phd 3 year plan

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• Typical timetable for full-time PhD student (3 ...

Typical timetable for full-time PhD student (3 Year)

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Timeline of a PhD

A typical PhD, taken over 3-4 years, is structured as follows:

First three months

During your first 3 months you settle in and prepare an initial research plan with your supervisor.

Your research plan gives a statement of the general topic area, an initial formulation of the issues to be addressed, a list of principal references on which the work will draw, and objectives for the first year of study. Your supervisor may also ask you to attend some of the undergraduate lectures.

You will also need register for the Graduate School's Professional Skills programme . If you are a non-native English speaker you will also have your English language ability assessed.

First six months

You can expect to spend your first 6 months undertaking literature searches and defining your project. You will have regular meetings with your supervisor. You will also meet the personal tutor (a member of staff from a different research group).

Months 7-18

You continue to work on your research project, and will have the opportunity to attend the  Graduate School's Professional Skills courses on advanced writing, career planning, presentation and progressing.

An Early Stage Assessment is submitted by the end of month 9.

This report sets out the main research areas, details of work done so far, and a programme for future work. You attend an interview with one or two assessors and your supervisor. This assessment confirms your suitability to continue with your PhD programme.

You will have also attended some, or all of, the  Graduate School's Professional Skills training   on topics such as professional conduct, project management, and a residential course on research skills and development.

Months 18-24

Late stage review (22 months after registration).

You will be required to submit a report that contains the contents page for your thesis, a statement of expected contributions, achievements to date and a plan for completion of work and thesis. You will be assessed by interview with one or more assessors and your supervisor.

Months 24-36

You continue working on your research project. You will also have the opportunity to attend courses on career planning, and completing your research.

At the end of 36th month, you will complete a Progress Review, which will determine whether you will be moving up to the writing up status or maintain active registration.

Months 36-48

Progress Review ( at 36 months ). It is decided whether you should move to writting up stage or have your acitve registration extended.

Thesis submission ( by the end of 48th month )

Your thesis is your account of the work you have done, which should form a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject and show evidence of originality by the discovery of new facts and/or the exercise of independent critical power. The thesis is examined by an oral exam. There are two examiners: one from Imperial College and one from another university. The oral exam usually lasts for 2-3 hours, and you will find out the result immediately after the exam.

154. How to Plan Your PhD w/ Hugh Kearns

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A PhD Plan sounds like an oxymoron, but charting a path to graduation is one of the most important things you can do as a graduate student.

This week, we talk with Hugh Kearns of Thinkwell about why PhD planning is so challenging for students, and learn about some tools that can keep your research on track.

Uncharted Territory

We start the conversation by trying to understand why planning is so difficult and so rare for PhDs.

“They’ve never done a PhD so they don’t know what’s coming,” Kearns observes. “And your previous education doesn’t prepare for research.”

He continues, “Research by its nature is uncertain. Things go wrong. And then what happens is people think that ‘Because I don’t know, we just won’t plan anything! We’ll see what happens.'”

But just because you’ve never done a PhD before, and no one has pursued your particular branch of research, that doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead.

In fact, there are already tools and strategies, adapted from project management in the business world, that will help you set some guide rails around your winding path to a PhD.

Getting Your PhD Plan Backward

Traditional ‘forward’ planning works great for a well-worn process, like building a house. Builders know from experience that you can’t build the walls until you’ve poured the foundation, and you can’t paint until the drywall is installed.

Each of those activities has a reasonably predictable timeline, so you can plan the construction of a home week by week until it’s finished.

But a PhD isn’t quite at prescriptive. Sure, you know you need to do a literature review, but how long does that take? And how long will experiments take?

The fact is, they’ll take as much time as you give them. There’s no definitive ‘finish line’ for a literature review the way there is for a construction project. You just need to decide how long you’re willing to give the review, and stop when it’s ‘good enough.’

That’s why Kearns recommends ‘backward planning’ for PhDs. You start with an end date in mind (usually when the funding runs out) and work back from there.

His book, Planning Your PhD: All the tools and advice you need to finish your PhD in three years , lays out the steps in detail, and provides some worksheets you can use to create a multi-year Thesis Plan .

In fact, he offers those worksheets for free on the website!

Drilling into Detail

With your Thesis Plan in place, you can begin the process of adding more and more detail to the events closest in time.

This ‘rolling plan’ recognizes that you don’t know what you might be doing on Tuesday March 25 at 3PM three years from now, but you CAN decide on some goals over the next six months.

And don’t stress out if those goals shift, or you don’t quite manage to meet them. If you revisit your plan on a regular schedule, you can adjust and adapt.

If you never set the goal, or never look back at what you planned, you’re guaranteed to drift as the months and years pass by.

