing to Pursue Your PhD Degree

Similar to other learning journeys, a PhD suggests understanding oneself and evolving one’s potential. Knowing why you like to do your PhD is the first crucial step that can ensure your journey’s success. Spend your time thinking about it!

For more, click here.

Here are a few things you must consider before going abroad for your PhD course. So, let us start without any delay!

Choose a Subject or Topic for Your PhD Course

For some PhD scholars, figuring out the right topic for your PhD course is relatively easy; however, it may appear like a walk in the maze for other people. In any situation, you must explore your preferred topic in-depth and see if you can ultimately change it into some research questions you can answer. Your thesis for a PhD program must reflect validity and originality as well.

Additionally, you should consider the subjects you are interested in or passionate about and see how they can be the subject of your PhD thesis. If you know a research topic that fits in this aspect: it is something you are involved in finding out, and simultaneously, it is entirely feasible for a PhD course; you are lucky! You have found the best topic for your PhD course.

Look for the Best Supervisor

While the organization of PhD education is becoming centralized in European institutions, the model of supervision is yet strong. Well! You must find out a supervisor that is a professional on your proposed subject, do not choose the one who has general information about the topic and needs to further reading and research to give unified commands. This case will indeed create a gap and a delay as you progress with your research. But never underestimate the significance of interpersonal chemistry!

When you have found the best supervisor, send an email explaining your interests, inquiring whether they may be interested in being your supervisor. To ensure excellent supervision, it is essential to gain some information about your teacher’s personality and how he/she works in this role. If you can – and travel time and costs are pocket-friendly – try to set a one-to-one discussion to talk about your subject of interest. If it is not possible, Skype or telephone meeting is a great option.

Usually, supervisors offer information about their PhD scholars on their site; thus, you can find it valuable to approach some candidates to ask for more information about their supervision style. It will help you decide while the supervisor is the best individual for you.

A good supervisor will inspect the quality of your research experiences, and he/she can affect your career through professional mentoring and networks.

Find Out Universities Offering PhD Courses

Numerous prospective individuals have experienced this dilemma: Supervisor or university – which is more significant? In most situations, renowned academics are in some famous universities; however, there are pretty high-profile and experienced academics. You must know the pros and cons and decide the best combination of supervisor – university for you.

Favoring the university over academics cannot be an excellent tactic; your thesis result is the most valued aspect of the PhD for both professional and personal purposes. After completing your PhD course, future employers will be highly interested in your field, the individuals you coordinated with, and your chosen research topic.

Decide if You Need to Study Your PhD Abroad

The prospective PhD students may start their search by choosing the place they need to pursue their degree. Aligning the parameters for your research is an essential priority – institution/supervisor/topic – with a geographical preference.

Think about the below-mentioned things:

• How is PhD education organized?
• What are the status of the research system and higher education?
• Which funding sources are accessible?
• What is the status of the doctorate degree?
• Where will you want to stay for at least three years of your life? Do you like the lifestyle in that state?

Do comprehensive research, get all the answers to the above-listed questions, and find the right balance that will make your abroad experience enriching, comfortable, and complete.

Are You Qualified to Get a PhD in a Country?

In many higher educational universities, a Bachelor’s degree (first-class degree) or a Master’s degree (second graduate degree) is the crucial entry requisite; you must check out the PhD admission requirement policies before applying. In some states, the rules and regulations are strict or have high standards, and you may need to translate your education and create whether they meet a minimum expectation.

Visa Requisite for a PhD Abroad

While applying for a PhD abroad, you need to deal with the process of visa application. If your preferred degree is in the EU and you are not an EU candidate, you must check the visa requirements and the PhD cost in that country.

The postgraduate scholars from any EEA (European Economic Area) country (plus Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Norway) and Switzerland’s residents do not need visas to go to other EEA countries.

International students who decide to study for a PhD in the US need to apply for F – 1 student visa.

How can You Pay for International PhD?

A PhD is a substantial financial and educational investment, and you must be fully clued about the funding arranging before committing to 3 – 4 years of the PhD course. Do you have interest in funded PhDs, or can you be able to self-fund? In any way, you must think about the apparent – and unseen – costs, which include living expenses, accommodation expenses, institutional administrative costs/fees, and traveling/conference charges, if you make your mind to go for your PhD abroad.

