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Advice for Applying to PhD Programs in Philosophy (guest post)

In the following guest post * , Alex Guerrero , professor and director of graduate admissions in the Department of Philosophy at Rutgers University, offers some advice to those considering applying to philosophy PhD programs.

[Rene Magritte, “L’embellie”]

Advice for Applying to PhD Programs in Philosophy by Alex Guerrero

Here is some advice for applying to PhD programs in Philosophy.

A significant caveat: I’m the Director of Graduate Admissions at Rutgers, a program that focuses on ‘analytic’ philosophical approaches, and the advice sometimes is specific to applicants looking at those kinds of programs.

In Spring 2021, I offered on Twitter to give personalized feedback to people who applied to the Philosophy PhD program at Rutgers and were not admitted. I have now sent 103 such replies. I apologize if I missed your request. If this general advice isn’t adequately helpful, and you still would appreciate personal feedback, please send me an email.

What follows are some general thoughts about the Big 4 components of your PhD application: (1) grades/transcript, (2) personal statement, (3) letters of recommendation, and (4) writing sample. I begin by providing some general context regarding the process, and I conclude by briefly talking about a few other things, such as GREs, etc.

General context about the application process  

This past year, we received almost 400 applications. We are looking to enroll 5-7 people, and typically admit 10-14 people in order to hit that target. Those are absurd numbers. It’s much more competitive than law school, or med school, or anything else. From what I’ve heard, other programs range from 150 applicants up to around 300-400. It’s very competitive everywhere.

Our process. The Director of Graduate Admissions makes an initial cut from the full pool (380) down to around 100 applications. That’s the first big cut. I’ve now been in that role for several years, and although my process isn’t perfectly precise, I typically make this cut by looking at (1) grades/transcript, then (2) personal statement, then (3) letters of recommendation—in that order, but looking at all three. I rarely do more than glance at (4) writing samples at this stage.

The 100 or so remaining files are then reviewed by members of a graduate admissions committee, newly constituted each year. Each member of the 5-person admissions committee (4 people plus me) is assigned 20-25 files to read closely, with each committee member recommending 4-7 people to the final pool for discussion by the full committee.

The committee is composed of people working in a wide range of subfields, and files are typically assigned to committee members based on their expertise. The full 5-person committee then meets to discuss the 25-30 files that make it to the final pool, and to decide who in that final pool should be admitted, wait-listed, and rejected.

The applicant pool is very strong. Every year, we see files with stellar grades in philosophy from fancy places like Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, Stanford, and so on. And we see files from people who got stellar grades at big public schools, SLACs, leading international institutions, and so on. Few people apply to graduate school if they have not excelled in philosophy wherever they happen to be.

There are also the many students who have also done high-level work as graduate students in terminal MA programs, or at other PhD programs.

Each year the pool has a significant number of people (20+) who have already published in professional philosophy journals. (Many of these people are finishing MA programs or well into PhD programs. Importantly, although publications can be impressive, they are no “golden ticket,” and sometimes they just make a kind of small point in a debate and fall on the ‘eh’ side as far as top writing samples go. What matters is the quality of the writing sample—much more on that later—not whether it is published or not.)

Given all of that, it’s helpful if you have some sense of yourself as either a “paper perfect” applicant or someone who is a bit outside of that box. Paper perfect applicants will have near-perfect grades (3.8 or 3.9 or above, straight firsts, etc.) from elite institutions, with superlative letters from fancy well known people, they will work on perfect fit topics (more on that later), and maybe even have significant publications or professional philosophy accomplishments already. Honestly, there are probably 25-50 “paper perfect” applicants each cycle.

Some of those paper perfect applicants get in everywhere. But many do not. Some struggle to get in anywhere. And many who are not “paper perfect” do very well. This is interesting. And probably confounding. I expect much of it turns on the writing sample. More on that later.

For each thing I say, I can imagine—and have probably seen—exceptions. We regularly admit people with imperfect grades, or from schools that I know nothing about. We often don’t know the letter writers of successful applicants. The writing samples are usually excellent, though. Still, there are many general things that can be said. I hope some of them might be helpful.

(1) Grades/Transcript

For most applicants, the single best evidence we have of your ability, effort, and potential as a philosopher comes from your record as a student, particularly in philosophy courses. There are cases in which a person starts slow, or has a rough patch, or finds themselves as a student only late in the game, but it is hard to overcome a troubling transcript.

The big problems: (a) very little philosophy coursework, (b) a difficult to discern amount of philosophy coursework, (c) few philosophy courses that are like the courses one might take from Rutgers faculty, (d) multiple grades in philosophy courses that were B+ or below, or (e) a downward trend in philosophy course performance.

With (b), you can sometimes help us out by listing the philosophy courses, their instructors, and maybe even what you covered somewhere. This is particularly true for non-US transcripts, where it is sometimes opaque what the applicant studied.

On (d) and (e), we know there are reasons that people might have a rough semester or two, and it does help to address those directly in your personal statement, an additional document, or via your letter writers (if you can talk to them about it). But it is hard to get into a competitive PhD program with a B-average in philosophy courses, unless those have been supplanted by later philosophy coursework somewhere, or unless there is some significant explanation provided, as well as signs of exceptional promise elsewhere in the application.

With (a), (c), (d), and (e), if people are serious about getting into a competitive PhD program and they are having trouble on that front, I typically recommend that they consider a funded terminal MA program.

There are many excellent MA programs in philosophy, and you can learn more about those programs and funding  here  and  here . Many do very well at placing people into top PhD programs, and they can be a very good way of addressing (a)-(e). They allow you to focus on philosophy. Most graduate school grades are in the A range. The professors will help you engage material at greater length and depth. You can take courses in areas like those you might study in graduate school. And so on.

(2) Personal Statement

The personal statement serves a very specific function in the application; it tells those reading the application (a) what topics you want to focus on in graduate school and (b) why we should expect you to flourish if you focus on those topics in our program. Those reading the personal statement will also be thinking about whether our program is a good fit given what you say in (a), which is a part of assessing (b).

It is also nice to get a little window into who you are, particularly if how you came to the topics you are interested in is relevant to (b) why we should expect you to flourish in working on these topics. Maybe you bring something distinctive to them, based on your education or life experience.

But the personal statement is not a place to try to convince us that you love philosophy (we assume you do!), or that you have been aiming toward a Philosophy PhD your whole life (surprising! implausible?), or that you can’t imagine doing anything else (depressing!).

Also, I have 400 of these to read. Don’t make it hard to figure out what topics you want to work on. Indeed, I would start the personal statement by saying: “My main philosophical interests are X, Y, and Z.” X, Y, and Z should be relatively broad, even just established subfields of philosophy (e.g., political philosophy, moral philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, etc.). Avoid being excessively narrow; it makes you seem somewhat philosophically incurious if you seem like you only have an interest in one super-specific thing.

Ideally, at least 2/3 of the areas you mention should be things that our program is strong in, so that the fit is clear. Be wary of listing things that we have no coverage of at all. It will make it seem like you would be happier somewhere else. If you list such areas, you should reveal awareness that we don’t focus on those areas.

