How to complete your PhD degree in less than three years
Completing your PhD in record time could be challenging for most PhD candidates due to the stress associated with PhD research, this article provide a step and guidelines to help you complete your PhD in less than three years.
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How to complete your PhD degree in less than three years?
There is a series of stories on the horrible nature of pursuing PhD degrees across the globe. Issues of non-completion within the stipulated time, mental health challenges, and poor social life are rampant among PhD candidates.
I draw on my personal experience to pen down some tips for prospective and current PhD candidates on completing a PhD degree in less than three years. I started my PhD journey in January 2019 and within two years and three months, I defended my dissertation and obtained the degree. I wrote seven journal articles and one conference paper that are published in Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, Frontiers, and MDPI journals from my PhD project. I also published several other articles in Springer, Wiley, Hindawi, and Elsevier journals outside my PhD project during the period.
I believe that, with these achievements, I am competent to write and share some tips with prospective and current PhD students on how to obtain a timely and successful PhD degree. Let’s get started.
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The level of your prior knowledge of the subject matter is crucial to a successful PhD degree. Evaluate yourself to determine your strengths and weaknesses before embarking on your PhD journey.
It is prudent to pursue a PhD degree in a field where your prior knowledge can offer some advantages. Before my PhD degree in mathematics education, I gained my bachelorās degree in mathematics education (Nigeria), masterās degree in mathematics (Saudi Arabia), an incomplete PhD degree in mathematics education (Nigeria, I got dissatisfied with the programme), and another incomplete PhD degree in mathematics (Saudi Arabia, I got dissatisfied with the programme). This diverse yet uniform exposure to mathematics (education) provides me with the necessary tools to complete my PhD degree in less than three years.
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Another crucial factor that contributes to a timely PhD success is your choice of university. I may categorize universities around the world into two categories: course-intensive and research-intensive.
The course-intensive universities are universities that will bombard you with a series of traditionally offered courses prior to your research. In such universities, you will be busy with courses and qualifying/comprehensive exams throughout the first two years of your programme. The hope of completing your PhD degree within three years and with quality research is very slim unless you are an exceptional candidate. On the other hand, research-intensive universities offer you the opportunity to start your research from the first month of the PhD programme. There are few research-related courses you will offer, in some cases, the courses are offered through seminars and evaluated with written essays.
If you intend to finish your PhD degree in less than three years then you should look out for research-intensive universities.
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Some skills e.g., writing, oral communication, social, and time management skills play important roles in the timely completion of PhD project. The PhD degree requires a lot of writing at least for your dissertation which could either be monograph or article based.
It is expected of a PhD candidate to write logically, systematically, and in accordance with the norms and standards in the field of study. Thus, it is important for PhD candidates to learn or develop good writing skills.
Oral communication and social skills are needed for seminar/conference presentations. The ability to answer questions and tactics to avoid some questions, in polite ways, is necessary for timely PhD success. Both written and oral communication skills will facilitate good communication with the supervisors. PhD candidates should be bold to ask questions, seek clarifications, and be meticulous in taking and implementing corrections. The ability to establish a good rapport between you and your supervisors is very important.
More so, effective time management skill is unavoidable for a PhD candidate. Make feasible and time-constraint plans for your project. Some universities will ask you to submit a research plan at some points in the programme. Ensure you meet up with the deadlines in a strategic way. You may schedule a series of two-hour uninterrupted daily work on some aspects of your project and keep a record of your achievement.
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It is true that PhD degree is very challenging. I am not scaring you. Anyone that tells you otherwise is not telling the truth. It would help if you were prepared for challenges that will shake your mental health. The ability to stay mentally upright is a crucial factor that contributes to a timely PhD degree.
Paper rejections, idea rejections, family problems, unforeseen contingencies, failure to meet deadlines, and course failures are parts and parcels of a PhD journey. These rejections and failures can lead to depression which may challenge your mental health. You should engage in extracurricular activities e.g., physical exercises, eat well, and give yourself some breaks so as to maintain the stability of your mental health.
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You may be fortunate to have some control over the scope of your PhD project. In such an instance, I will recommend that you bite only enough that you can chew. Do not be over-ambitious (life goes on with or without your project). On the other hand, do not unnecessarily narrow the scope of your project. You need to strike a balance between the two extremes and make the best of your opportunity.
The scope of the project has a significant effect on the timely completion of the PhD programme.
Ā© Yusuf F. Zakariya (PhD)
written by Yusuf F. Zakariya, edited by SG.
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