The costs can differ by country, region, and institution. Likewise, stipends, bursaries, and scholarships also vary by funding country and body. For example, In Australian institutions, such as the Faculty of Economics and Business in Melbourne Business School, provide to support your living expenses and tuition fee in a handsome scholarship for a person accepted to their PhD course.

Additionally, always remember the loss of amount you earn by withdrawing from the job for around 3 – 4 years. Contrarily, various theories show that most successful PhD scholars are those who take a break of one or two years between a Master’s/Bachelor’s degree and a PhD course. During that time, they can apply for a job and get perspective and figure out what they are interested in regarding the future career objectives.

Are You Ready to Apply for Your Preferred PhD?

After considering all the factors and giving serious thought, a thing that needs to be done is to prepare all the paperwork and apply for a PhD course. Still, you can face various setbacks along with way; however, in the end, all that matters is the final result. You need to bear it in mind and stay motivated and positive!

For more, visit our website.

Though both PhDs and Masters are regarded as graduate studies, there are substantial differences between both degree levels.

Skill Acquisition vs. Research

The Master’s program is inherently interdisciplinary, mixing teaching styles and curriculum from different disciplines to ensure students gain particular tools and skills for a diverse palette of future careers.

However, PhDs are intended to be individual research endeavors, with less guidance from departments and professors, targeting to confirm the answer to a particular question.

Therefore, you must choose a second Master’s if you need to know something, and a PhD if you like to be a professional in your profession.

The Difference in the Duration of Both Degrees

Although a Master’s degree has four semesters, some degrees offer the chance to condense the studies in 18 months or one year. Usually, PhDs take over three years to complete, based on the graduate school and the subject.

It must affect your decision, offering the different time it takes before a diploma turns out to be a career asset.

You also Select Your Career Path

A master’s degree is planned to convey general skills, perfect if you need to keep the options of career open while thinking about the diversity of jobs. For instance, a Master’s degree in communication sciences can do your work in different areas from journalism to sales and PR.

In a PhD case, your specialization gets narrower, although the depth of expertise progresses meaningfully. It is the anticipated path if your destination is precise, at the top of the hierarchy or if you want to be an entrepreneur or freelancer.

Funding Opportunities and Degree Availability

A Master’s degree is the fastest-growing kind of study program accessible globally, with the more alternative interdisciplinary mixture being approved every year in a try to adjust to the job marketplace.

Usually, PhD programs are more resilient to alteration and focus on long-term established research goals, including many candidates and departments, over many years.

Their aim is less prone to market changes, based mainly on society’s research need, along with demands of financing places such as local authorities, think tanks, central governments, museums, and ministries.

Time Commitment and Flexibility

A pace difference between PhDs and Masters is the chance to work throughout the years of the study. Although some part-time degrees and masters offer courses focused on the late evening to allow attendance from the employed people, PhD’s are seen as something like full-time work, funded in the way to reimburse the impossibility to balance the research with a job.

Well! There is no need to mention that a PhD includes consistent research and other responsibilities like publishing, reference papers, conferences, teaching, and assistance with the departmental organization.

Changing the Specialization

If you think about moving towards your new specialization to requalify your skills or diversify, the Master’s degree is easier and more accessible to initiate from scratch. If you want to do a PhD in an entirely different discipline, it is pretty demanding to achieve, mainly because the graduate schools need ‘affinity with the topic’ while applying.

It is not essential to mention that a successful PhD proposal is more demanding to achieve in an entirely new domain and topic. It does not mean that applying for a different Master’s degree is not without challenges or effort; however, it is more probable given the abundance of Master’s programs accessible globally than PhDs.

Generally, different universities get successive masters in a related or similar field as a sign of shallowness and indecisiveness. Contrarily, having two or more degrees in knowingly other disciplines such as Languages and Engineering or Arts and Economics can be a significant CV booster.

Possibly one choice is not better than the other. It is only a query if you need to be better in your area or if you aim to be more of a scholar and devote yourself to research.

If you make your mind to get another Master’s degree, filter through numerous study options or check your desired PhD destination and field online.