After identifying your interests, the rest of the personal statement should be aimed at making the case that you will flourish if you work on those topics. This often involves detailing work you’ve already done in those areas—classes taken, papers or theses written, relevant empirical fields you’ve studied, etc. This is where we can see if you seem to know something about what you are getting yourself into.

You don’t need to go on and on about your grades; we can see how you’ve done. It is helpful to say something about courses you’ve taken or work you’ve done that is relevant to your interests, particularly since it is often hard to tell these things in any detail from the transcript listings of courses.

A peek behind the scenes… The personal statement helps us to categorize you. That informs who I will assign to read your application. If you say ‘metaphysics’ I will give you to one of the metaphysics people on the committee. It also helps us with class balance. We can’t enroll 7 people all of whom work on philosophy of language (or whatever). This is bad for advising purposes and for job market purposes on the other side.

Many of us like to think of ourselves as philosophers, not just philosophers of mind, or language, or ethicists, or whatever. But there are still these practical purposes. You will end up writing dissertations on a particular topic, not all of philosophy. But it is nice to see people with somewhat broad and interesting X, Y, and Zs, as long as the fit is there.

Some people like to help explain why they will flourish working on a topic at Rutgers by mentioning some names of those of us at Rutgers who work on that topic, how they have read and liked that work, etc. Should you name names? I’m of two minds about this.

The case for doing it: it reveals knowledge of the department (congratulations, you can use the World Wide Web), it makes fit with the department clear, and for most of us, we still feel a little positive buzz when we see our name listed. The case against doing it: we already know who is on our faculty, there is the danger of leaving off someone relevant (who might be on the committee! yikes!), there is the danger of including someone who no longer wants anything to do with that topic (or, at other departments only of course, someone who no one should want to work with), the positive buzz thing is kind of icky and it shouldn’t work even if it does.

So, the choice is yours. If you are going to name names, do your homework. (Look at who has been advising students from the placement page. Look at the websites of professors to see what they are working on now, not just 20 years ago.) If you don’t name names, you should still think about how what you are discussing fits with our program. Some people say something generic like “Rutgers would be an excellent place to pursue these interests, given the Philosophy Department’s strengths and coverage of these areas.” But you don’t need to do that.

(3) Letters of Recommendation

Admission committee members vary widely in how much attention they pay to letters of recommendation. A few basics. You should have 3 letters from philosophy instructors. Ideally, they should all be philosophy professors . Go with people who know you and your philosophy work well. That is more important than that they are big names. Big names don’t hurt, but only if they are really in your corner.

Some people were double majors or took lots of courses in some nearby field. They sometimes want to get letters from non-philosophers. I would counsel against that, unless it is someone who sometimes publishes in philosophy journals, or co-authors with philosophers, or teaches philosophy. We won’t trust that your Nobel Prize-winning chemistry professor knows what it takes to flourish in philosophy. They can say generic things about you being smart, responsible, etc., but that won’t help that much. It would be better to have an upper-level philosophy grad student who taught you, ran a discussion section, and graded your work, if you don’t have a philosophy professor. They won’t have as big a comparison class, but they at least know a lot about philosophy.

To get strong letters, you need to have interacted with your professors both in print and in person. They should have read and commented on your written work, and you should have talked philosophy with them—at least in class, but ideally also sometimes outside of class, while working on a paper, etc. Depending on the kind of institution and program you are in, this might require some extra work on your part. I always thought going to office hours was for other people and didn’t do it. That’s a mistake. Especially once you are in upper-level, smaller seminars with a professor, you should take the time to talk to them, get feedback on your work, revise your work for them, etc.

Also, your letter writers should know your plans. After you take a class with them, talk to them about graduate school. Get their advice, provide them with all of your materials—grades/transcript, personal statement, CV, writing sample—well in advance of their letter being due. Meet with them to talk about your materials and plans. Ask for feedback on your materials.

A good letter writer is someone who is invested in your project of going to graduate school, who knows you and wants to help you take that step. If they seem highly skeptical in your interactions with them, they might not be the right letter writer for you. (You might think about why they are skeptical, although also remember that they will have their own biases etc., so don’t let one person get you down, particularly if your grades and other ‘objective’ measures are strong.)

If you don’t have at least 3 fairly high-level philosophy courses (a thesis-writing course would count) in which you have received A-range grades and have come to know the professor well, it will be difficult to do well with PhD program admissions.

If you came to philosophy late, or came to the academic path late, you might consider first attending one of the many excellent MA programs in philosophy. You can learn more about those programs and funding  here  and  here . These programs are great for building relationships with professors, working closely with them, getting in depth into philosophical ideas, and so on. All that makes for much stronger letters.

In my experience, the main role that letters end up playing is in the end stages, where the champions of a particular applicant might point to particularly glowing letters as an additional oomph in favor of their candidate, and opponents of an applicant might point to less than glowing letters as a red flag. Often, their main value is in helping to put the applicant’s achievements in context beyond what we can see on the page: to give a fuller sense of how much the applicant did on their own, how diligent they are in sticking with something hard, what other difficulties and obstacles they might have faced, etc. But when you read enough of these letters, you learn to take all of them with several grains of salt. Some people are always over the top, others are always muted, others seem to kind of blow the task off. And even the strongest letters can’t compensate for an underwhelming writing sample.

(4) Writing Sample

Although usually the last thing to get very careful attention in reading files, the writing sample is the thing that makes the biggest difference at the end. We routinely reject “paper perfect” applicants with ‘eh’ writing samples in favor of applicants with imperfections in the grades or letters, but who have fantastic writing samples. So, what makes for a fantastic writing sample?

People differ in what they care about most, but clarity, thoughtful engagement with relevant literature, and argumentative quality are three necessary components. The other main characteristics that elevate writing samples from fine to fantastic are creativity, ambition, and topical fit. I’ll come to those in a moment.

Let me begin by saying some possibly controversial things about how good philosophy comes into existence. I’ll begin by describing a method that rarely works. First, start with an interest in some topic that has been discussed a lot by philosophers. Second, read everything on that topic, over a long time, keeping kind of neutral notes on the views throughout. Third, try to think of something new to say. Disaster!

Maybe some people can do it that way, but it’s very hard to find your voice and keep your passion and energy throughout that process. Instead, you learn about the 18 moves that have been made, the 14 positions in logical space that have been occupied (like tanks running over flowers), and you can maybe spot another 2 or 3 that haven’t been occupied. You can write a paper that takes up one of those, but often you aren’t really excited about that position, it’s just kind of left over. And maybe for a reason…

Much better: start with something that is bugging you or disturbing you. Maybe it’s an actual thing in the world that is happening. Maybe it’s an idea that was presented in a class that just seems wrong somehow. Maybe it’s some text or topic that seems philosophically interesting, but which no one is talking about. Maybe it’s just a way of looking at things that comes to you from who knows where, while your mind wanders around (like flowers growing over tanks).

Follow those things. Pull them apart, see what’s going on inside. Write about them. Try to sort out what is bothering you. Write about that. Sometimes you’ll figure it out. Other times the problem remains, but you understand it better. Write that up. Don’t read or research all that much yet. Try to present things clearly, even argumentatively, so that someone outside your mind can join you in your disturbance or your intrigue.

