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Various PhD Lengths....
- Thread starter Fermata
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While time to graduation may vary from program to program and from school to school, there are no hard and fast rules about which PhD routes will take the shortest or the longest. The average MD/PhD takes ~7.5 years, and unless you do something unique to put yourself forward or behind, you should expect that no matter which route you choose.
I think the length of time it takes to get a PhD varies more by lab/mentor than by field of study. I know MSTP students in my field (Neuroscience) who got their PhD in 3 years and others who got it in 5. The average across the board is around 4 I think, which is about how long mine took. So they don't really vary by that much. IMO one year isn't that important in the grand scheme of things.
If this is really important to you, my advice would be to pick several labs that you are interested in, based on the mentor, research subject, etc. THEN worry about how long it's going to take. And the best way to figure that out is to talk to current and former students in those labs.
If this is really important to you, my advice would be to pick several labs that you are interested in, based on the mentor, research subject, etc. THEN worry about how long it's going to take. And the best way to figure that out is to talk to current and former students in those labs.
B
b&ierstiefel
TicDouloureux said:
I second that. There are no rules that say that a student in department X takes Y years to graduate. The only thing potentially that I could see how a department affects student graduation rate is the amount of classes the PhD candidate has to take. Here, neuroscience folks take quite a few classes but they all do fine graduating in 4-5 years. On the other hand, biochem requires one take only 2-3 classes. They still graduate in 4-5 years.
The main thing that will affect your outcome is your mentor and your project. There is some serendipity involved too...your project will fly if you're at the right place at the right time. Pick the department based on your interest. Then pick the right mentor/project. Best of luck!
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Thank you.
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You seem interested in the relative lengths for students in different fields. As has been pointed out, it depends much more on the student, mentor, and project than the field. However, I know that in our program, as a general rule, students in more clinically oriented departments tend to finish faster (i.e., more likely to go back in four years rather than five, and less likely to be a long straggler).Fermata said:
So neuro and physio might be longer hauls than cancer bio, immuno, and toxicology.
Our program is bang on that line, too; I think the bulk of students are done in either 8 or 9; an occassional 7; and a few stretching out to 11 or 12, usually with extenuating circumstances. (I just noticed our program's web site implies 7-8 years total. 🙄 )BDavis said:
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I appreciate the information.
It's more of an intellectual curiousity. I've heard it hinted at that some PhD's take longer than others. I was just looking for a general reason why(besides there being more coursework associated with one vs. another).
It's more of an intellectual curiousity. I've heard it hinted at that some PhD's take longer than others. I was just looking for a general reason why(besides there being more coursework associated with one vs. another).
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Fermata said:
Here are the trends based on a Nature article:
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v431/n7006/full/nj7006-382a_fs.html
"US graduate programmes, especially in life sciences, have grown excruciatingly long in recent decades. Eight years is not unusual. According to Jim Voytuk, senior programme officer at the US National Academy of Sciences, the average time to PhD since the 1970s has increased by nearly a year in chemistry and physics and nearly 18 months in the biosciences. In 1973?82, the average in biosciences was 6.3 years; for 1993?2002, the average was 7.7 years. In physics, time to degree increased from 6.6 to 7.4 years, in chemistry from 5.8 to 6.7 years."
It looks like if you want to go for a shorter Ph.D., go for chemistry.