For more, visit our website.

Best of Luck!

Want to know which PhD is right for you? The scholars who apply for PhD are occasionally obsessive and have a perfect image of the course.

Of course! Enhancing your expertise and knowledge with a PhD is excellent; however, you should find out if you are suitable to complete your PhD, and plus, you need to find which PhD is right for you!

Let us take an example of a PhD graduate, XYZ. She loved the research project she did during her MSc. He loved designing computer methods and algorithms to tackle different challenges in biology and complete intellectual process. She thought of it as a fantastic experience to be around intelligent persons. She felt the reasonable step was to do similar on a diverse scale, such as a PhD, as it was identical but four years more time. She was getting paid for doing research; thus, what could be best than that?

Set the Realistic Potentials for Your PhD

Well! If you ask most PhD scholars what a PhD is like, they usually answer it includes research work for almost four years, going in-depth with your interest in a particular topic, and mainly about liking science. These are among the best parts of a PhD, the things you hear during a meeting for your PhD position. But a doctoral degree includes a bit more, as it consists of a way of working for which you must prepare yourself. It is essential to set realistic potentials, so you are not coldly surprised.

So, without any delay, ask yourself these questions to determine which PhD is right for you.

Can You Handle the Ambiguity of the PhD?

In the PhD, mainly at the start, you have no idea what you are going through or the exact result of the research. Yes! You have made your mind for a niche and have a part of your research description; however, no idea how to transform it into PhD thesis. In other words, you need to handle a substantial amount of ambiguity, and many times, it will not be so effortless to deal with.

Any PhD program you choose gives you a valuable lesson to concentrate on less but consistent progress. The result of your PhD cannot come in just a moment; thus, you need to learn to get your happiness from small steps. Well! Patience is everything when it comes to talking about doctoral programs, and your final rewards are worth waiting for.

The other side to ambiguity is that these small steps can lead you nowhere. You must develop the instinct that helps you know when to alter the course or keep walking something longer. Well! There is no need to be anxious about it! You will come to learn to do the right things in proper time and by occasionally making errors along the way. The essential thing is not to surrender and to bear in mind the motivation that led you to apply for the PhD in the first place.

Can You Work Individually?

Before deciding which PhD is right for you, you should understand this point.

Your PhD will help you learn to work individually, and if it may appear like effortless work for some scholars, for others, it may seem like an unpredictable surprise. Suppose you are a social individual and pick a multidisciplinary PhD (where other postdocs and PhDs are included), link your project, and work together. In that case, you consider it could help you, and you do not need to deal with being an individual learner any longer. Well! Even in multidisciplinary PhDs, the truth is, you need to work individually almost all the time.

What does individual work during the PhD mean? Well! You will have a supervisor who can guide you through the thesis; however, you have to experience issues for most of the work and fix them by yourself. Your supervisor will help you choosing the right solution, telling how to plan the best approach, and offer you a list of contacts that help you advance your work.

You are accountable and responsible for your research thesis; however, you can consider it this way: only you can handle all the significant decisions.

Can You Bring the Essence from Significant Amount of Information?

Your PhD needs to learn numerous things, reading various papers, and all this needs to be done quickly before deciding which PhD is right for you.

Let us suppose an ordinary paper has almost 6 – 10 pages. When you start your thesis, you will read the article from start to end, and you will possibly need to study two to three times more to comprehend it completely. But you cannot manage to invest a lot of your time, reading thousands of papers 3 to 4 times. You need to find out if a piece is worth reading, how much it is related to your thesis, and if it is novel. Consider all these while skimming over the article; however, you need to read more to do this.

For this and to grasp the skill of gaining valuable data, start getting ready and read as numerous papers as you can. It can be a great exercise that helps you save time while working on a PhD thesis.

Can You Handle Criticism?

Numerous people, including a supervisor, will have negative comments about your research. In some situations, if you need to address it at a conference or in front of your group, professors can confuse you with their questions. While it can be demanding, you must take it positively and learn from what views all individuals have about your research.

All the PhD scholars need to undergo the same process; thus, you must not consider that you failed. Pay attention to all the criticism, positive and negative feedback, and use it all to progress your thesis. Occasionally, the response may sound plain; however, all you need is to recognize positive feedback, handle it, and make the most out of it.