Kearns shares some other tools, like his ‘To Day’ list that works in conjunction with your ‘To Do’ list to put a time component on your tasks. That way, you slowly make progress toward your goals, rather than watching your list grow more and more unmanageable.

The Paradox of Choice

Finally, we talk about the surprising fact having more options usually means you are less happy and get less done. Weird, right?

It’s the ‘paradox of choice,’ described by Barry Schwartz in his 2004 book of the same name, and this TED Talk .

For graduate students, that manifests as a list of things you need to get done: pour a gel, set up those reactions, manage the lab animals, read three papers, write a section of a review, respond to your PI’s email, and on and on.

And what happens when you have all those things you COULD be doing? You get overwhelmed and go scroll through Instagram instead.

Kearns recommends that you identify ‘The Next Thing’ (or TNT) and work on that. The smaller you make that task, the better!

We’ve learned over the years that PhD students don’t understand the meaning of the word “small”. Because they’ll say, “OK, I know what the task is: I’ll finish my literature review”. But this is still way too big. So now we use the word micro-task. For example, some micro-tasks are: * Add two paragraphs to the discussion section * Add the new data to Table 1 * Read my supervisor’s comments on my draft Planning Your PhD, by Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner

Keeping ‘The Next Thing’ manageable prevents your brain from shutting down and giving up.

And if you stack up enough ‘The Next Things’, day after day and week after week, you’ll soon be making measurable progress on your PhD!

One thought to “154. How to Plan Your PhD w/ Hugh Kearns”

There’s so many people that I’ve already approached and address the subject, and while it’s still needs to be addressed and is of great value to younger grad students… There’s something that I have experienced two times in my graduate student career, that I’ve yet to hear any academic institution discuss… What happens, when you are left alone when your advisor dies, and/or commits suicide? I realize this is a very small population of the onions that you speak to, but to those of us that I’ve gone through this, it is absolutely devastating. I’m the first person from my family to go to college, let alone grad school. Trying to finish my PhD was absolutely, not supported the least. When my advisor died it just sent things out of control. So, how do you propose to integrate maybe even in a small portion… However uncomfortable it may be, if a student is to be in such a situation where their advisor dies, And they are not receiving any support by their department which leaves them in even greater shock.. And perhaps I need them selves in limbo for years. This is what happened to me. But I had extenuating circumstances. I fought as hard as I could, While escaping a very unsafe home situation… Essentially, how do you bring up these topics for students for the worst possible case scenario for when things go wrong? Hopefully, they never do reach a point Were you have to learn that your advisor died or that you were advisor completed suicide in one of the parking garages is in your university. If you happen to plan your research out, let’s say perfectly; you have five research papers and you were on track to graduate and you were ready to give your defense And anticipated your graduation to be the next upcoming semester. You did everything right. Your plan worked. You follow the rules. What advice for students would you suggest, to prevent them from essentially falling apart completely? Because at the end of the day they put their entire lives into what they are doing here to finish up and move on with their lives. They put relationships and marriages and children on hold… So what happens when a disaster strikes? I think that should be a topic you might want to touch on in the future. Like I said, might be a small demographic, but I lost 1 advisor suddenly, An excellent professor to suicide, a remarkable and rising star an excellent lab-mate to suicide as well. I think that if we can integrate mental health and just kind of trickle it into conversations more, and dedicate more time to Just discussing it, and just discussing that mental health is as important as physical health… mental health won’t be as stigmatized as it unfortunately still is at this very day. Overall, I’m happy about the topic of this episode and this podcast in general. However, I think there are modern in inclusive pathways and things that Students really need help with especially regarding mental health and support… Especially when the loss of a lame or a advisor or a loved one… If any of this occurs, and they feel like they cannot reach out, that can be detrimental to your perfect research plan. So at the end of the day, your research plan could mean absolutely nothing. You have to essentially plan for the worst. Sounds sounds like a very pessimistic thing, I understand. But having gone through this myself, I don’t want anybody to ever experience what I have. We can only start making these extreme cases easier to deal with by Integrating it in our discussions. After all, it is quite relatable to your planning of your research and your PhD career. Because when your world gets turned upside down, your “plan” Could be dead or worthless. So where do you go from there? Just trying to provide a thought on my own take Hope it helps thanks for the podcast.

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Creating awesome Gantt charts for your PhD timeline

It’s a common scenario: you have never heard about Gantt charts. Then, when writing a PhD application or planning your PhD timeline for the upcoming years, someone suggests: You should include a Gantt chart! No need to worry. Here is all you need to know about Gantt charts for your PhD timeline.

What are Gantt charts?

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A Gantt chart is a visual representation of a project schedule and a widely used tool in project management.

Gantt charts belong to the family of bar charts. In a Gantt chart, bars depict different project tasks. The length of each bar is proportionate to the task duration and indicates both start and finish dates.