With this animated, emotionally engaged, somewhat analyzed view on the issue or topic, start looking for what else might be out there. Sometimes you will be the first. Often, others will also have been disturbed or interested by the thing. Read what they’ve said but read argumentatively—bounce what they are saying off what you’ve come to think about the topic. Note places of agreement and disagreement. Work through their ideas, but only after you already have some of your own.

Go back to what you’ve written, and bring in these other ideas and voices, without giving them primacy or letting them dominate. Make sure to give credit where credit is due, but paraphrase and cite, don’t just directly quote. Keep the focus on the philosophical idea or problem, not the game of who said what about what (I mean, unless that is your game).

When it works out, the thing that emerges is often an interesting bit of philosophy. There might be other ways to “do philosophy”—maybe it depends a lot on the person. But I find, especially for people starting out in generating ideas and papers, the puzzlement-first method (start with puzzled emotion or annoyance in response to a thing, do some thinking, do some writing, do some reading, do some more writing) works better than the topic-first method (start with a topic, read a ton, try to think of some new thing to say, write that thing up). Follow your gut about what is interesting to you.

Some of this method depends on immersing yourself in the right waters, perhaps. Sit in on classes, have conversations with people, read twitter threads and blog posts, read the news, dig into some other academic field a little, engage with art or popular culture, read some random stuff, maybe even read some philosophy—and throughout, notice what interests and puzzles you, and follow those leads.

Writing the writing sample should be fun and exciting (and maddening and frustrating, on occasion). If it’s not, something has gone wrong.

OK, back to what one hopes will emerge from all of this: a clear, appropriately scholarly, well-argued, creative, ambitious writing sample. Here’s a little more about each of those.

“Clear” It should be easy to read and understand your writing sample. Ideally, it should be easy for even non-specialists to read your writing sample. If it is somewhat technical in places, at least make the philosophical problem(s) and payoff evident. Explain jargon and technical terms. Polish the sentence-level writing. Make the organizational structure of the paper clear.

Your prose can be powerful and interesting, but don’t let the writing obscure the meaning. Don’t send us 84 numbered paragraphs. You’re not Wittgenstein (probably). Don’t send us a genre-bending historical fiction/philosophy/autobiography mashup. You’re not Anzaldúa (probably). For our program, we need something that looks like high-level analytic philosophy. It can be about anything. (But a caveat on topic in a moment.)

“Appropriately Scholarly”   A big difference between a fantastic, standout writing sample and an ‘eh’ writing sample that reads like a competent term paper is that the ‘eh’ samples often engage only with one or two very prominent papers on a topic (such as one might be assigned in a seminar). Standout writing samples will go in depth into a philosophical issue, figuring out what is out there that is relevant and engaging with that work in a way that reveals a sophisticated level of understanding.

This kind of research is hard to do and takes time. PhilPapers , the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , and Philosophy Compass are all your friends in this. Use Google Scholar to see what newer papers cite the big papers on the topic—and read those papers. Depending on where you are, the Philosophical Underclass FB group might be your friend.

This is also where it can be extremely useful to get feedback on your writing sample from your professors or grad students you know. They can point you to relevant issues to dig into more.

“Well-Argued” We are a squarely (in every sense, haha) analytic philosophy department. I am into philosophy presented in many ways, some of which isn’t explicitly argumentative. But I wouldn’t recommend that for your writing sample.

Your writing sample should make an interesting or surprising argument for an interesting or surprising conclusion. It should be clear what your conclusion is and how you are arguing for it. I like explicitly stated arguments in premise-conclusion format, but you don’t have to be that mechanical about it. But you might think about why you are departing from that choice.

A significant part of argumentative quality comes in setting up the argument(s), making the case for the more controversial premises, and considering the philosophical implications of the conclusion(s). You should also present and respond to plausible objections to what you are arguing!

We are looking for your ability to engage with philosophical issues with subtlety and creativity. It’s OK if you don’t have an answer for everything! Better to acknowledge that than to just plow over a concern as if it’s not there or as if you don’t see it.

If you are a “paper perfect” applicant and you have a writing sample that does well by clarity, command and engagement of relevant literature, and argumentative quality, you are likely to do fairly well in the application process. But there are at least three more very important dimensions of writing sample quality that make a huge difference at the very end stages—even for “paper perfect” applicants: creativity, ambition, and topical fit.

“Creative” and “Ambitious” I’m going to put these two together, since they so often go together. The most common advice I give to applicants is to have a writing sample that is bold, creative, and ambitious. Do something new. Write about a topic that very few others have taken up or that has been neglected. Make an interesting argument for a weird new idea. Write about something that you are genuinely excited about. Write something you can imagine almost any philosopher getting excited about.

Sure, easier said than done. But we see a lot of perfectly competent writing samples that focus on an article or two by a philosopher or two on some narrow or well-trodden topic, competently reconstruct the views presented in those articles, raise a fine but unsurprising objection to the view, and call it a day. Papers like this get published in philosophy journals all the time.

But it’s hard to stand out with a writing sample like that. It’s hard to imagine anyone on the hiring committee saying—“this is awesome; this is my person!” It’s hard to feel confident that the person writing it will come up with an interesting, compelling dissertation project in 2 or 3 years. It’s much easier to feel that way if there’s already an interesting new idea, topic, approach, argument right there in front of you.

This concern is amplified when the debate is an old and well-trodden one. We see a surprising number of writing samples that discuss something like Chalmers and Block on consciousness (or BonJour and Sosa on internalism v. externalism, or Rawls and Nozick on justice), state their views, and maybe make a few small points about their views. Some of these might be A term papers. But it is hard to see any spark there.

Of course, there is risk with creativity and ambition. Don’t sacrifice clarity, engagement with relevant literature, or argumentative quality. Wild manifestos aren’t the way to go. Again: it’s a tough assignment. We know. That’s one reason it’s so impressive when someone pulls it off. Good term papers for classes often won’t cut it. If you don’t know what to write about, you might try something like the method I describe above.

Here’s an issue that goes beyond the philosophical quality of the writing sample and into something more practical: topical fit . People often ask, is it OK if I say that I want to work on X and Y, but then send a writing sample on A, something completely different, and something that I don’t want to work on? My response: well, it’s not ideal, but if it’s the best thing you have, and you can’t come up with something else in time…

Here’s why it’s not ideal. Many admissions committees will have a distribution of subfield specializations. For example, there might be a history person, language/logic person, epistemology/mind person, value theory person, and a metaphysics person. At many places, to the extent possible, files are given to specialists based on the expressed area interests of the applicants. If you say you want to work on metaphysics and language, either the metaphysics or language person is likely to get your file at the initial close read stage, and both will be given some deference in their assessment of your writing sample at the final stage. Most of the files we look at will be in our area, until the very final stage, when we all read everything. Sometimes we will ask for another reader on a writing sample if it is way out of our area and we have an expert on the faculty in that area, but that doesn’t always happen. If your file is assigned to a specialist on X, because you say you want to work on X, but your writing sample is on A, it might be hard for that specialist to be as excited about your writing sample—at least when compared to some super-interesting writing sample in area X from some other applicant. You need people to be in your corner! If you say you’re a value theory person but then send in something on Descartes’s theory of mind, it’s going to be tricky to generate the same enthusiasm. This point might not apply everywhere, and it depends on the mechanics of the process. But I suspect it is significant in many places. It also might be more pronounced when the mismatch is across bigger gulfs: value theory v. non-value theory, history v. contemporary, etc.

