Being a Unicorn: Finishing Your PhD Early
Article
Bedford, Alison. 2019. "Being a Unicorn: Finishing Your PhD Early." The Thesis Whisperer.
| Article Title | Being a Unicorn: Finishing Your PhD Early |
|---|---|
| Article Category | Article |
| Authors | |
| Author | Bedford, Alison |
| Journal Title | The Thesis Whisperer |
| Year | 2019 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://thesiswhisperer.com/2019/09/04/on-finishing-early/ |
| Abstract | Recently I published a post from Carmen Blythe on finishing the PhD in 2 years, which provoked a storm of comments. Some people pointed out the many advantages that Carmen had, which helped her finish in such a short time. You might have been left wondering: what about ‘normal people’ – can they finish early to? There are a bunch of PhD students who routinely finish early: part timers. While they are more likely to drop out in the first couple of years, statistically people who start as a part timer to finish much earlier than their full time comrades; sometimes within four years (which is like being enrolled for two years full time). I guess we don’t notice this happening around us because finishing in 4 years instead of 8 means you are still around for a long-ish time. Truly, our part time students are the quiet achievers of the PhD world. I’ve wanted to highlight this phenomenon for a while, so I was glad when Alison sent in this post. Dr Alison Bedford is a recent PhD graduate from the University of Southern Queensland, parent, wife, secondary History and English teacher, sessional lecturer in History teacher education, and generally busy human. Her research interests include Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, Foucault’s concept of discourse, science fiction and History curriculum and pedagogy. You can find her on LinkedIn and Twitter @bedforda1 |
| Keywords | part time study; full time study; Doctor of Philosophy (PhD); completion; early completion |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 390303. Higher education |
| Byline Affiliations | University of Southern Queensland |
| Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
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