<p>Are PhD programs year round or is there a summer vacation like during undergrad? I understand that most PhD students probably do research during the summer, but do they have the option of taking a vacation if they want to? Can they do internships over the summer to earn extra money?</p>
<p>No vaca, except maybe thanksgiving and winter break. Its pretty sad after 3 months of college summers for research/travel.</p>
<p>A doctoral program is not on an undergraduate schedule. When I was a doctoral student, I spent my summers taking languages and doing research, both on-campus and at archives. </p>
<p>During Thanksgiving and winter breaks, I did research, graded exams, and squeezed in archival trips when possible.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s unheard of to take internships. I get forwarded tons of e-mails asking for second year or better Ph.D students for various internship opportunities.</p>
<p>It’s what you make of it. People use the time to get things done that they couldn’t get done during academic year, especially that they would have ALL day of uninterrupted research/study instead of breaking up their research schedule throughout the week. If you don’t use your time well, it’ll take you awfully long time to get your PhD. </p>
<p>But yes, you are allowed to take little vacations every now and then for yourself but this isn’t about renting a beach house for 3 months and hanging out on the beach and playing golf. Nor taking up a summer job for extra money unless it fits in your research schedule. Your PhD program will generally pay you through the summer.</p>
<p>In engineering, it is very common to have an internship over the summer in a PhD program… Faculty see it as a way to build professional connections and also experience real world industrial research. </p>
<p>I’m not sure about the artsy/humanities/social sciencey people though.</p>