Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The doctoral qualifying exam is probably the most stressful part of earning a Ph.D. In addition to the candidate being scrutinized by a panel of field experts with a vague scope of questions, a single poor performance on the exam could result in expulsion from your Ph.D. program, despite how hard you worked toward your […]
Are Ph.D. candidates students or employees? The answer is a little fuzzy, which makes it difficult to find a work-life balance while pursuing your Ph.D. Here are some thoughts on how we can take back some control.
It is exciting to take on writing projects, but sometimes they languish, half-finished, until the mad rush right before the deadline. Graduate student Veronica Busa shares five tips to promote ongoing progress towards a writing goal.
From planning the date to structuring your presentation, these tips from current and former Ph.D. students can guide you through the process and help you prepare for a productive meeting that will set you up for a successful year. This post is part two of two, focusing on how to execute a successful meeting presentation. […]
Every year, after passing the dreaded preliminary oral exam, Ph.D. students are required to meet with their thesis advisory committee (TAC) to assess their progress and plan future work. These meetings can be incredibly valuable, and they provide important check-ins during the sometimes chaotic day-to-day lab work. While preparing for my last TAC meeting, I […]
As a fourth-year neuroscience Ph.D. student, I appreciate the variety of topics that lie within the umbrella of the nervous system. Nowhere is this more evident than in the diverse backgrounds and passions of my fellow students. To provide a glimpse into the vibrant world of neuroscience research, and to provide insight to others considering […]
The holiday season in Baltimore sees a flurry of activity on campus as graduate programs prepare to welcome prospective students for interviews in early 2016. Interviewees have not yet been accepted into a graduate program, but they have been selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants, and as many as half will ultimately be […]
It’s fair to say that the majority of us who come to graduate school have a similar career goal in mind: a faculty position. The Ph.D. is viewed as the gateway to academia and deciding to venture away from that is taboo. We go as far as to call nonacademic jobs “alternative,” which carries a […]