Gantt charts are named after Henry Gantt. He lived from 1861-1919 and developed these types of charts as part of his work as a management consultant.

A Grantt chart is a great way to provide an overview of project tasks, activities and milestones.

Gantt charts are frequently used to illustrate PhD timelines because doing a PhD essentially means creating, managing and implementing a project with many components over several years.

Therefore, Gantt charts are popular tools among (aspiring) PhD students.

They are often featured in PhD proposals: Through visual representations, Gantt charts help communicate milestones, plans and estimated task durations.

Furthermore, Gantt chart PhD timelines allow PhD students to track their progress. They can also help PhD students to stay on track with their work.

You may also like: How to develop an awesome PhD timeline step-by-step

Gantt charts can include all kind of information, based on the specific project they are focusing on. When it comes to Gantt chart PhD timelines, there are several elements that are commonly featured:

• Extensive PhD proposal/plan
• Data collection
• Experiments
• Data analysis
• Writing plan
• Publications
• Conferences
• Courses/Coursework

Of course, every PhD project is unique. This uniqueness should be reflected in your Gantt chart. For instance, your Gantt chart PhD timeline will look different if you write a PhD based on articles or if you write a monograph .

For a PhD based on published articles, different bars in a Gantt chart PhD timeline could for example represent individual papers. For a monograph, it may be smarter to focus on research stages.

How do you create a Gantt chart for your PhD timeline?

Unfortunately, creating a Gantt chart in Microsoft Excel is far from straightforward as Excel does not provide its own Gantt chart template.

You can create a table, turn it into a bar chart and manually edit it until it looks like a Gantt chart. If you have some experience with Excel, it is doable. Detailed instructions on the process can be found in this manual from Ablebits.com.

However, why go through all the hassle when you can simply download a template? You can use Microsoft’s own free Gantt project planner template and adjust it to your PhD project.

Manually creating a PhD timeline Gantt chart in PowerPoint is a bit easier than in Excel. Therefore, I will explain the process here.

First, you need to open a blank PowerPoint slide. Then click on Insert (1.), then Chart (2.). A popup will appear. Select Bar (3.) and finally select the Stacked Bar option (4).

A standard bar chart will appear on your slide and a small Excel table with open next to it. The first column in the Excel table is called Categories . You can replace categories with the PhD tasks that you want to display. For instance, Literature Review, Interviews, Transcribing and Analysis. You can add more categories or delete existing ones by removing a row in the small Excel table.

Next to the Categories (now tasks) column, you see three more columns: Series 1 , Series 2 , Series 3 . You can use these columns to showcase the length of tasks. Rename Series 1 into Start Date and Series 2 into End Date . Series 3 indicates the overall length. Depending on the timeframe you want to showcase, you can opt for instance for Length (weeks) or Length (months) .

In the example below, I decided to plan PhD tasks for a year. Thus, 1 means January, 2 means February, 3 means March and so forth. The length of tasks is also indicated in months:

Next, click on your chart and three icons will appear in the upper-right corner next to it. Click on the bottom one, the Chart filters , remove the tick of the check box of End Date , and click on Apply. You will see that the bar chart will start to look like a Gantt chart:

Now, the blue parts of the bar, indicating the Start Dates, need to be removed. Just click on one of them, and on the righthand side, Format Data Series should appear. Select No fill. Alternatively, in the upper menu, select Format , go to Shape fill, and select No fill .

Now comes the fun part, namely decorating. You can add a chart title, colour the bars in the colour of your choice, edit the legend and the axis descriptions. Just play with it to explore the options.

One more thing I did was changing the value of the axis, because I want to illustrate the months of a year. Thus, it was a bit weird that the horizontal axis started with 0 and ended with 13 while I needed 1-12 to indicate each month of a year. You can simply change this by clicking on the axis. On the righthand side, Format Axis will appear. Go to Axis Options , Bounds , and enter 1 for Minimum and 12 for Maximum .

And voila! Your Gantt chart is ready.

The nice thing about learning how to create a Gantt chart in Microsoft PowerPoint is that you basically teaches you how to create one in a Word file as well! The process is very similar.

To start the process in Word, it is smart to first change the orientation of your page to Landscape . In the top menu, click on Layout , then select Orientation , then choose Landscape .

Next, select Insert , then Chart , and select a Stacked Bar chart again.

A basic bar chart will appear on your page:

Looks familiar? Yes! From here, it is basically the same process as editing the bar chart in PowerPoint.

If you don’t want to go through the hassle of creating your own Gantt chart but are not convinced by any templates, you can make use of online tools and software.

There are some paid providers out there, but in my opinion, it is not worth paying to create an awesome PhD timeline.

You can use a free provider (or make do with one of the many Gantt chart templates that exist on the internet). One free online tool is the Free Online Gantt Chart Software :

The site requires no signup. You can editing and simply start filling in the Gantt chart, and export it as an Excel, Image or PDF file when you are done!