Can You Keep Yourself Motivated When the Things Get Tough?

Staying motivated is the key to get succeeded in your PhD. Being a great scientist comes second.

You may have noticed; a PhD is full of delayed gratification, hard work, uncertainty, challenges, and loneliness. You will desire to quit numerous times, so if you need to complete PhD program successfully, you need to keep yourself motivated.

Every scholar has his reason for doing a PhD, and every explanation is essential and valid. You must your research work for the PhD with a substantial reason to ensure the level of satisfaction of your enthusiasm will not go down. If you use your PhD degree to help you land your career you have dreamed of, concentrate on your progress, as the eventual accomplishment will ultimately come.

Don’t forget to ask, “Am I close to my objective than yesterday?” instead of “Did I meet my goal?” the PhD is full of ups and downs and a roller coaster. Of course, there are plenty of ups, and many times, they reward the downs. Don’t forget to focus on these steps before deciding which PhD is right for you.

For more content, don’t forget to visit our website.

Well! It is a tiring and time-consuming process to undertake a PhD. And there are numerous opinions on the requirements for doing a PhD – all of them are not positive. But a PhD is a standard in the area of higher education; it decides the evolution, ranking, and quality of the academic disciplines. Still, there are numerous bright aspirants for some competitive PhD positions present at different university departments.

Let us talk about the nine things you must consider before doing a PhD.

Do You Really Need a PhD Degree?

In disciplines such as technology, there is no need to have a PhD to be the best. Although it is a practice-based field, you can get the related skills while working in this arena.

However, in the non-science field scenario, it can help to carry on academic as it is where the ideas are made through seminars, conferences, writing, reading, discussions, debate, etc. For instance, a PhD degree in Humanities sharpens the skills of teaching, writing, and reading, something that is not possible in work.

Research the Area You are Interested in

When you decide to go abroad for a PhD, research the area you are interested in, visit different sites of different universities and various departments, see the faculty, the publications, and profiles of current and past PhD students.

Additionally, talk to the students who are doing a PhD in a relevant field, get in touch with them through email or other networking sites such as Academia or ResearchGate. It may help you make the right choice.

Open PhD vs. Project-Based PhD

Numerous research groups, usually at European universities, get PhD applications in their working niche and primarily fund all the accepted students.

However, you can prefer any topic you are interested in after getting into the PhD or during the application.

Choosing a Supervisor

It is crucial to have a good supervisor during a PhD. All you need is your supervisor’s guidance in the right direction and help with other problems you may face.

Don’t forget to check the academic profile, past experiences as a teacher, and publications of your prospective supervisors. If it is possible for you, talk to their old scholars and discuss your decision to work with that supervisor.

There is no need to choose a renowned person who cannot give your enough attention and time – so choose wisely.

Is it Essential to Choose an Interdisciplinary Topic?

Well! It is your free will to choose the PhD topic, and it ends up becoming specialized; however, try to think about the factor of employability as well.

Yes, it is suitable for the humanities, where a selective PhD topic cannot fit into mainstream academic or can have less scope to gain an academic position after you finish your PhD. Some courses may have a hard time placing the students, getting funding, and financing their departments.

However, if you have learned some skills in the undergraduate courses, they come in handy. Numerous individuals in digital humanities and media studies have a background in science subjects, technology, or engineering.

Be a Reader

A PhD intends to make a keen and independent scholar, and for this, it needs a person who sustains more extensive reading. Thus, read whatever you get your hands on and get updated with every change in your specific topic or area.

Don’t forget! A PhD is a leap forward considering the writing and reading skills. Be prepared for it and push this bar as much as you can, as you will do a lot of work on your own.

Networking and Academic Life

All the negativity around the demanding academic pursuit can usually lead to opposing ideas.

However, when you see it inside, you will see numerous positive aspects as well. Attending workshops, seminars, and conferences in different countries or cities can be a unique experience.

Therefore, network with academics, researchers, and colleagues, and develop enough networking to balance the internal solitude of your research life. It will help to find jobs and funding in the future.

Commitment and Passion

It is essential to be passionate about the subject you are researching. It does not mean that you seem to enjoy the deadlines; however, you must see the advantage behind it.