(An aside regarding topic: avoid topics that were hot a long time ago (when your profs may have studied the subject). One tell: the papers you are citing are all from the 1990s. It’s hard for anyone to get excited about incredibly well-trodden debates from a while ago. If you do have something new to say on one of these topics, that’s awesome, but you should be very clear about that up front, and really show that you know all the recent relevant literature, not just the big-name things from 20 or 30 years ago.)

As I hope is clear, the writing sample is the hardest part of the application, and it is the thing that you should spend the most time on. You should expect to spend several months (at least) on the writing sample, and to revise it significantly multiple times.

You should get feedback from at least 2 or 3 people—ideally your letter writers, but also possibly other professors or grad students you know well enough to ask. They can help with clarity and argumentation, identifying relevant literature for you to engage with, and raising objections for you to consider in the paper.

(5) The GRE

The use of the GRE is in flux at many places , both because of the pandemic, and because of questions about its relevance to anything we should care about in doing graduate admissions. At the moment, Rutgers Philosophy is not requiring the GRE.

In general, for schools that require them, high GRE scores can help a person get a second look at the early stages (particularly helpful for people from programs likely to be unknown to admissions committees), middling GRE scores will make almost no difference either way, and very low GRE scores might raise a red flag. But that red flag can be lowered again by some kind of explanation somewhere, or by countervailing evidence.

(6) Where to Apply, and More

How to decide where to apply? When you are clear on your areas of interest, look to see where the authors of important papers in those areas are teaching. Look at important journals in those areas, go to see who is on the editorial board of those journals, and figure out where they are teaching. Depending on the area, use the Philosophical Gourmet Report’s Specialty Rankings or the Pluralists’ Guide to get a sense of what programs are worth looking at more closely. Talk to your professors or TAs, if they seem clued in.

Once you have a long list of programs to look at, visit departmental placement pages. Browse through faculty and grad student websites. Check out the Academic Placement Data and Analysis (APDA) data on graduate satisfaction and job placement. If things still look promising, consider applying. You will get a lot more information later when you see where you have been admitted, go on in-person visits or talk to current grad students, and so on.

Important note: many programs offer fee waivers on the basis of financial hardship or being a member of a demographic group that is underrepresented in philosophy. Look into those if that applies to your situation.

There is a lot of luck involved throughout the process. Good luck!

This isn’t meant as a counter-example or anything like that, but as an experience that went somewhat differently in relation to the writing sample discussion that Alex provides.

When I was applying to grad school some years back, I had almost completely applied to places where I could do philosophy of science and biology, which was my main interest at the time. My writing sample was a paper on the supposed discovery of a “gay gene”, which had attracted a lot of attention in what was then the recent past. Somewhat at the last minute, I decided to apply to the JD/PhD program at Penn, and to work on legal and political philosophy if I got in and decided to go there. Because I didn’t have another writing sample that was as well done as that one was (whatever its merits may have been) I just sent that one to Penn, too, even though I didn’t talk about doing philosophy of biology there at all. Not long after I started in the program there, one of the faculty members who had been on the admissions committee said that he liked that my writing sample wasn’t on political or legal philosophy, because it helped show that I wasn’t too narrow in my interests and background. How common that view is I cannot say, but at least some people seem to have it. So, there might be some reason to use your best writing sample, perhaps especially if it’s clearly better than other things you have, even if it doesn’t “fit” what you say you want to study.

Yes, I actually very much agree with this. You should use your best writing sample!

At some programs, like ours, it will be a little harder going for you if your best writing sample isn’t in an area you are hoping to work in. But that won’t be true everywhere. And even we admit people all the time who have writing samples that aren’t in their main areas of interest. This is one of the many small things at the margins.

Whether it’s worth it to wait until your best writing sample is in your areas of interest depends on a lot of things personal to the applicant, including what their options are for taking more time to apply, what the rest of their file is like, how much they want to maximize their chances at these kind of absurdly competitive programs, and so on.

One reason I had for writing all this up was to ‘peel back the curtain’ a little bit on the process, so people can see why some things make a difference, or how they do.

One thing that would be helpful in this discussion is to see how our process differs from that of other programs.

One difference that is common is that in some departments, the whole department is involved and area specialists are given area relevant files right from the beginning.

But at other places, things are never subdivided into area, and specialists aren’t assigned to particular files, so everyone is reading files outside of their area, and people get used to that part of it.

Also, it’s very much worth noting that things work differently at different programs based on how many applications they get, what kind of applicants they are looking for, how their program is structured, and so on.

So this is very much a window into one very particular kind of program, rather than something that necessarily applies everywhere. I do think much of what I say applies to a wide range of programs, but there will be some things that might be different and, unfortunately for applicants, there won’t always be a ‘one size fits all’ kind of answer.

Also, one other small thing. There is so much randomness in the process, and so many variables, and so much chance in how it unfolds any particular year, that almost all advice will admit of tons of exceptions. Talk to those people close to you to get more particularized advice about your own situation.

It’s also worth mentioning that, like the academic job market, things have changed a lot in the last 15-20+ years. Applications are much more professional, much more competitive, applicants have much more information about the process, there are now many applicants who have already gone through sophisticated terminal MA training ground kinds of programs before applying, etc. So anecdotes from 15 or 20 years ago (oh man we are getting old!) are likely to be possibly even more aberrational than we might expect. (My writing sample was on the semantics of artifactual kind terms, despite my not knowing much phil of language and not wanting to work in that area; two of my letters were not from professors; etc. But I would not recommend people going that way now, even though it worked for me…)

How would you evaluate an applicant who is already currently in another program and is wanting to transfer to yours?

When I came into my program, my interests weren’t well-defined. But a couple of years in now, I’ve realized I like a specialization that isn’t really worked on in our department.

I’ve always wondered about applying to transfer to another department, but I usually chicken out of applying very quickly because a) I worry admissions committees don’t like transfers and b) I’m worried I would be disrespecting the graduate program I’m currently in by trying to transfer.

This is a tricky question. Most transfer applications that we see involve people trying to transfer because their advisor or core people have moved, or, in some cases, because their interests have moved into an area not well-supported where they are. In a smaller number of cases, people might have various personal/family kinds of reasons for moving.

So, it sounds like you are kind of in one of those categories.

Committee members differ on these things, but in general there is a kind of background calibration between (1) how much in-depth, high-level philosophy education an applicant has had; and (2) what we expect in terms of writing sample quality, polish, and clearly defined interests. If you are coming straight from an undergrad program with a tiny philosophy department, very few courses in analytic philosophy, no grad program, etc., we get that it might be harder for you to have a big super-polished writing sample on some cutting-edge topic. On the other hand, if you are a few years into a PhD program somewhere, having already done a terminal MA program somewhere else, the expectations will be comparatively higher. So, at least for some of us, it’s not so much ‘not liking transfers,’ as just having something of a higher bar in reviewing their application materials. But similar things are true in our assessment with respect to undergrads from super fancy places (where they get a ton of detailed help) and undergrads who have had to do much more of it on their own.