PhD timeline Gantt chart templates

A great way to create a detailed Gantt chart in Microsoft Excel is by using Microsoft’s free Gantt project planner template . The level of detail and functionality exceeds those of simple, manually created Gantt charts. This makes this type of Gantt chart especially useful to track detailed PhD progress.

A useful Gantt chart template for PhD timelines in PowerPoint can be downloaded here via OfficeTimeline.com This Gantt chart is particularly great to provide a rough overview of plans over a longer period. For instance, with a few edits, you can illustrate a nice 3-year PhD timeline.

Useful Gantt chart templates for Microsoft Word can be downloaded here from TemplateLAB. I like these templates as they can be easily adjusted to the needs of a PhD timeline. For instance, a weekly Gantt chart template can be useful to establish a detailed plan with weekly objectives to keep your PhD progress on track.

PhD timeline Gantt chart examples

Using the template provided by Microsoft above, an example PhD timeline to track regular progress on tasks could look, for instance, like this:

Using the Gantt chart PowerPoint template by OfficeTimeline.com above, an example PhD timeline to present a plan for a 3 year PhD could look, for instance, like this:

Using a weekly Gantt chart template from TemplateLab mentioned above, an example PhD timeline with weekly tasks and objectives could look, for instance, like this:

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How to Create and Use a Gantt Chart for PhD Studies

A Gantt chart is a common tool used in the project management field. It is used for schedule planning of a project and its tasks and activities. It shows the tasks, their start and end dates, and the duration needed to complete them.

A PhD is a project and may last from as few as three years to as long as six years depending on the university and department a student is enrolled in.

In order to successfully complete a PhD program, one needs to plan when each of the tasks will be completed from the word go. A Gantt chart is very useful in doing this.

A PhD student can create one comprehensive Gantt chart or several smaller Gantt charts for each of the major deliverables.

This article discusses a Gantt chart for a general PhD program that has both coursework and dissertation components.

Benefits of a Gantt chart for planning PhD studies

Steps involved in creating a gantt chart for phd studies, how to effectively use the phd gantt chart, final thoughts on the phd gantt chart.

Creating a Gantt chart at the beginning of PhD studies has the following benefits:

• It is easy to create. A student can use the traditional pen-and-paper method or existing digital tools or softwares to create a Gantt chart.
• It is easy to read. The visual presentation of the Gantt chart makes it easy for the student to read and know what is expected of him at any point in time.
• A Gantt chart makes it easy to monitor progress of PhD studies. The user can choose to use different colors for tasks that have already been completed, tasks that are close to completion, and tasks that require more time and effort to complete.
• It forms the basis for monthly, weekly, and daily planning of the PhD studies. Depending on how detailed a student wants to go in terms of planning, the Gantt chart comes in handy when writing out the monthly, weekly and even daily plans.

Step 1: List all the deliverables expected of your PhD program. In this example, the PhD program has the following requirements:

• Coursework, divided into 4 modules each lasting 2 weeks. All 4 modules need to be completed within the first year of study.
• A comprehensive written exam at the end of the fourth module.
• An oral exam once a student passes the written exam.
• Submission of a concept note.
• Submission of a research proposal once a student passes the oral exam.
• Writing a business management case study.
• Three journal papers.
• At least two conference papers.
• A dissertation.

Step 2: For each of the requirements listed above, note the start and end dates. For the above example, the PhD program lasts a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 6 years. Assuming the minimum of 3 years (beginning January 2021), the activities’ start and end dates are as follows:

Step 3: Using the above information, create the Gantt chart using Microsoft Word, Powerpoint or Excel.

The following are useful resources for creating a Gantt chart using:

• Microsoft Powerpoint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp0vr6OkW8Y
• Microsoft Excel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00s5efQWrgU&t=10s
• Microsoft Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90RdA5X4G0

The Gantt chart created from the above data is shown below. The chart was created using Microsoft Powerpoint.

Step 4: Once the Gantt chart is complete, print it out and hang it on the wall of your study room/area. This serves as a constant reminder of the tasks that need to be done at any point in time, as well as of the progress that has been made so far.

The greatest strength in using the Gantt chart for PhD studies lies in its ability to help one plan ahead. Using the Gantt chart above as an example, the user can plan as follows:

• At the beginning of every month, look at what is required of you. For instance, the student above needs to complete module one of the coursework and at the same time start working on proposal writing.

The student can plan for module one in advance by going through the course structure and expected readings, and reading in advance before the start of the module so that he is able to follow and understand what is being taught. If there are pre- and post-module exams, the student can also prepare for them in advance.

Preliminary tasks for proposal writing can include: discussing your proposed topic with your supervisor, and searching for and quick review of literature to identify the gap that your topic will be addressing. All these can be done in the first month before the actual proposal writing starts.

