<p>I know it always depends on the person and his/her work when it comes to how many years it takes to receive a Ph.D, but on average, which fields is it "quicker" to receive a Ph.D? For example, I heard economics and history can take 10+ years to get a Ph.D while in math and engineering it can take no more than 5 years.</p>
<p>In general, math and physical sciences are quicker, biological sciences next, then social sciences then humanities. But there are no rules, and the times vary widely from department to department and from student to student.</p>
<p>It would not be unusual for a history student to take 10 years, but would be exceptional for an econ student to do so, unless the student were at a dodgy program.</p>
<p>by math and physical science would that include math in the business area like accounting and finance?</p>
<p>For a math, physics, or engineering student, the normal time to completion is between six and seven years beyond the bachelor's degree. That time frame includes two years for a master's degree or equivalent plus four or five years for the PhD properly. </p>
<p>Personally, it took myself 6 years and 3 months beyond the B.S. to get my PhD (in electrical and computer engineering). In retrospect, I now think I could have done it faster and finish it in, let's say, 5 and a half years or so. In the end, I was satisfied though with my dissertation and the associated publications (both journal and conference papers).</p>
<p>bruno, </p>
<p>your experience is exceptional. If a math or physical science student enters directly into a PhD program, the MA or MS is incidental - not a requirement for the PhD. and most finish a PhD in less than 5 years. It is true that if one pursues a MA first, especially at a different institution, that the total time to the PhD, including the MA, will be longer, but that is not the path students take at top universities. </p>
<p>Engineering may be different, of course.</p>
<p>Regarding math in business areas, it depends to a great degree in which department or school a student is enrolled. And it can get even more complicated if one's dissertation topic crosses departmental (or worse, faculty) boundaries. For instance, if one is doing a dissertation that involves both the Math department that is in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Accounting department that is in the Faculty of Business, good luck!</p>
<p>Realize again, that these are generalities. The variance around any average is huge. </p>
<p>Rather than look at average time, though, why not look at completion rates? IMHO, those are more important in the long run. It is far more important to have an idea of whether you will even finish than an idea of how long it theoretically might take.</p>
<p>Newmassdad,</p>
<p>The PhD itself took me 4 years and 8 months. The time I mentioned is the total time it took me to get a master's (elsewhere) and a PhD (hence, my emphasis on ** total time beyond the B.S **). </p>
<p>Anyway, I was checking MIT's Physics website and it looks like the mean time for graduation for a direct PhD student (i.e. without a master's requirement) is 5.7 years.</p>
<p>Remember that some schools cut back on funding after 4 years :).</p>
<p>
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Remember that some schools cut back on funding after 4 years .
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<p>Not so much in the humanities, since it's a given we'll take longer. I've seen it cut back in the humanities anywhere after 5 to 10 years. And if it's a field that generally takes longer, like medieval history, it's generally easier to find funding through year 7 from the program, as long as you're really making progress on the diss.</p>
<p>Remember that research in different fields is, well, different. In the sciences, researching generally means walking across campus to your lab. In history, esp. non-US history, it means traveling to a variety of places, translating, and (for older history) tracking down the darn sources (i.e. so the last time it was seen was in 1167 in Avignon...). It takes awhile. Religious studies and non-US lit have the same issues.</p>
<p>I know next to nothing about economic research. Out of curiosity, does an econ PhD really take that long? Why?</p>
<p>No, econ usually takes about 5 years.</p>
<p>I know people who have done a neuroscience Ph.D in 3 years, a comp sci ph.d in 2 years, psych ph.d in 8 years, econ ph.d in 6 years... asking which subject is the shortest average time to ph.d is probably the most useless question i've read on this board in the past month. Obviously people can ask whatever they want, but somebody who is serious enough about a subject to even have a shot at a decent ph.d program would be very unlikely to ask this question.</p>
<p>Nauru,</p>
<p>Two years for a PhD in CS is quite extraordinary ! In fact, according to this website, the normal time for completion of a doctorate in CS at Carnegie Mellon is six years for direct PhD students (i.e. who enter the program with a bachelor's degree only). I guess that, in Europe, you probably could do it in 5 years (perhaps even 4 and 1/2 years in the UK).</p>
<p>BTW, my experience is that, if you come into a PhD program in the US with an overseas master's (for example, an European 3 + 2 degree), the time to completion will be most likely equivalent to that of a U.S. direct PhD student, i.e, at least 5 years. That's not a big deal though in the States because, unlike in the UK, they won't cut your funding after 3 or 4 years as long as you are writing papers, attending conferences and producing meaningful results. </p>
<p>The truth is professors in the US tend to see grad students as "cheap labor" and they take advantage of it. Grad students on the other hand also benefit from having as many publications as possible and becoming well-known in their fields with strong letters of recommendation before they graduate. So, in the end, the long times for graduation in the US turn out to be mutually advantageous, both to profs and students.</p>
<p>^Yup. Apparently Cambridge attracts some brilliant people who are able to get it done in 2 years.</p>
<p>My colleague has got an offer to do PhD in 2 years at Cambridge, I'm not sure what subject, but something like Comp Sci or Comp Eng or Elec Eng....
But it is because he has done 1 year of his research during his final undergrad year, and is offered to continue that research.
This guy is unbelievably super smart, he even tried to teach the lecturers in some of the classes. Turned out it was not funny because one lecturer got angry and everyone in that class had the most difficult exam ever. Of course he was the only one who could do it.</p>
<p>Hi all:</p>
<p>In my country, one of the the most difficult to get a phd is physics (and the other hard sciences). The requirement is to finish it by 5 years. if you dont, you get thrown out… The phd for the humanities is generally shorter…</p>
<p>But by and large, it also depends on who is doing it… I heard from my dad - his friend who did his phd at an elite university in the US in physics…and by the time he got into 7th year, he found to his horror, somebody had a similar thesis and his were accuses of plagiarism… He never got his phd… in fact, he committed suicide…when he returned… A sad story!!</p>