On the ‘disrespecting one’s current program’ thing, I think it depends on the situation. If people know that the main person who might have advised you has left, I think they will generally be understanding. On the other hand, if it feels like you are trying to move because you think you can get into a program that is like 4 places higher in the PGR rankings or whatever, yeah, that might rub people the wrong way. But transferring is a big thing, and I doubt most people would do it for those kinds of reasons.

All this talk of reasons for moving has me thinking about… https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47541/keeping-things-whole

This truly will save students so much time and money. I received horrible, horrible advice that cost me thousands of dollars.

This is really helpful advice, I’m sure it will help many prospective students. I do feel like it would be helpful to add another caveat about the dismal academic job prospects for philosophy PhDs. Perhaps a link to the APDA? People should have some sense of what they are in for, even in the good case where they get into an excellent program.

Thank you Dr. Guerrero! This is super helpful.

It sounds like Rutgers puts a lot of emphasis on grades. I am wondering, how do you weight undergraduate grades vs. masters grades in your process?

Well, I don’t think we put an unusual emphasis on grades, but I think that most places will pay attention to the trend and the work you’ve done most recently. We understand people run into rough patches for whatever reason, or have a bad semester, or have low grades in an unrelated field that turned out not to be their thing, or took a while to settle into philosophy, or even took a while to settle into being a serious student (sometimes after a decade of doing something other than school). There’s no GPA cutoff at any stage.

That said, we need to see your potential to excel somewhere in the file. So if your undergrad grades, even in philosophy, were only in the B range, and that’s the whole of your file, that will be tough, unless there were very unusual circumstances, etc. But if you then go to an MA program and get As and have strong letters from those professors, we won’t care much about the undergrad grades, at least insofar as you will be likely to make it to the stage where we do start looking closely at the writing sample. And if the writing sample is wonderful, then the grades really stop mattering.

Let me post an additional clarification.

No one applying to PhD programs should spend even a moment worrying about trying to get a publication in a professional journal. Not even a second. We don’t care at all about that. We aren’t looking for that.

Just work on making your writing sample as good as it can be, as described in the post above.

My motivations for wanting to do a PhD in philosophy, such as getting the chance to contribute to an ongoing conversation about interesting ideas, are also motivations for wanting to publish though…if you have a work that you loved writing because it was your way of thinking through one of the puzzlements you describe, it feels like a waste to let it just sit in your professor’s inbox or the reject file of a graduate admissions portal.

I understand that simply having a paper published doesn’t transform an ‘eh’ paper that just rolled a tank into remaining unoccupied logical space – sufficient for publication – into the kind of paper that gains admission where paper perfect applicants fail…but does it actually hurt a file?

Could a publication as evidence of promise in a statement of purpose help a file get from the 350 applicants into the 100 applicants – towards getting the paper read at least – even if it wont help a file advance from the 100 candidates to the 25 candidates to the 8 admits?

Even if the fact a writing sample was published doesn’t improve the committees evaluation of the candidate, the potential to publish could help motivate a candidate (at least me) to perfect a writing sample, which would in turn help their application: I figure that if I maybe only have a slim chance getting into a PhD program, but I have a really good chance of publishing my paper somewhere respectable, which I also want to do…that helps to sustain motivation to work on the paper.

If someone is thinking along these lines…can they spend some of their efforts on publishing?

Well, I’m not the journal police! Most of them have open submission policies. To that extent, spend your time as you like.

That said, I really wouldn’t recommend sending papers to professional journals unless at least a few of your professors/philosophy mentors have read the paper and recommended that you do so. Especially when one is first starting out, it can be hard to discern when things are ready to be sent to journals, and it is not great to overtax the already overtaxed journal ecosystem by submitting work that isn’t at that level.

I will say that I think that there are very few people (maybe none?) who are currently writing papers that have “a really good chance” of being published in respectable professional journals, but who have only a slim chance of getting into a PhD program. I suppose there might be unusual circumstances somehow, but I don’t think this is at all common. I would imagine most people writing at that level would at least be able to pursue the terminal MA –> PhD program route.

Dear Dr Guerrero,

I have a question about letters. I am almost a paper perfect applicant. I have basically perfect grades (from a very prestigious philosophy masters programme), a very strong writing sample (currently at major revisions stage at a top 10 generalist journal). I’ve also gotten two papers accepted at APA sessions. The problem, however, is letters. My letter writers (I know from testimony from a mentor) have said unflattering things about me (some personality clashes), however, my letter writers are liars! And I worry that if I try to get different letter writers, the original letter writers will tell them not to write in support of me. So what I was wondering is whether, if I applied with excellent credentials but with poor letters of reference, if I would have an opportunity to include a rebuttal to what I suspect is in their letters (false-hoods), and include that as part of my application?

(Disclaimer: my university doesn’t even have a PhD program!)

You could put a “rebuttal” in your personal statement. However, I suspect admissions committees who receive an application that in part consists of an argument between the letter writers and the applicant will either trust the letter writers or ditch the application because they don’t want to risk the letter writers being correct. So your best bet is getting letters from others who will not lie about you.

If you think your original letter writers will tell others not to write in support of you, tell your new letter writers not to listen to your original letter writers. If you think your new letter writers will ignore you and listen to your original letter writers, then your new letter writers are probably no better than your old letter writers, and their letters would not be much help to you, so you should pick different new letter writers who will listen to you.

If you cannot get any good letter writers, because none of your professors will listen to you, you are (unfortunately) not in a great place to go to grad school. Assuming the fault is with your letter writers and not with you, this is an injustice (although sparing someone from philosophy graduate school is often times doing them a favor, given the job market). But it is also a reality which you might just have to accept.

This strikes me as a strange and (thankfully) rare situation, and it is hard to give general advice about it at this distance.

Ordinarily, if you suspect that person A is not going to write you a strong letter, you can just ask someone else. It is highly unusual for person A to then *block* your getting a letter from these other people, absent some significant exceptional circumstances (person A is aware of–or at least believes themselves to be aware of–serious academic integrity violations, harassment or other seriously unprofessional behavior, etc.) and even then that is not usually done by person A in a behind the scenes kind of way, but will instead be known to you and all involved as the reason.

Otherwise, as Daniel Weltman says, you should just ask other people. If they all somehow end up being ‘tainted’ by person A’s campaign against you, that strikes me as very odd, and it is hard to know what to say by way of advice. You might need to expand your circle of professional contacts somehow (perhaps audit classes nearby to you taught by others?), but I realize this might be logistically difficult depending on your situation.

The facts from our end are that we do require three letters of recommendation, and it is hard to overcome having multiple significantly negative letters. I’ve never seen anyone (out of reading more than 1500+ files at this point) offer a ‘rebuttal’ letter to their letters of recommendation. Things have gone way wrong if you are at that point. It would be better to have letters from your local postal workers at that point. I’m sorry I don’t have more helpful suggestions, but it seems worth having a frank conversation about these concerns with someone local at your institution whom you trust, or trying to find such a person.

Dr. Guerrero, Thank you for sharing your advice on graduate admission. I particularly found your tips regard the formation of writing samples incredibly informative. As such, I feel I owe some sort good will. But, as I am a student with empty pockets, most likely living in a far away land; the best I can give is my gratitude and immense thanks.