• The Gantt chart can help you identify the skills that are required for the successful completion of your dissertation. For instance, the student above is expected to write a Business Management case study by June of year 2.

If the student does not have case study writing skills, he can start looking for courses that teach case study writing and complete them way before the deadline for the case study. Same case for skills such as preparing and writing a journal paper, writing a conference paper, data analysis using softwares such as Stata, SPSS, NVivo etc.

• The Gantt chart can help you plan for academic-related events such as conferences.

In the example provided above, the student is expected to attend two scientific conferences (in November of year 2 and March of year 3) and make presentations.

The student can start looking for conferences related to his field that are held during the proposed times and mark the key dates and requirements of the conferences (for instance, abstract submission deadlines, abstract submission guidelines, registration deadlines etc).

• The Gantt chart can help you create monthly and weekly plans for longer tasks such as proposal writing.

In the above sample Gantt chart, proposal writing and defense spans a period of 15 months. By March of the second year, the student is expected to defend his proposal. This may seem like such a long period of time but in reality it is not. This is because it is not the only task that the student will undertake during this period. As a result, it is easier to focus on the tasks at hand and forget about the tasks that seem to have adequate time.

Proposal writing is a daunting task and requires constant reading and updating. To ensure that the student submits his proposal in time, he can create monthly and weekly plans for the task. An example of monthly planning for the proposal writing is provided in the table below:

The monthly plan is based on assumptions, for instance, that the supervisor will review the document within the scheduled timeframe. This may or may not hold, depending on the supervisor.

It is therefore important to allow ample time for such factors that are out of your own control in order to ensure that the task is completed by the deadline.

The monthly plans can further be broken down into weekly (and even daily) plans, for instance:

• Number of papers to read per week (day).
• Number of words to write per week (day).
• How many citations and bibliographies to insert (update) every week (day).
• Number of additional articles to search and add to your library each week etc.

Each of these tasks contributes to the overall proposal writing and make the task completion easier and faster than waiting for the last few months to do it all at once.

A PhD is a medium- to long-term project depending on how long it takes to finish. It therefore requires effective and careful planning from the start of the program to ensure that each deliverable is completed within the stipulated time. The Gantt chart is an easy-to-create, and easy-to-use planning tool that can be used by all PhD students. Not only does it save the student time but it also gives him peace of mind knowing the progress of each and every task required.

Grace Njeri-Otieno

Grace Njeri-Otieno is a Kenyan, a wife, a mom, and currently a PhD student, among many other balls she juggles. She holds a Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in Economics and has more than 7 years' experience with an INGO. She was inspired to start this site so as to share the lessons learned throughout her PhD journey with other PhD students. Her vision for this site is "to become a go-to resource center for PhD students in all their spheres of learning."

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How the PhD Program Works

Program Overview

Completing your doctorate at Wharton requires 5 years of full-time study. The first 2 years in the program prepare you for admission to candidacy by taking courses, qualifying exams, and starting research projects. In the last few years, you are primarily conducting research full-time including writing and defending your doctoral dissertation.

Admission to candidacy.

You begin by taking courses required for your program of study. All programs requires a preliminary exam, which may be either oral or written.

Some programs may have further requirements, such as an additional exam or research paper. If you enter with a master’s degree or other transfer credit, you may satisfy the formal course requirements more quickly.

Beginning the Wharton PhD Curriculum How the first two years of the Wharton program helped students discover their interests, learn the tools of the profession, and fuel their passion for teaching.

The Doctoral Dissertation

Upon successful completion of coursework and passing a preliminary examination, you are admitted to candidacy for the dissertation phase of your studies.

Your doctoral dissertation should contain original research that meets standards for published scholarship in your field. You are expected to be an expert in the topic you choose to research.

You are admitted to candidacy for the dissertation phase of your studies upon successful completion of coursework and passing a preliminary examination, but you can start thinking about and working on research of relevance at any time.

The dissertation process culminates with a “defense,” in which you defend the proposal orally before your dissertation committee.

While working on your dissertation, you interact extensively with Wharton faculty. Together with interested faculty, you create your own research community that includes your dissertation advisor and dissertation committee.

Policies and Procedures

Get more detailed explanation of course requirements, academic standards, the Teacher Development Program, time limits, and dissertation procedures and requirements.

Sample Program Sequence

Years 1 & 2.

Coursework Examination Research Papers Research Activities Field-Specific Requirements

Directed Reading & Research Admission to Candidacy Formulation of Research Topic

Years 4 & 5

Continued Research Oral Examination Dissertation

Hear From Our Doctoral Community

Uniting great minds, wharton’s stat bridge ma program takes flight, from phd student to colleague, the diverse skill set you need to become a professor.

