How long does it take to get a Ph.D.?

[radical negative]

Hello. I’m in the US and I’m going to have to decide if and/or where I want to work on a Ph.D. in physics. I have some questions about the length of time it takes to get a one and I also want to get a better sense of what requirements need to be met. It’s clear and straightforward to me that one needs to take a certain number of credits, complete the required courses, and pass an examination. What’s not clear to me is what’s required to produce a satisfactory thesis.

For example, I’ve heard something to the effect that to produce a thesis, a student spends the first year reading about the subject they want to research, the second and third year performing research and analysis, and the fourth year writing a thesis. I don’t understand why these tasks should necessary take a certain amount of time.

What if the research doesn’t go according to plan? Or what if one writes a thesis very quickly? How does a student know if they’ve spend enough time on each task? Do universities and professors typically think a student should spend a minimum amount of time on each part of the thesis production? How does a physics department decide that it's time to graduate someone?

I’m hoping if I work hard I could complete a thesis in a shorter period than usual, but it’s hard to know if this is true or not. I will hopefully have 33 graduate credits and a M.S. at the end of this semester, so I wonder if I could put more time into research than is typical for first year Ph.D. student.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It takes as long as it takes. Sometimes it meshes nicely with a schedule like you describe, and sometimes things happen. A friend of mine is an astronomer, and on the night he was scheduled to observe it rained.

I don't think the plan of "I'll work extra hard and finish sooner" is realistic. Grad students are not famous for loafing, and in any event some things - like rain - are out of your control.

 

[Choppy]

The answers to a lot of your questions are likely in here:
So You Want to Be a Physicist

What if the research doesn’t go according to plan? Or what if one writes a thesis very quickly? How does a student know if they’ve spend enough time on each task? Do universities and professors typically think a student should spend a minimum amount of time on each part of the thesis production? How does a physics department decide that it's time to graduate someone?

These are common concerns, and you're right that the process doesn't take the same amount of time for everyone.

Every graduate student will have a supervisor and ultimately a supervisory committee. This committee will ultimately determine when enough work has been done and when the student can proceed through the different phases of the degree. There are subtle differences between schools, but in general the committee will determine when a student is ready to write-up and defend. Ideally this comes at the request of the student, because if the PhD is doing what it should, the student should be learning to recognize what constitutes a dissertation.

If something is not going to plan, that's when the supervisor is supposed to step in and re-direct. The supervisor is also supposed to work with the student to establish the research plan in the first place to ensure it has a reasonable probability of success, as well as a contingency plan for if the main project doesn't work. In most cases, if the research plan is set up well, even if things don't work, there can still be value salvaged from the results.

Something else that seems to influence the time to completion is the duration of financial support, in my experience. Once that dries up, students tend to finish pretty quickly.

I’m hoping if I work hard I could complete a thesis in a shorter period than usual, but it’s hard to know if this is true or not. I will hopefully have 33 graduate credits and a M.S. at the end of this semester, so I wonder if I could put more time into research than is typical for first year Ph.D. student.

Those credits might allow you to cut down on the time spent during coursework. They might not. Some programs are very specific that you complete their versions of courses that you've taken. You might want to factor this into your search for a graduate program.

I also concur with V50 that the vast majority of students tend to under-estimate the amount of time that it takes to complete a PhD. Just to get into most programs you need to be an above average undergraduate student - so most graduate students are both smart and generally hard-working. So simply planning to work hard is unlikely to result in crossing the finish line any faster than anyone else. Your colleagues will all also be planning to work hard. That said, it does pay to put the time in up front in establishing a solid research plan. From what I've seen, the students who take the most time to finish tend to be the ones who meander in the beginning, or expect the supervisor to do all of the planning for them. It can also help to stay focussed on particular goals. The problem of course is that sometimes in the course of research you stumble on something that's just plain interesting and it can be easy to get side-tracked. (Sometimes those side-tracks turn out to be well worth pursuing too!)

 

[Vanadium 50]

if the research plan is set up well, even if things don't work, there can still be value salvaged from the results.

While that is true, this is seldom a zero-time proposition. If something goes awry, going to Plan B might take several months to a year.

 

[jtbell]

It might also be worth noting that if your financial support comes from a research assistantship, the money probably comes from your advisor's or research group's grant money. They will expect you to "earn" that money by working for them on things that support their work, and don't necessarily support your work directly. You won't be able to spend all your time working on your dissertation project. My experience was with experimental physics; theory may be somewhat different in this respect.

 

[CrysPhys]

Hello. I’m in the US and I’m going to have to decide if and/or where I want to work on a Ph.D. in physics. I have some questions about the length of time it takes to get a one and I also want to get a better sense of what requirements need to be met.

Are you planning on experimental or theoretical physics?

 

[radical negative]

Thank you all or the replies.

Are you planning on experimental or theoretical physics?

I'm planning on doing computational physics. Iv'e applied for programs for this fall and had one acceptance so far.
I have two more questions:
Do you think it's too late to apply to anymore Ph.D. programs for this fall? The deadlines have all passed but I heard some have rolling admissions.
Should I contact any professors that I'm interested in doing research with early?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Do you think it's too late to apply to anymore Ph.D. programs for this fall? The deadlines have all passed

Yes, it's too late.

 

[Dishsoap]

There are some schools that have admissions deadlines coming up - the University of Minnesota and UT - Arlington, to name a few. But V50 is right that most schools' deadlines have passed.

 

[EngWiPy]

Most PhD programs have a minimum as well a maximum time to be completed. In my school it was 3 years minimum and 6 years maximum for full-time students. You can finish anytime between these limits depending on your progress with the approval of your supervisor and defense committee.

As for if you have to contact a professor before applying, I think having a supervisor's name in the application increases your chances if not required by some programs. I contacted a professor first, and after agreeing on the research topic and the funding, I applied for the program and put his name down in the application as my supervisor.