Also, thank you Dr. Weinberg for sustaining this blog and supplying us with interesting content (particularly heap of links, I check that page almost everyday)

Thank you Dr. Guerrero! I am wondering whether the admissions committee looks at the other parts of the application, like the C.V. and the questions on the form that ask about relevant work or research experience.

Hi! Yes, thanks for asking this question. I should have said something more about the role that CV and questions about relevant work experience etc. play in the process.

For me, the main role for the CV is to help make sense of what the applicant has been doing for the past 5-10 years, in cases in which that is not clear from the personal statement + transcript.

Ideally, the main things you want us to know about you from the CV should make their way into the personal statement, usually while you are attempting to make it clear why you would do well pursuing your areas of interest.

So, if you have relevant work experience (as, say, a biologist, with an interest in philosophy of science), then you might have a sentence or two about that in your personal statement. If you have a long time away from school in a distinct, somewhat unrelated career, you might mention that as a sign that you can work well in professional settings, or have developed skills X and Y, etc., depending on the details of that career. If you were working three jobs while in school, you might mention that as evidence that you are able to succeed academically even while managing a complicated set of responsibilities.

These things shouldn’t usually take up more than a few sentences, with most of the personal statement focused on explaining your philosophical interests and what you’ve done that is more directly relevant to philosophy.

The other main role for the CV is to help your letter writers fill in some of those details in their letters on your behalf, particularly in cases in which mentioning it yourself might seem excessively boastful or otherwise awkward. One helpful thing you can do for your letter writers is to provide your CV and also a short list of some things they might not know about you, but which might be relevant to your academic performance and potential.

Of course, it is possible that others reading files use the CV differently. I know that some people start out by looking at the CV, just to get an overview of the applicant. I do that, too, sometimes, particularly in cases in which it is an international applicant with academic marks and records that are unfamiliar, or someone who has been out of school a long time doing a number of different things.

Hope that helps!

An FYI to anyone applying to Calgary. For both MA and PhD applicants, we read anonymized writing samples first. Two members of the admissions committee (or sometimes one committee member and one other faculty member if the area of the paper requires), read it and make an initial assessment of quality before looking at the rest of the file.

This means that on one hand, you don’t need to worry as much if your very best writing sample doesn’t fit with your area of interest, since readers are assigned by paper area. On the other, it means that the writing sample is the first impression you make on the committee, so make sure it really is your best work.

Thank you, Prof. Guerrero. I was wondering what admissions committees think about the following issue. I studied engineering as an undergrad with a minor in an arts and humanities program and then did a master’s in philosophy. Now, I’m applying for philosophy PhD’s. Although I graduated with an excellent CGPA, I underperformed in two semesters in the undergrad. During the time, I initially thought I would leave the engineering program and enroll at a philosophy/psychology program to start over. But then I thought I might benefit from finishing the degree (it is a respectable one in the country I am from) even if I chose to pursue a different career or a different field in grad school. I studied extremely hard in the last two years. How do you think the F grades on those semesters would affect my chances of getting into a good PhD program in North America? Should I explain what happened during those two semesters in my statement? I am afraid I have received conflicting advice. Some people think I should not mention that, but I fear those semesters might raise some questions.  I think I have good reference letters and a good writing sample. I have strong TOEFL and GRE scores. Would those help?  I appreciate any help. Thank you!

This was really helpful. Thank you!

This post is utter bullshit. Philosophy is full of prestige bias. People who have lack of opportunities and no glowing letters from fancy people hardly get admitted regardless of the rest of their application. It’s even harder for applicants from underrepresented groups.

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Trade Schools Home > Articles > Jobs for Philosophy Majors

Jobs for Philosophy Majors: 24 Great Careers for Deep Thinkers

By Publisher | Last Updated July 22, 2020

Jobs for philosophy majors are more common—and often better-paying—than you might think. It's true: Although "philosopher" may not be a very common job title, philosophy graduates are thriving in many career sectors. That's because the skills you can acquire by studying philosophy are highly valued and suitable for all kinds of fulfilling and meaningful careers.

So, in terms of practical concerns like earning money, what can you do with a philosophy degree? To arrive at the answer, you first need to consider the most fundamental goal of studying this subject: Philosophy students learn how to think, not what to think. That's essential, since thinking clearly and logically is one of the most important transferable skills of the 21st century.

After all, modern life is complicated. Organizations of every type regularly face tough decisions. That's why more and more managers now recognize the importance of hiring people who can consider multiple viewpoints and get to the heart of complex issues. They need sharp thinkers and concise communicators.

Still, you may run into people who have preconceived ideas that earning a philosophy degree won't make you very employable. Well-meaning friends and relatives may ask, "Why major in philosophy?" That's what this article is for. The information below will help you answer the doubters (and maybe settle a few questions of your own).

You'll explore a wide range of career options for philosophy majors, learn about the earning potential of philosophy grads, and discover the many transferable skills that a philosophy degree can help you acquire.

• What can I do with a philosophy degree? 24 great jobs
• Do philosophy grads make money? Surprising salary stats
• Why take philosophy? The valuable skills you can learn

What Can I Do With a Philosophy Degree? 24 Great Jobs

The answer is yes. In fact, the study of philosophy is just as important now as it was in ancient times. And great careers for philosophy majors can be found in many industries, including some of today's most cutting-edge career sectors.

So, what kind of work can a philosophy degree prepare you for? Start by considering challenging questions that can help you better understand the potential job market for philosophy grads. For example:

• How should data be handled if it can help a company make sales but will also expose consumers' private information?
• Should people be allowed to buy organs for transplant and bypass waiting lists?
• In an increasingly polarized political climate, how can advertisers reach specific segments of the population without alienating others? Should they even try?
• How should a company respond if the most environmentally friendly option isn't the most profitable one?
• Is physician-assisted suicide sometimes the best choice for a terminally ill patient?

Thinking about big questions like these is exactly what a philosopher does, even if "philosopher" isn't part of his or her job title. In fact, with a philosophy degree, you can get the types of jobs that require you to think logically and consider multiple perspectives—abilities that apply to many of the best jobs for the future .

This philosophy careers list includes many occupational examples that aren't necessarily traditional jobs for philosophers. A bachelor's degree in philosophy can provide an excellent foundation for each of them. However, some of these careers do require a graduate degree or additional, specialized training.

Median annual salaries are current as of July 15, 2020 and are based on data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program unless marked as being from (1) PayScale . All figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.

1. Financial Analyst: $82K

Believe it or not, studying philosophy can be excellent preparation for financial analyst jobs. For philosophy degree holders, transferable skills such as paying attention to details, spotting trends, and seeing issues from many perspectives are helpful when navigating complex financial markets. Certification is often necessary in this field, but many employers sponsor employees through the licensing process.

2. Computer Programmer: $87K

Studying philosophy, a subject that originated in ancient times, might seem like an unlikely way to prepare for a career in the rapidly changing world of technology. But if you're skeptical, ask yourself this: What does philosophy teach you? In a good philosophy program, you can learn how to question existing assumptions, examine cause and effect, and consider statements from all angles—exactly the types of skills used in programming.