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Tress Academic

#112: PhD project-planning quick-start

February 15, 2022 by Tress Academic

Let’s get straight to the point: If you realistically want to have a chance of finishing your PhD on time, you’ll have to plan your project. More specifically, you have to apply project management techniques and appoint yourself the manager of that project. Many PhD candidates have trouble setting up and following a project plan. That is why in this blogpost, we’ll let you know what it means to manage your PhD project and we’ll share an awesome free worksheet: 6 steps to outline a PhD project plan . With this, you can start drafting your project plan without struggle and endless searching for the right procedure.

My experiences with project planning

When I set out to apply for a scholarship to fund my PhD project, my supervisor, a professor at the University of Heidelberg, told me to describe exactly what I wanted to achieve in my project, and to set up a Gantt-Chart so my proposal would convince the funding agency that my project was worth the investment. My professor was tight-lipped and I did not get any further information on how to work out my project plan. I dived into the university library for the latest project-management guides, and it took a lot of time to figure it all out and come up with a reasonable plan for my PhD project. I got the funding for the project, and once I started, I used my plan to guide me throughout my project. I adjusted it every now and then, but it helped me never lose sight of my goals and to finish within the 3 years that I had. 

I have used project plans ever since. In the 12 years that I have worked as a scientist, there were many plans for small projects within my own group or institute, as well as for large multinational EU-framework funded project clusters. And since running TRESS ACADEMIC , whenever we set up a new course or revise our website, the first thing we do is set up a project plan. We even have mini-project plans for our weekly blog posts with the exact tasks we have to do and when they need to be completed. For me, this has become second nature: No project without a plan. 

Common myths around project planning for PhD projects

1. believing you don’t know enough.

Many PhD students don’t devise a plan because they think they don’t know enough about their project–particularly what the end results might be. That is a very common excuse to avoid thinking about the goals and outcomes of the project, as well as the entire process that will lead you there. You can read more about this and other common objections on the SMART ACADEMICS BLOG post no. 47: Plan your project – save your PhD!

2. Believing a plan is set in stone

In other words, you are afraid that once the plan is set, you lose all freedom and flexibility in your research. 

Don’t think that once the plan is drawn up, your project will be carried out in this exact way. None of my projects were ever carried out exactly as I had initially planned. The goal is not to set-up regulations that dictate your every move, but to set-up a plan that will steer your project along the correct path. Your plan helps you make informed decisions on where to take your project at any point in time. You can stick to the plan or adjust it if you determine that a deviation is superior to what you have initially planned. This is how your project will evolve and improve over time. 

3. Believing it’s better to wait and see what happens

There is still a wide-spread belief that you start a PhD and just see what comes your way or what will develop once your supervisors give you some initial input. This is blind-trust that the brilliant scientists around you will show you the safe route to finish on time with stellar results. Hint: They won’t, and it’s not their task. While I hope that your supervisor will give you input and bounce around ideas with you (that is indeed their task), don’t expect them to run this project for you. This is your PhD, not theirs. 

4. Believing you don’t need a personal plan for your PhD because there is already one for the bigger project you’re working in

Are you a PhD working in a larger research project with many collaborating scientists? Is your PhD project only focusing on one aspect among many ? When you get the project plan for the bigger project (or the part that your supervisor is responsible for) handed to you, you may think: Great, that’s my plan! I don’t need a separate one for myself. Wrong. Although your PhD will take place under the umbrella of this bigger project, you need to sit down and identify exactly what you are going to do that a) serves the goals of the overall project b) merits a PhD. 

If you fail to plan you plan to fail 

Data from empirical surveys show over and over again that the majority of international PhD candidates delay (HEFCE 2007, Council of Graduate Schools 2008, SCB 2011, Van de Schoot et al. 2013, BuWiN 2021). That means their PhD project takes more time than initially planned. It may take five instead of the initially planned four years, or six instead of three. While there is some wriggle room for individual cases, there is none for others. “Delay is highly problematic for PhD students because in most cases it means that they receive no income anymore, because their employment contract or scholarship ends after a certain amount of time, regardless of whether or not the dissertation has been completed” (Van Rooij E. et al. 2021). International PhD candidates may have to leave their host countries when their contracts expire since their permission to stay is tied to their employment. 

There are many reasons why PhD candidates delay. In our blog post no. 60: Are you delayed with your PhD? we list 10 common reasons. Not planning ahead for the 3-4 years of the PhD project is definitely one of them. Since this is entirely in your hands (no one will keep you from developing a project plan and tracking your progress), it is one of your biggest assets in avoiding a lengthy and painful delay. You’ve got to set clear goals from the first to the last day of your PhD, and the plan helps you put these into practice. 

Don’t take a PhD delay and its negative consequences for granted. Review what has caused your delay and how you work on your PhD currently in order to identify what needs to change with our free worksheet: Identify main reasons for the delay with your PhD . 

