By: Karla Morrissey
“My PhD candidacy exam was super easy.”-Said No One Ever.
The words “PhD candidacy exam” have very different meanings depending on the university you attend and the program you are studying. Regardless of what a PhD candidacy exam means for you, however, there are some tips you can follow to make writing and presenting a PhD proposal much less stressful!
First, I’d like to briefly describe the format of the PhD candidacy exam for my program in chemical engineering. My exam consisted of writing a 15-page NSF-style proposal of the research I planned to do for my dissertation. The proposed work had to be entirely original, and a 30-min oral presentation summarizing my proposal was required.
1. If writing a proposal, find a template that you can follow to make sure you address all relevant topics of your proposed work.
Some universities and doctoral programs give you a template to follow when drafting your proposal. My university did not, so my first objective was to find a template to follow that would make the writing process more efficient and organized. From a quick internet search, I found a great template for a 15-page NSF-style proposal from Tufts University [1]. This template was incredibly easy to understand, and it even offers suggestions for a “timeline” to follow for writing and submitting your proposal. Note, if you plan to use this template or another, make sure to ask your advisor if it adheres to the guidelines of your program.
2. Give yourself a minimum of five months to begin thinking about your topic, and at least one month to start drafting your proposal.
Although I defended my candidacy in July, I started really thinking about my topic and objectives in January. I began collecting journal articles that I felt would help in my literature review as well as help with formulating original objectives for my work. The writing process for me took exactly one month; however, I spent January-April reading through all of the articles I had collected and making outlines of the direction I wanted to take for my research. While all of us have different ways we work more effectively (How Do You Work?), I can almost guarantee you’ll be quite stressed if you do not give yourself enough time to prepare and start writing!
3. Consult with your advisor at the beginning, middle and end of your preparation process.
Throughout the entire preparation process, I provided my advisor with updated drafts. If I had to guess the number of drafts I gave to my advisor, it’d probably be at least five drafts, spanning from 2 pages for the first draft, to 15 pages for the last. A two page summary was, for me, a great way to begin my research and have a conversation with my advisor over my topic and general objectives. From there, I began drafting the actual proposal using the template, and I had my advisor check every section I wrote as I was writing it. Towards the end, I felt confident that my final draft was ready for submission to the rest of my committee.
4. Set a date.
There’s nothing more motivating than having a hard deadline. To be honest, I waited a bit too long to set a date as the mere thought of it gave me so much anxiety! However, I regretted it, as I was ready to defend by the end of May, but due to scheduling conflicts, I had to wait until July. Anxiety can build as you wait, so start sending polls for schedules early on and set a date for your defense! It’s scary, but you’ll fit your schedule accordingly in order to be ready!
These are just some tips that really helped me prepare for my candidacy exam. For preparing the presentation, it honestly comes together quite nicely once you’ve written your proposal! The only tip I’d give for the actual presentation is to remain calm, and rehearse! I rehearsed my presentation twice, timing myself each time. Good luck to all of you out there, you can do it!
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