Passed My PhD Candidacy Exam

[BriarFox]

Just passed my candidacy exam for my PhD a couple hours ago. God, was it grueling.

The exam had two portions, a 72-hr, 5,000-word written portion with two essays that I wrote last week and a 2-hour verbal exam today, which started with discussing the written and went on to other things.

Covered 117 primary and secondary works in my field (Middle English literature - about 2/3 of the total) and my focus (aristocratic sports and leisure, esp. hunting - remaining third). I've been reading that list since last summer.

Exam was the last step before I'm allowed to write my dissertation. Now I have to submit my dissertation prospectus (outline) and then get working on that.

I get to refer to myself as a "doctoral candidate" now rather than a "doctoral student," too. Yay for new titles or something.

They really tore me apart on the written portion, saying I was a bit too flippant here or there, or hadn't nuanced things enough. Partly, that's because I only had 5,000 words, partly it's because I tend to write a bit theatrically and I let it get away from me. Sometimes, though, it felt like I was being criticized for being constrained by the requirements of the exam.

On the upside, they also think I'm brilliant and that I really showed it in the verbal exam.

Right now, though, all I really want is a beer.

[Back]

Well done. You deserve it.

[diethx]

wtg

[Fallen]

Congrats, man.

[Beguiler]

Brilliant, huh? Have two beers! Then back to work!

[droit]

I get to refer to myself as a "doctoral candidate" now rather than a "doctoral student," too. Yay for new titles or something.

>title list education
You have access to the following titles from the EDUCATION group:

Preschooler *
Kindergärtner *
Middleschooler *
High schooler *
College Student *
Masters Student *
Doctoral Student *
Doctoral Candidate * +
PhD
Epic Academic

:)

[BriarFox]

>title list education
You have access to the following titles from the EDUCATION group:

Preschooler *
Kindergärtner *
Middleschooler *
High schooler *
College Student *
Masters Student *
Doctoral Student *
Doctoral Candidate * +
PhD
Epic Academic

:)

That's frickin' awesome! You get major rep (asap, anyway. Stupid rep system).

Thanks for the congrats, guys. I just wanted to shout it out to the world. :-)

[Faent]

Very nice, BriarFox.

[Belnia]

Now post your proposal for US to critique. If your thought they were harsh, give us a chance!

[Orp]

Congrats...well desereved for so much schooling

[Renian]

If PhD is there, shouldn't the list be:

Preschooler *
Kindergärtner *
Middleschooler *
High schooler *
High School Graduate *
G.E.D.
College Student *
B.S. *
Masters Student *
M.S. *
Doctoral Student *
Doctoral Candidate * +
PhD
Epic Academic

Nevertheless, congratulations!

[GSWanted]

Makes me wanna go back to school to be a full time student again. I miss college. I shold have gone on to get my masters...I don't know about my PhD though.

Congrats for you...just curious what are you planning on doing with that afterwards? Are you planning on going into academia or further your studies abroad? I'm just curious how you would be slotted into the world with a PhD of that caliber.

-GSWanted

[Keller]

As someone who supported a wife while she was studying for both her oral and written exams for a PhD, congrats.

That's not easy work.

[BriarFox]

Makes me wanna go back to school to be a full time student again. I miss college. I shold have gone on to get my masters...I don't know about my PhD though.

Congrats for you...just curious what are you planning on doing with that afterwards? Are you planning on going into academia or further your studies abroad? I'm just curious how you would be slotted into the world with a PhD of that caliber.

-GSWanted

Ideally, academia and a professorship. As with a lot of jobs, though, the market sucks right now (it has for years in academia - the profession is in something of a crisis). If I don't get an academic job, I'll look for grant-writing, consulting, editing, or something along those lines. Speech-writing or public speaking is possible, too (spokesperson for various agencies and so on). Law school's a possibility, but it's not like making it as a lawyer is any easier than doing it as an academic, and I'd have to take on law-school loans for it when, at the moment, I have zero debt (my grad school is fully paid by fellowships and lectureships and such). It may help my chances that my phd is from a school very well known for its medieval program, one that's seen as productive and professional, but not arrogant. We'll see.

As for abroad, I wouldn't mind that. There are a number of jobs for professors in the Middle East, Egypt, and so on, because American universities are creating branch campuses there that are hard to staff.

A lot of people complain about being hoodwinked into grad school, or not knowing how bad the market for PhDs can be, but I wouldn't be anywhere else. I did, and am doing, exactly what I wanted to.