You don’t have to major in project management

You’re not overly interested in project management? I get it. You’re here to work on your science. Point taken. I agree that you should focus on becoming an expert in your scientific field over project management. And: Managing a scientific project has a few different requirements than managing a project in an industrial, commercial or philanthropic setting. So even just having general project management skills won’t necessarily help you a lot. That’s why we at TRESS ACADEMIC have developed tools and techniques to help you acquire the necessary skills to manage your PhD project in the fastest and most efficient way. We’re not tinkering around with theory, but instead give you PhD specific practical advice. In our course PhD Success Lab, we teach PhD candidates the exact steps to take to set up a project plan and manage their project throughout their 3-4 year PhD process, progress-tracking included. Many report that having a clear road-map takes a big weight off their shoulders, and makes them feel less overwhelmed and more confident. 

Let’s give you a head-start 

We’ve thought about how we can make PhD project-management easier for everyone right now. What we’ve realised over the years is that PhD candidates don’t know what a project plan should look like; they’re uncertain where to begin and what to include. To give you a head-start, get our free worksheet “6 steps to outline a PhD project plan” with the exact steps you have to take to set up your own. So you don’t have to figure it out all alone like I had to at the start of my PhD! Get going! 

Will you do us a favour?

Since we are sharing this for free, please refer to the SMART ACA DEMICS BLOG whenever you use our material. We’d be delighted if you share this blogpost with a friend or colleague who needs to brush up their project management skills. If you are a professor or supervisor, please share this with your team or PhD candidates. 

• SMART ACADEMICS BLOG post no. 47: Plan your project – save your PhD!  
• SMART ACADEMICS BLOG post no. 60: Are you delayed with your PhD?
• SMART ACADEMICS BLOG post no. 73: What’s needed to finish your PhD?
• free worksheet: 6 steps to outline a PhD project plan
• free worksheet: Identify main reasons for the delay with your PhD  
• free worksheet: Completing my PhD: what’s needed?  

References: 

• BuWiN (Konsortium Bundesbericht Wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs). 2021. Bundesbericht Wissenschaftlicher Nachwuchs 2021. Statistische Daten und Forschungsbefunde zu Promovierenden und Promovierten in Deutschland. WBV-Media, Bielefeld. DOI:10.3278/6004603aw 
• Council of Graduate Schools (ed.) 2008. Ph.D. Completion and Attrition: Analysis of Baseline Demographic Data from the Ph.D. Completion Project. Washington DC: CGS-Publications.
• Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) 2007. PhD research degrees – update. Entry and completion. HEFCE Issues paper 2007/28.
• Högskoleverket, Statisktika centralbyrån (SCB) 2011. Universitet och högskolor. Doktorander och examina på forskarnivå 2011. Serie Utbildning och forskning. 21 Juni 2012.
• Van Rooij E., Fokkens-Bruinsma M., and Jansen E. 2021: Factors that influence PhD candidates’ success: the importance of PhD project characteristics. Studies in Continuing Education, Vol. 43, No. 1, 48-67 https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2019.1652158  
• Van de Schoot, R., M. A. Yerkes, J. M. Mouw, H. Sonneveld. 2013. What Took Them So Long? Explaining PhD Delays among Doctoral Candidates. PLOS ONE 8 (7): e68839. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068839

Related courses and services:

• PhD Success Lab (Digital mentoring programme)
• Supervision-Coaching (1-to-1 Advice package)

More information

Do you want to successfully complete your PhD? If so, please sign up to receive our free guides.

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Department of Physics

3rd year phd students, progress report and research plan.

As in the second year, students are asked to produce a short research plan at the start of the year. It should consist of not more than 2 pages (500-1000 words), outlining progress to date and a plan of work, including appropriate milestones. Any problems that threaten to delay thesis production should be highlighted together with proposed solutions.

This plan should be agreed with the supervisor and uploaded to SkillsForge by Week 4. Submission of the plan will be taken to mean agreement has been reached between student and supervisor. Where there are issues delaying progress or the plans are not satisfactory the Director of Graduates may require the student to also attend an interview.

Thesis Plan

If your studentship is funded for <3.5 years, students need to prepare a thesis plan and submit it via SkillsForge approximately six months before the end of their funded period. If you have funding for 3.5-4 years, or are self-funded, such a thesis plan is due at the start of your 4th year.

As with the progress reports and research plan, the plan should be agreed with the supervisor and submitted via SkillsForge . Submission of the plan will be taken to mean agreement has been reached between student and supervisor.