Never think of doing a PhD just to add “Dr” to your name or any type of recognition. The principal reason to do a PhD is to study your favorite subject in-depth.

Initiate by improving in on the thesis depending on your commitment and passion, and everything will follow you.

Take One Year Gap but Never Let it Run on

Before doing a PhD, many people prefer to get work experience of doing teaching jobs to take study leave to get their thesis complete and return to their work again. Occasionally, the work experience helps you find out your further steps.

Various people are not content with their academic training; thus, they go for a PhD to fill the void and improve their career prospects.

But, never wait too long to start doing a PhD if you like to be in academia. Because it will stop your career enhancement. It is excellent to finish your PhD and then step into teaching or other career fields.

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You can use the overall rankings of the university to notify the PhD search. (I have put tables according to different performances). However, the overall results will not be particular to the university’s postgraduate program opportunities – or concentrate on the stuff you may care about as a PhD scholar.

If we need a PhD ranking, here I am going to share it with you.

Creating PhD Rankings

We need some good ideas to put the rankings together. Well!! There is no issue. The World University Ranking measures various amazing things about several universities.

All we need is a methodology for choosing the data that matters most to the PhD scholars. The individual metrics such as the number of PhD holders and research performance are of interest to us. We can see how different states compare as study abroad places and how much particular universities emphasize internationalization. From this point, it is only the case of result analysis.

Analysis, methodology, or data? It will be something like doing a short PhD. So, let’s start without delay!

#01 – Research Performance

Well! We know PhD is a research degree; thus, it stands to reason that a thing we must look at is the quality of academia’s research. And it happens because research is among the crucial aspects of THE (Times Higher Education) policy.

The metrics used are the measurement of the university’s research output and income, along with a survey of more than 22,000 researchers.

If we only focus on the research performance for the current year of 2021, we get a ranking that appears like the one mentioned below:

2021 THE World University PhD Rankings – Top Universities for Research

Perhaps predictably, these universities are ranked higher in overall tables (research is an essential part of what an academic does). However, it is interesting to see some places – like in China, Tsinghua, rising the table as we concentrate on this single metric.

Other rankings like ARWU and QS tables also measure the research metrics in different ways; however, I am going to keep things simple for this content.

#02 – Teaching Performance

The universities for PhD rankings using the teaching performance may appear strange. The PhD degree is all about research, right?

Yes, of course! However, some methodology the World University ranking uses for teaching is related to postgraduate scholars. Some of them measure the achievement and presence of postgraduate research academics.

Along with the general metrics like student/staff ratio, academic reputation, and income, Times Higher Educations looks at the proportion of PhD students to the undergraduate degree awarded and the number of PhD holders.

Slightly counterintuitively, it means that the metrics of teaching in THE ranking take in data related to the research degrees.

In this way, ranking universities lists the below mentioned top 10 universities:

2021 THE World University PhD Rankings – Top Universities for Teaching (along with PhDs)

Again, all these institutions are well-ranked. There is no surprise that they are also expected to offer substantial research opportunities for PhD.

Don’t forget that this table is not specific for PhD training. Besides, it shows a broader statistic (such as student/staff ratios) that can be more related to undergraduate teaching.

#03 – Opportunities for Studying Abroad

Let us move away from particular metrics; let us look beyond individual institutions.

As a global comparison, the league tables also let us know how numerous countries compare, depending on the number and how high their institutions can rank.

In simple terms, let us see the prolific countries in the top 150 universities:

2021 THE World University PhD Rankings – Top Countries

The above table ranks countries depending on the number of their institutions in the top 150 of the 2021 World University Ranking. When two states have the same number of universities, they are ranked by individual ranking.

There is no surprise to see the UK and USA at the top of the list; however, would you expect the Netherlands and Germany to be close in 3^rd and 4^th place? Or for Asia to have three places in the top 10?

#04 – International Education

Let us look at studying the PhD abroad from a different perspective: which institutions invest more in international education?

Similar to the above, THE ranking includes an important metric for this. The score of ‘international outlook’ measures institutions on the number of international students and staff they recruit and their participation in worldwide projects.

