The Doctoral Whisperer
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This past month I had two conversations with students at different points in their academic journey.
One person was an undergraduate looking into graduate programs. The other was a graduate student preparing to defend his dissertation. Both had different questions and concerns about their next steps.
In this blog, I want to share what we talked about and the advice I gave them. I usually begin any conversation with students with the following question:
What purpose will this degree fulfill and what goal will it help you achieve?
For me, post-baccalaureate academic work MUST fulfill a purpose and move you towards a particular goal. It is A LOT of time in school – away from family, friends, pets, and work. All this sacrifice must serve a purpose. It must contribute to the story you are writing of your life.
The undergraduate student, let’s call her Gabby, was at the end of her junior year and is beginning to explore doctoral programs. At her academic advisor’s suggestion, she wanted to talk to me about my journey to the doctorate. We met via an online platform. She had great questions like, “What motivated you to pursue the PhD” and “What would you do differently now that you have earned the degree”?
As we spoke, it was clear that the student was at the beginning of her exploration. We began our conversation by talking about the differences between a PhD and an EdD. In summary, here are the major differences:
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD):
Purpose: Create original research to contribute to scholarly conversations and discoveries in the field
Originates: Out of any academic discipline (i.e., biology, sociology, education, etc.)
Timeframe: 4-6 years
Final Document: Dissertation
Career Path: College or university professor, researcher both in and outside of academia
Educational Doctorate (EdD):
Purpose: Evaluation and application of research
Originates: Out of schools and colleges of education
Timeframe: 3-4 years
Final Document: Dissertation, final project, or group project depending on the program
Career Path: Administrator, and educational leader (principal, school board, etc.), sometimes has opportunities to teach
This is a rough outline and there are variations, but this is the gist of the differences.
After some thought, Gabby decided that a Ph.D. was what she wanted to pursue. On the virtual platform, we explored different programs together. She was most interested in Ph.D. programs in African American studies. She was interested in looking at the identity development of Afro-Brazilian women. We explored programs in Gender and Women’s Studies, Cultural Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Cultural and Theory Studies.
It was a lot to take in. And we haven’t even gotten to the part where she has to find scholars doing the work she is interested in doing. But that will be our next conversation.
So, I then shifted the question to what she sees herself doing after the PhD. She told me that she did see herself as a professor and doing research, possibly even traveling for that research. She was beginning to create a life of the mind, and how she could contribute to the scholarship surrounding the lived experiences of AfroBrazilian women.
She then asked me an interesting question: Why did I pursue my own PhD? I had to decide how much of my story I wanted to share. Part of my reason was to pay back my mother for the sacrifices she made to take us from Culebra Puerto Rico to Carson California. It was her public sector job that gave her that opportunity. My mother only ever asked that whatever profession we chose, we should reach the top of it. Since I loved school, my top was a PhD.
Second, I decided to get a PhD over an EdD because I did not want anything else to be used to call my expertise into question. As an Afro-Latina, I was already doubted based on race and gender. I needed the PhD to add to my credibility and allow me to push past the overt and covert bigotry that I would invariably experience. Those three specific little letters after my name added to my intellectual and cultural capital. The EdD would not provide me with the same access and clout, especially in my chosen professional space of academia.
Sharing my story gave her pause and something else to consider as she decided on the types of programs she was looking for, and what her motivations were in pursuing the degree.
My other conversation was with an EdD candidate who was preparing for his defense. He, who I will call Max, felt abandoned by his committee and needed help getting his head around what to present at his defense. We first started talking about six weeks ago as he prepared to submit his complete dissertation (this EdD program required it) and needed an example of the Results section. I sent him mine and he later told me that it was really helpful.
Unfortunately, Max’s experience is not unique. Many doctoral students have less-than-ideal experiences. In Max’s program, his chair was assigned rather than him being able to choose the person. Another thing that stood out to me was that no one on the committee had an EdD nor prior experience mentoring an EdD candidate through the final stages of the degree. In my personal and professional opinion, this can be a deal breaker. It can, and did in Max’s case, create such havoc and result in such incorrect (or incomplete) advising that it can leave the student lost.
Fast forward six weeks and Max had scheduled his defense. On the day of the defense, I was able to join the online platform to witness the momentous occasion. Right away, I felt some animosity from the committee members. First, they were 20 minutes late. I later found that they met as a committee beforehand – odd – without telling Max. He sent texts and no one responded so he was left wondering – during his defense – what was going on. Okay… We finally got going about 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. Max’s presentation was very good and showed his best work. There were areas where I would have advised him to provide more clarity and fewer words on the slides, but overall, I would have passed him. During the Q&A, the tone of the committee members bordered on antagonistic.
Thankfully the committee did pass Max, but they had substantial revisions for him to make to the document. They recommended he take the summer to relax and then work on the revisions. He has to register for a one-unit Dissertation course so that he can submit the final document as a registered student. Thankfully the cost for that one unit was only about $350, but sometimes that can be upwards of $2000 in some programs.
Before Max could submit his dissertation, he had to meet weekly with two of the three committee members to receive guidance on the final version of the document. In my opinion, this was what should have been happening before he defended but whatever…
In speaking with Max, he shared that the committee members, to varying degrees, left him hanging. They did not respond to emails, nor give him timely feedback, and did not seem to be speaking with one another on the types of revisions that they required him to do. At one point, during the defense, one of the committee members asked him about his methodology using Nvivo. (Nvivo is a qualitative data analytical tool that allows you to code media as well as text to create themes that you then use to make sense of the data).
Ironically, Max told me that when he did reach out to this specific committee member for help with Nvivo, they did not step forward. He had to learn the program on his own and ask for help from peers to get the data analysis done. So, for this person to ask during the defense about his approach to the data analysis was rich. Max did all the learning on his own. Like most of us, we had to, in the figurative sense, build the plane as we learned to fly it. That should not be the case… but a lot of the time it is.
So, I want to reiterate that doctoral work should be entered with a clear mind on the end goal. You must have the maturity to be self-directed and have strong academic skills to get you through to the end. Then find the best program to support your academic, financial, and professional goals. If you find yourself in a less-than-ideal situation, know you are not alone. Reach out to others for help.
If you are beginning your doctoral journey, whether exploring or in your first year, let me know how I can help. I consult to help students navigate this process. I have over 25 years of experience in undergraduate and graduate education. I aim to be that whisper in your ear that helps you navigate the process. Let me know how I can help.