However, you should learn how to code before applying for programming jobs. (With a philosophy degree, you may have developed the logical thought processes that will help you learn programming languages. But many employers will want you to already have some coding ability.) Still, a growing sentiment in the tech sector is that it's easier to hire people who know how to think and teach them how to code than it is to hire people who can code and teach them how to think.

3. Business Consultant: $74K 1

Would you like to help companies become more efficient? A business or management consultant analyzes a company and proposes new, more efficient procedures. As a philosophy grad, your keen analytical skills could help you pinpoint inefficiencies and recommend new approaches.

Although a graduate degree isn't necessarily required, an MBA can help you get ahead. Plus, a bachelor's degree in philosophy is an excellent foundation for an MBA. In fact, philosophy majors have better scores , on average, than business and accounting majors on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

4. Lobbyist: $75K 1

Do you have a cause that you're passionate about? You can use the rhetorical skills that you perfected in a philosophy program to help persuade government officials and policymakers to support your cause.

5. Market Research Analyst: $64K

Would you like to help companies make informed decisions about the best ways to sell their products? Market research analysts predict sales trends using information they gather. Then, they help direct companies on what to do. With a philosophy degree, you can develop the big-picture thinking necessary to interpret data from a wide range of sources and draw your own conclusions about sales strategies.

Ethical considerations also play a role in market research. For example, should consumers be told when a company is using their personal data to shape sales plans? Should that data be shared with other companies? A philosophy major is good for teaching you how to address challenging questions like these.

6. Writer: $63K

At its core, philosophy is all about language. Philosophy students quickly discover that every word counts in a philosophical text and that words must be carefully chosen for clear meaning. Concisely summarizing dense philosophical materials and developing your own arguments can help your own writing.

Plus, writing about philosophy doesn't just prepare you to work with serious subject matter. In fact, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and actor and writer Steve Martin both studied philosophy.

7. Human Resources (HR) Specialist: $62K

Solving problems, communicating clearly, and analyzing information are just a few of the essential skills that HR specialists use every day. As a philosophy graduate, your ability to see all sides of an issue can help you excel in this field. Just keep in mind that you may need additional training for management-level jobs if you only studied philosophy. Career specialties in human resources include recruitment, benefits administration, employee training and development, payroll processing, and much more.

8. Teacher (K-12): $57K to $62K

You can become a teacher with just one year of special training after earning a bachelor's in philosophy. Jobs in the public-school system don't usually center around teaching philosophy itself. However, all teachers need the strong communication skills, excellent problem-solving abilities, and genuine empathy that can be developed by studying philosophy.

9. Communications Specialist: $52K 1

Use your powers of persuasion and rhetorical skills to help organizations communicate with the public. You could craft press releases, respond to public inquiries, and create communications and advertising strategies. As a philosophy graduate, your understanding of multiple perspectives on political and social issues can help you create effective messages.

10. Paralegal: $52K

Are you interested in working in the legal field but not sure whether law school is the right choice for you? A career as a paralegal can provide opportunities to use the analytical, research, and organizational skills that you develop in a philosophy program. And if you have a bachelor's degree, some paralegal post-degree certificate programs can be completed in less than a year.

11. Real Estate Agent: $49K

What do real estate and philosophy have in common? Both fields require the ability to cut through rhetoric and get to the heart of a question. Negotiation is also a key component of real estate careers, so your ability to see both sides of an issue and develop sound arguments will help you succeed. In most states, you need to complete a real estate course and pass an exam in order to be licensed.

12. Mental Health Counselor: $46K

Can philosophy act as "therapy of the soul?" The Greek philosopher Epicurus thought so. And many philosophers since his time have focused on the ability of philosophical thought to ease human suffering. So philosophy students often develop a good foundation for helping others. They've considered important questions such as "Why do we suffer?"

If you'd like to use your understanding of philosophy to help those who need guidance, then research the requirements for mental health professionals in your region. (Requirements vary by state.) Your philosophy degree could be an excellent starting point for further training.

Also, consider philosophical counseling. In this specialty, counselors don't focus on treating or diagnosing mental health problems. Instead, they help clients deal with the everyday stressors that result from living in our flawed world, such as coping with the death of a pet or adjusting to retirement. Check out the National Philosophical Counseling Association for more information. (Note: You must have a master's degree in philosophy before training for a career in philosophical counseling.)

13. Entrepreneur: Salaries vary widely

To start successful businesses, entrepreneurs need to be good at thinking outside the box and examining the validity of new ideas. So, where can they learn those skills? In a philosophy program, of course. Former philosophy majors who have started extremely successful businesses include:

• Stewart Butterfield: Slack and Flickr co-founder
• Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn co-founder
• Peter Thiel: PayPal co-founder

14. Medical Doctor: $206K (for general practitioners)

What can physicians do if terminally ill patients request that their families not be told about their illnesses? Is it OK to exaggerate a patient's symptoms in order to ensure coverage by his or her insurance provider? A philosophy background can help doctors deal with tough ethical decisions like these.

Plus, it's possible to enter medical school after majoring in philosophy. That's because most medical schools don't restrict applicants to specific majors. (But you may need to complete some specific prerequisite science courses as an undergrad before applying to medical school.)

Also, did you know that philosophy graduates have higher medical school acceptance rates than biology graduates? It's true: Philosophy is consistently ranked as one of the top majors when it comes to medical school admittance. As well, humanities grads (a category that includes philosophy majors) have higher total Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) results , on average, than biological science grads.

And if you're worried that majoring in the humanities won't be good preparation for studying medicine, rest easy. Once they're in medical school, students who majored in the humanities for their first degree perform at an equal level with other students.

15. Lawyer: $123K

A bachelor's in philosophy can be an excellent first degree before starting your legal studies. In fact, philosophy majors have the highest acceptance rate to law school.

As well, philosophy courses provide a solid background for your studies once you begin law school. After all, philosophy courses center around:

• Creating concise responses to complex problems
• Formulating logical responses for or against proposals
• Analyzing an argument and dissecting it for flaws
• Defending your views when challenged
• Examining evidence and drawing conclusions

All of those skills are essential for success in the legal world.

16. Augmented Reality Developer or Project Manager: $74K to $83K 1

Augmented reality (AR) poses many new philosophical questions. Think about it: Since ancient times, philosophers have debated the nature of reality and asked how we can know what's "real." With new virtual dimensions added to our conception of reality, these discussions have entered new territory and given rise to new questions: If something that only exists in augmented reality frightens you, is that fear real? Should augmented reality make it clear which part of an AR experience is fake?

A philosophy background can help you consider the "big picture" behind AR work. Within this sector, AR project managers help coordinate all aspects of an AR experience. For AR development or programming work, technical knowledge is essential.

17. Philosophy Professor: $75K

It takes four years to get a degree in philosophy at the bachelor's level, and many of the career paths on this list only require an undergraduate education and, in some cases, a little specialized training in a different area. But what if you want to keep studying philosophy in a graduate program? What can you do with a PhD in philosophy?

Among other things, someone with a Doctor of Philosophy often leads classes in this subject at a college or university. Philosophy professors teach, write, and research. However, academic jobs in philosophy can be competitive , with more applicants than job openings.