Here are the top 10 universities ranked in this table:

2021 THE World University PhD Rankings – Top International Universities

The above table ranks institutions from the 2021 World University Ranking, depending only on the score of ‘international outlook.’ It includes only universities in the top 150, overall!

There is no surprise that diverse study places such as Switzerland and Hong Kong lead this ranking. Yet, it is exciting to see institutions from further down the rankings up into the top 10 while judging only international metrics.

The universities such as these are probably to foster particularly vibrant environments for research, giving opportunities for exchanging knowledge and other perspectives that inform as well as develop the PhD. Plus, they are likely well-established and welcoming places for studying abroad.

PhD Ranking – Conclusion

It is all about gathering the data and analyzing it: Is it a definitive PhD ranking? Well! Not in particular. We came up with a section of ‘sub-rankings’ that may measure some factors that matter the most for PhD scholars.

Notably, we can see which states are particularly famous for higher education systems. We have found some universities that ranked at internationalization. Both these can be beneficial if you plan to study abroad (Or casting a broad net for PhD search).

Possibly we have seen a strong relationship between the overall ranking and our particular top 10’s for teaching and research metrics.

Does it mean that a top-ranked institution is an excellent choice for your PhD? Well! No! it means that great research opportunities and best programs are not present at a diversity of institutions.

However, it does suggest that the PhD rankings are worth including in this piece of content. If you want to read more about PhD articles, click here.

If you have finished a Master’s or Bachelors’s over the summer, it could be the right time to consider applying for PhD.

It may appear like an intense and daunting process (mainly if you are working hard on the current degree). However, there is some stuff you can do to make your life super easy!

Here are the top 10 tips to prepare your PhD application that help you make the process easier!

Tip # 1: An Early Start!

Though many deadlines for PhD application are not till late autumn (and there are yet different opportunities that accept application in the spring), it is a great idea to begin thinking about your PhD application before term initiates.

Make sure you know different doctorate types on offer. After that, take the benefit of any down-time to research various PhD programs and places (summer, Easter, and Christmas holidays are best for this). Soon, your brain will start producing ideas about the kind of work you need to do!

Many tops in this article undertake that you have started thinking about the PhD application early. You cannot complete all the work at once; thus, give yourself sufficient time.

Tip # 2: Decide Your Area of Specialization

If you consider a PhD, you are passionate about the subject you choose and dedicated to making a difference. Thus, make sure you spend some weeks zeroing in on that area you like to specialize in. Keep in mind that it could be your bread-and-butter for your next life.

Make sure you think not only how exciting you see the theory of a particular subject but also the practical knowledge of researching it.

If you are an Engineering or Science student, consider whether you would instead get the hands dirty in the workshop or lab or work on conceptual or theoretical principles. And will you like to stay on campus, or do you need to utilize more time on the fieldwork?

If you are in Social Sciences, Humanities, or Arts, you will yet need to decide how to balance practice with theory. Do you need to focus more on creative work? Will you like to relate directly with individuals to inspect their experiences and views or work on existing materials or records?

Tip # 3: Spend Time to Research Potential Supervisors

The essential decision you need to make at this stage is deciding your supervisor to who to do your PhD with. Therefore, spend enough time searching for the people (or person) who can supervise you.

Do they have any publication records? Have they started their research group? Are they an established academic? Do they supervise numerous other PhD students, or will you be on your own? Can you talk to any of their future or current students? Can you talk to the supervisor and speak about your plan in advance?

It can be easy to research the supervisors if you apply to a set project (as expected in Engineering and Science subjects). However, Humanities and Arts students can find potential supervisors at their favorite university and possibly talk to them to discuss their ideas. Well! It can be more significant for these types of projects. After all, it does not matter how best a university is if no one can supervise you.

Now, it is a great time to consider what you will expect from your PhD supervisor and the type of support you think your project requires.

Tip # 4: Consider Your Non-Academic Life as Well

A PhD is the best time to pursue your passions, be aware of other academics, and begin thinking about a possible career in your field (if it is your intention).

However, you can be doing other stuff during 3 – 4 years of PhD that is not relevant to your project. Bear this in your mind as you decide that it will affect other aspects of your life as a PhD scholar.

