What is a dissertation chair?

A dissertation chair is a judge, a gatekeeper who ensures that a student meets personal, departmental, university, and even universal standards.

Do PhD students have a social life?

You can find time for hobbies and friends and such, usually in those in-between times. Your friends will be other PhD’s, and in your social time, you will talk about other researchers. Usually to make fun of them. There is almost no separation of work life and social life, it’s all mixed up.

Is a PhD stressful?

Most PhD graduates have stories of high stress or dejection, and of long evenings and weekends in the lab trying to get an experiment to work, to complete a manuscript for submission or to finish their thesis. The anecdotal evidence of a high-pressure environment is supported by recent reports.

How long will a PhD take?

1. A PhD takes twice as long as a bachelor’s degree to complete. The average student takes 8.2 years to slog through a PhD program and is 33 years old before earning that top diploma. By that age, most Americans with mere bachelor’s degree are well into establishing themselves professionally.