The reason for producing a plan are to demonstrate :

• there is suficient material to write about
• the student has thought about the structure of the thesis and the approximate length of each section
• the timescale for finishing

The thesis plan should contain:

• a list of chapter headings down to sub-section level
• a rough indication of the number of pages for each section (see note on thesis length )
• the state of each section (e.g. % complete, in draft form, data awaiting analysis, experiments completed, experiments failed because …, more experiments needed, not thought about yet)
• for the incomplete parts, especially experiments, an estimate of when they will be done should be included
• a schedule of work, indicating a timetable for completing the thesis
• expected submission date

The length of the thesis plan is not important compared to the information contained. It will probably be more than one side of A4 but less than 5.

Students who do not expect to submit before the end of their funded period will also need to consider how they will be supported and must remember that the thesis must have been submitted by the end of their registration period which is at most 4 years after your start date.

Doctoral Skills/SkillsForge Portfolio

You will need to continue updating your SkillsForge portfolio as set out in the first year regulations . This will be reviewed together with your research plans for the year.

You will again perform a Training Needs Analysis to identify your strengths and areas requiring further development, both in respect of the specific project and more general skill development.

Departmental Colloquia and Research Group Seminars

Physics Colloquia are open to the whole department are held each fortnight during full term, on Wednesday starting at 4:30pm in PLT. These aim to bring a wide variety of cutting edge research from high profile speakers to the attention of a general audience of physicists. The level is suitable for all staff, postgraduates and final year MPhys students.

Attendance at these colloquia is compulsory for all PhD students as part of their general training programme.

In addition, the various research groups have their own seminars and it is usual practise for PhD students to attend.

Conference Presentations

PhD students will normally attend at least one UK and one international conference during their training period. This will give you experience of presenting your own work and meeting the experts in your particular field. The Department has allocated certain funds for each student to pay for the registration and travel expenses. There are other sources of funds for students who want to go to more conferences, especially if presenting a paper: look to your research group's grant portfolio, ask the conference organisers to waive the registration fee, apply to the Institute of Physics or other charities

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Message From the Chair

A message from Ali G. Gharavi, MD, Interim Chair for the Department of Medicine at CUIMC.

Residencies, Fellowships & Training

A list of residencies, fellowships, and training programs of Columbia University Department of Medicine. 

• Patient Care
• Medicine CME

Department of Medicine

3-year phd-to-md program.

We seek to recruit exceptional PhD scientists in the biological sciences for a 3-year curriculum in the Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons leading to the MD degree, in preparation for a career in biomedical investigation.

Success in basic science often follows the cliché that one learns more and more about less and less. Thus PhD training is notable for its narrow focus. However, for committed scientists who want to make an impact on humanity, a medical education is an ideal companion to one in basic science as it combines breadth and depth like no individual discipline in biology. Humans remain the best-studied organisms we have, the ultimate “model organism,” with phenotypes exquisitely characterized by millennia of study through the unique interaction of two classes of sentient beings, physicians and patients. Moreover, learning to recognize and treat disease teaches that most cardinal attribute of a successful scientist: the capacity to ask important questions. Standard MD-PhD programs (MST programs) share this aspiration to nurture biomedical investigators but less than 50% of MST graduates remain in research with a much smaller percentage contributing as serious investigators. We are looking for candidates who were drawn initially to science, have a potential for research already tested and proven by stellar performance in a PhD program, and are excited by their discoveries in basic research, but who now feel compelled to use their science most directly for the betterment of mankind.

Candidate Qualifications

In addition to existing prerequisites and qualifications for admission to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (See  Application Requirements ), applicants should have

• A PhD in one of the biological or related sciences from an accredited US or Canadian school
• An intention to pursue biomedical research as a physician scientist
• A record supporting exceptional scientific promise
• US citizenship or permanent resident status

The 3-year program principally aims to train future physician scientists planning careers in cognitive medical specialties such as internal medicine, pediatrics, neurology, psychiatry and pathology.  

Curriculum and Timeline

The usual 4-year curriculum of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (See  Academics ) is modified to the following 3-year curriculum for the PhD-to-MD Program:          

• Preclinical courses: 18 Months
• Major clinical year (MCY): 12 Months
• Subinternship and electives: 6 Months

See Detailed Graphic

The scholarly project requirement is waived. Students will apply for residency in the middle of the MCY. Of note, the medical training for the PhD-to-MD Program is identical to the medical training for our standard MD/PhD (MST) program.  

Standard tuition for each of the 3 years. Comprehensive information on financial aid opportunities is available (see  Tuition and Expenses ).

Application Process, Selection Criteria, Interview Day

Applicants will be evaluated by the same criteria applied to all candidates for admission, and will be reviewed and selected by the existing Admissions Committee. An additional committee representing the PhD-to-MD program will evaluate, interview and recommend candidates to the Admissions Committee. This supplemental committee will focus on the scientific achievement, research promise and commitment of the applicant to a career as a physician-scientist. Applicants to the PhD-to-MD degree program invited to interview will be asked to submit their curriculum vitae and a one-page research proposal.  

Please see the  3-year FAQs , or contact the admissions office at  [email protected] .