How Long Does It Take To Get Your Phd

How Many Years of College to Get a Doctorate Degree?

Education

College & Higher Education

Most students average four to seven years to complete a Ph.D. program. Adding the four to five years of undergraduate study to earn a bachelor's, and another two to three years for a master's, students spend an average 10 to 15 years after first entering college. This investment of time pays off, since the Ph.D. is the highest academic degree in most fields, and it leads to a wider choice of career options.

Coursework

Most Ph.D. programs require coursework, research projects, exams, the dissertation and a defense. As a beginning Ph.D. student, you will take coursework and do research in your area of study. Most Ph.D. programs require 36 to 45 hours of coursework, or 12 to 15 courses, which can include independent study courses you design in conjunction with a professor. Courses may emphasize concepts, such as the modern novel or Victorian poetry, or can be as specific as the Harlem Renaissance poets.

Research

As part of your coursework, you will be required to conduct and write up research projects, usually one for each class. Some classes in the social sciences and sciences may require you to build a survey instrument. The resulting papers will vary in length. In philosophy or psychology, papers can be 15 to 30 pages long. If you stay focused and don't fall behind, research may not extend your Ph.D. program, although students who do fall behind can end up adding years to their studies. For example, the American Chemical Society reports that the average time-to-degree for chemistry Ph.D. candidates is about six years, creating a glutted job market.

Exams

Most of your coursework as an English major will require extensive reading.

Coursework is usually followed by examinations, from preliminary tests to a series of comprehensive exams with a broad emphasis. In a discipline like English, you may have to take four written exams designed to test your historical knowledge, ranging from two to four hours each. You may be required to pass an oral exam, where you are questioned by a team of professors. Exams add no time to your studies if you are prepared to take them immediately after coursework. Some students need a semester to prepare.

The Dissertation

The average student will spend one to three years writing a dissertation. This will be your first book-length work. During the dissertation period, you will be working with your committee, a team of professors of your choosing who direct your research and writing. Students who work well with their committees and establish and keep chapter deadlines will find that they can complete three to four chapters a year; some even move more quickly through their dissertation.

The Defense

The final part of the Ph.D. program is the dissertation defense, which normally adds very little time to the Ph.D., as it follows closely behind completing the dissertation. In this period, you sit with your professors as a peer to discuss how you did your research, what your findings meant and where you think you would take the research in the future. Most Ph.D. candidates who finish their dissertations do well in this capstone to their four to six years of doctorate study and remember it as a landmark, if challenging, experience.

References

Writer Bio

Anthony Fonseca is the library director at Elms College in Massachusetts. He has a doctorate in English and has taught various writing courses and literature survey courses. His books include readers' advisory guides, pop culture encyclopedias and academic librarianship studies.