<p>I would qualify the "top school" issue for the humanities in one respect: you need to consider the financial package. It is hard to justify accumulating debt in a humanities graduate school program where the outcome is so uncertain and the pay, even if you do find a position on a faculty, is not so great. It is a long haul, and nowadays graduate students are far more active than in my era, presenting papers at student and other academic conferences, trying to publish articles, working on journals. The less you have to scramble to support yourself, the better.</p>
<p>Is it possible for an undergrad looking at grad programs to get a feel for that particular programs placement record for newly minted PhD's? Is that info published anywhere or would they need to ask their interview committee? I would think that needs to be a big consideration whether its "Top 5" or "lowly state U".</p>
<p>Many graduate schools do post such information; I've seen it, for example, for Princeton, Columbia, UCLA. It is generally no mystery which are the top schools in any particular subject. Generally, for the humanities, they are the top Ivy League schools plus Stanford and University of Chicago and some top public schools (UC Berkeley, U Michigan, for example).</p>
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Generally, for the humanities, they are the top Ivy League schools plus Stanford and University of Chicago and some top public schools (UC Berkeley, U Michigan, for example).
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<p>It does vary from discipline to discipline (although this list is a good start).</p>
<p>The point made above cannot be overstated - in the humanities (and to some extent in the social sciences) it is important to avoid debt. It's a long haul to being employable and the pay at the end does not justify much debt. The "top" schools generally help students avoid debt (by paying tuition plus a stipend) but students have to be willing to live like grad students. Some of my grad school colleagues ran up considerable debt to support their lifestyles(despite the fact we did not pay tuition and got a decent stipend - which could be supplemented by researching, teaching, or other employment.)</p>
<p>I would second Inthebiz's comments. My husband has a Ph.d. in political science--he graduated from an Ivy. He received a full tuition stipend and had funding through research assistantships, grants, etc. He got a job at a top 10university before he even finished his dissertation. He had also published an article based on his dissertation as well. In his view, none of this would have happened had not had not gone to an Ivy and not had a mentor who was supportive and aggressive in promoting his students. This was 22 years ago--I don't know if the job market for social sciences is as competitive as it was then. My husband did leave academia--but that's another topic. He's not sorry that he went to graduate school and he's not sorry he left academia (his first bonus in a non-academic position was 3 times what he made as an assistant professor).</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the info. Oldest child is only a sophomore in college, but will most likely go on for a Ph.D. in a humanities subject. H and I know nothing of grad school, so I have copied the discussion to a word document and put it in our college file to look over in a few years time!</p>
<p>Maybe Princeton's required senior thesis also helps grad students who go on to other schools conquer that dissertation a bit more easily.</p>
<p>Many schools beside Princeton offer the opportunity to write a senior thesis with a professor as mentor; it is a good idea to take advantage of such opportunities if you are planning to go to graduate school -- great on a resume, if not essential. As to whether it will help you down the line when writing the dissertation, only in the broad sense of providing experience doing a sustained bit of research and analysis. A dissertation is generally a bigger undertaking, written over a period of around 2 years, typically equivalent to several senior theses of the Princeton length.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Is it possible for an undergrad looking at grad programs to get a feel for that particular programs placement record for newly minted PhD's?<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>In the biomedical sciences it's real easy to go on PubMed or other similar database websites and type in a given professor's name and see everything s/he has published in peer-reviewed journals. This makes it easy to see where the productive labs and departments are.</p>
<p>Cousin's husband got a PhD in one year. He was already an expert in his field and the degree was just a formality. </p>
<p>Brother did his PhD in 6 years, night school, NYU. He was working in his field and had access to information he needed. </p>
<p>Sister's husband did his PhD in 2 years. Already an expert in his field and had been thinking about his theory for a few years previously.</p>
<p>Son just completed his MS dissertation after 3 terms and 2 months. He got another 3 months before his contract runs out. </p>
<p>Kinda depends on the field of study (these are technical endeavors), resources, and expertise.</p>
<p>"In the biomedical sciences it's real easy to go on PubMed or other similar database websites and type in a given professor's name and see everything s/he has published in peer-reviewed journals. This makes it easy to see where the productive labs and departments are."</p>
<p>It also can give a sense of how much a given lab is involved with the industry (joint publications with biotechs/pharma). Labs that have good industrial ties often place their newly-minted PhDs in industry through those connections.</p>
<p>Essentially, going for the PhD is pretty similar to going to med school :)</p>
<p>I'm considering my PhD in History... it's crazy, really. I have NOT gotten into a single conversation with a professor who did NOT bring up the length of the time it takes to finish a PhD. I heard an average range between 7-9 years. Believe me, I'd want to finish as fast as possible.... because I'd want to get to my dream job (in a museum)! :) </p>
<p>While it is important to see how long it takes people to get their doctorates, my advisor also pointed out that I should ask my potential advisors how long it takes for their students to reach the ABD (All But Dissertation) stage because of all the langauge and course requirements. Once you get to the ABD, you're done, you're on your own to do that dissertation in order to get that elusive degree. That's why it's so important for potential applicants to prepare themselves as much as they can in terms of languages so they can get it all done and out of the way.</p>
<p>I would not equate a Ph.D. with going to Med School (or law or getting a MBA).</p>
<p>Professional degrees (law, med, business) involve little to no originality, are broad and shallow rather than narrow and deep, and they don't plum the depths of knowledge like a good Ph.D. program does. Most importantly, the requirements for professional degrees are very clear, are mostly course work related, and have definite time frames. Ph.D. work, OTOH, in its critical portion, the dissertation, is quite open ended and indefinite. Indeed, in the sciences, a candidate may not know (s)he has completed the research until someone tells them to start writing.</p>
<p>Regarding BunsenBurner's comments about joint publications with industry, I've known the work of many top biomedical labs, and found few that would publish jointly with industry. That did not mean they did not collaborate with industry or place their postdocs in industry positions. But the nature of their industrial collaborations was such that joint authorship did not occur. The reasons for this are complex, and I can go into them if anyone cares.</p>
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Essentially, going for the PhD is pretty similar to going to med school </p>
<p>I'm considering my PhD in History... it's crazy, really. I have NOT gotten into a single conversation with a professor who did NOT bring up the length of the time it takes to finish a PhD. I heard an average range between 7-9 years. Believe me, I'd want to finish as fast as possible.... because I'd want to get to my dream job (in a museum)!
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<p>ticklemepinkI agree with newmassdad, getting a Ph.D is nothing like going to law school or med school (I have a JD and a PhD). Maybe if you're thinking in terms of time (med school plus internship plus residency = 7-9 years) but that's where the similarity ends.</p>
<p>If you're thinking you'd like to work in a musuem, you might think about a degree in public history or museum studies rather than a straight PhD in history. I think that's better preparation and it will take less time.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>