For instance, if you think of moving to a new place for your PhD program, make sure you can enjoy living there! Never take considerable changes to your routine and social life lightly. All you need is to be stable and happy for the duration of your PhD. The sacrifices are comprehensible; so are compromises.

Tip # 5: Do Reconnaissance

Unless you stay at the same campus, starting your PhD possibly means adopting a new house as well as an excellent place to work. It means you want to enjoy your new home city and university on a professional and personal level. A perfect way to make sure is to check them out!

It is easy to do (unless you study abroad). In numerous cases, you can take substantial advantage of postgraduate events and open days.

However, never settle for a walk around the center of the city or visit the university place. If possible, email the university you are thinking about working with and inquire if you can see the workspace or lab informally.

Numerous supervisors will be glad to meet with you! On the opposite side, if you visit and decide to apply, having met your future supervisor already can give you the benefit while applying to highly competitive programs.

Tip # 6: Never Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

Well! You have found the best place. You like the town; the university is excellent, and you find the work both exciting and stimulating. You have gone to see, and you feel terrific chemistry with your supervisor and the rest of the people.

The enticement to put all the eggs in one basket and only prepare two or one PhD application is vital. Resist that allure!

Apply to as numerous places as possible. It will consume most of your time; however, having many backup options will give you confidence.

Alternatively, make sure you do not apply anywhere you would not prefer to go. You do not need to find yourself in a state where you have multiple offers you do not care about and feel stressed to accept one of them.

Tip # 7: Ask Yourself What Kind of Program You are Interested in

There are several PhD options available – and things can differ quite a bit in different subject zones.

The Humanities or Arts research can take a lot of time spent doing archival work or be concerned with re-assessing renowned materials.

An Engineering or Science project can be pretty flexible, with the ease to continue with your particular project. Or it can be highly structured, with the need to complete particular ‘rotation’ periods researching in numerous laboratories (or different sections of the same lab).

Some research will include formal teaching duties; others can treat this type of work as an elective professional development prospect. Some campuses will set particular guidelines for their PhD students, including the way they work with supervisors and the goals they need to fulfill. Others can be more flexible.

Make sure you know what you apply for!

Tip # 8: Make Sure You are Ready

Your prior degrees must qualify you academically for your PhD; however, an advanced project may need more thorough training. It is a great idea to see what type of prior experience is predictable for candidates in your project area.

For instance, life sciences students are occasionally expected to have completed a minimum of 3 months of laboratory experience before applying. You may have got this an essential part of MSc (mainly if you have done the laboratory work as a part of the dissertation). However, if you have no necessary preparation, see how to get it!

It cannot be a wrong idea to defer the PhD application unless you are prepared in some situations.

Tip # 9: Ask as Many Question as Possible

There are numerous people involved in the process of a PhD application. Your current lecturers and advisors, other academics you have met during the lab work experience, supervisor you hope to work with, the school principal or the research field you apply to, the admission staff, and much more.

Many people will be happy to help you put a successful PhD application. Make sure to ask as many questions as possible, particularly before making an essential decision like accepting the offer or deferring your application!

Tip # 10: Spend Adequate Time on Your Actual PhD Application!

It appears clear; however, it is possible the essential piece of advice anyone can give you!

If you initiate the process early, you must have sufficient time to consider your PhD application and take advantage of the extra preparation and research you are doing.

Have you taken sufficient time to meet your research supervisor and visit your campus? Use different examples to describe why you are the best fit for the field and its work.

Have you found extra opportunities to prepare yourself for your PhD research? If yes, mention them all.

Have you wisely compared different programs and projects? Never be afraid to show that you have put some thoughts into the process: defend your decision to apply to PhD, at this campus.

The Verdict

Primarily, make sure to spend enough time writing your research proposal and personal statement, along with updating the CV. When you have done, ask some people to read them!

Get feedback from numerous people you trust and apply it to your research. Make sure you prefer the right individuals as your referees and allow them to know with further notices so they can prepare roughly in advance.

Well! If you are invited to the PhD interview, consider the question you can be asked, and never be afraid to practice! Practice makes a man perfect!

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And you might also be interested in Helpful Resume Tips for PhDs and Did You Already Pass an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?