If a philosophy department experiences funding cuts (a relatively common occurrence in humanities education), a professor may be asked to teach more classes. So, combined with the need to conduct research and publish papers, many philosophy professors have a lot on their plates.

Nonetheless, it can be very satisfying to pursue your own scholarly activities and help others answer big questions, such as "What do philosophers do?" and "How can philosophy help me live a better life?" You can also enjoy financial rewards: Philosophy professors make over $88,000 a year, on average. And some earn more than $151,180.

18. Bioethicist: $64K (for those with a master's degree) 1

Advances in medicine and technology have led to complex ethical questions. For example, should parents be able to choose a baby's gender? When should a patient have the right to turn down a life-saving procedure? Bioethicists help explore all ethical angles of medical issues like these.

To work as a bioethicist, you typically need a certificate, master's degree, or PhD in bioethics after completing your undergraduate degree. So you can build a solid foundation for an education in this field with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree. Jobs can be found in research, community education, public policy analysis, and other areas.

19. Mediator: $64K

Are you interested in helping opposing sides find common ground? Mediators facilitate discussions to resolve disputes. They don't represent specific sides in a disagreement, but instead focus on remaining neutral as they help both parties come to a resolution. As a philosophy graduate, your ability to examine all sides of an issue, combined with excellent people skills, can help you succeed. Some states require mediators to be certified.

20. Data Analyst: $61K 1

We now have the ability to collect incredible amounts of data. But what should we do with it? Data analysts gather data and use it to draw logical conclusions that can guide organizations' decisions. Their analytical skills can help them spot trends and make predictions. But there's also plenty of room for creative thought in this field.

21. Editor: $61K

"Does this make sense? How can it be clearer?" Those are the kinds of questions that editors often ask during the editing process. Editors ensure that written texts are error-free and easily understood. Studying philosophy can not only teach you the value of clear communication, but also help you hone your attention to detail in the written word.

22. Policy Analyst: $59K 1

Policy analysts work with politicians and other government officials to develop or revise public policies. They do this by analyzing a problem and recommending solutions. Data analysis and clear communication are some of the essential skills for this career that you can acquire by studying philosophy. Jobs in policy analysis often require interpreting complex laws, regulations, and policies, and envisioning solutions to a variety of issues.

23. Tech Ethicist: Salaries vary widely

What should an app developer do if a new app turns out to have a negative impact on face-to-face human interaction? Should we be allowed to edit babies' genes? How should a driverless car react if it has a choice between injuring the car's passenger or a group of pedestrians?

Questions like these don't have easy answers. And sometimes tech creators are so caught up in the excitement of new discoveries that they overlook the long-term moral implications of their inventions. Technology ethicists help the creators of new technology consider the ethical issues that progress can raise.

24. Philosopher: Salary depends on the position

Is becoming a philosopher a realistic job goal? The short answer is yes; you can be a philosopher. But you might have to be a little creative in how you get there. That's because jobs for "philosophers" outside of academia are very rare.

But recent years have seen a trend toward the creation of positions for in-house philosophers. For example, Google has a resident philosopher to help the company answer vital questions such as those related to defining the role that technology plays in our lives and determining what constitutes "truth" in search results.

If you're interested in a position like this, your best bet might to be to establish yourself in another role within a company, then introduce a philosophical component to your other job duties. (In other words, you likely won't find a job posting for a resident philosopher, so you may have to create your own position.)

Do Philosophy Grads Make Money? Surprising Salary Stats

That might contradict the stereotype of philosophy majors being unconcerned with worldly things like paychecks. So if you're skeptical that jobs for philosophy graduates can actually provide a decent salary, check out these facts:

• In 2016, philosophy was the highest-paying humanities major , with an average starting salary of $49,000.
• When it comes to comparing starting salaries to mid-career salaries, philosophy grads have a bigger increase in earnings than almost any other major. (They're tied with math graduates for the top position.)
• Philosophy ranks higher than majors like engineering and life sciences in terms of its return on investment (i.e., how much graduates earn compared to how much their schools spent educating them).

It's important to realize that these facts are based on people who majored in philosophy, not people who entered a specific occupation. As you now know, jobs for philosophy degree holders can be found in many career sectors. So, ultimately, as a philosophy major, your salary depends on which career you pursue. Nonetheless, if you have a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Philosophy, jobs can be found that pay better than you might think.

Why Take Philosophy? The Valuable Skills You Can Learn

Consider the following highly sought-after skills that you can acquire while earning a philosophy degree:

• Analyzing complex concepts and ideas
• Examining all sides of an argument or problem and coming up with logical solutions
• Writing and speaking clearly and concisely
• Generating ideas for new ways to do things
• Interpreting abstract theories and ideas
• Accepting that there is often more than one solution to a problem and that a "right" answer may not exist
• Defending your own views without resorting to illogical arguments or personal attacks
• Applying frameworks to problems in creative ways
• Questioning commonly held beliefs

Those are powerful skills. However, let's face it: You may need to become good at self-promotion in order to sell them. That's because hiring managers don't always recognize the true value of an education in philosophy. They may wonder, "What can you do with a degree in philosophy that will actually help us make money?" Without a clear answer, they might quickly move past your resume.

So it's up to you to prove that you can do more than discuss Aristotle. For instance, when applying for jobs with "philosophy degree" on your resume, be sure to emphasize your strengths and transferable skills. (In a study sponsored by the Association of American Colleges & Universities , 93 percent of surveyed corporate leaders said that the ability to solve problems, think critically, and communicate effectively is more important than a job applicant's major. That means it's often more important to explain what you learned while pursuing your degree than to talk about the degree itself.)

Take Control of Your Future

Now you have some answers ready for those times when people ask, "What jobs can you get with a philosophy degree?" So start making plans to turn your dreams into reality. Short, career-oriented programs are often a good fit for students with a foundation in philosophy. They provide practical opportunities for learning how to put your skills to use in specific fields. Find convenient training near you by entering your zip code into the school finder at the top of the page!

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Phd in philosophy: requirements, salary, jobs, & career growth, what is phd in philosophy.

A Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy, commonly known as a PhD in Philosophy, is a doctoral degree that focuses on advanced study and research in the discipline of philosophy.

Philosophy is a field of study that investigates fundamental problems concerning the nature of reality, knowledge, ethics, and the purpose of life.

Individuals who have completed considerable research in philosophy and produced original contributions to the discipline through their dissertation or thesis are often awarded a PhD in Philosophy.

The requirements for a PhD in Philosophy vary depending on the institution and program, but in general, it entails several years of study, rigorous exams, and the completion of a doctoral dissertation.

Coursework in philosophy may cover a wide range of topics such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and philosophy history.

Comprehensive exams are typically used to examine a student’s knowledge and understanding of philosophical concepts and theories. 

How much money do people make with a PhD in Philosophy?

Individuals with a PhD in Philosophy’s wage or earning potential might vary substantially depending on a number of things. A professor with a PhD in Philosophy can earn a wide variety of salaries in academia, depending on rank, institution, and location.

For example, according to data from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the average income for a full-time faculty member (including professors) with a PhD in Philosophy in the United States in 2023 is roughly $80,000 to $120,000 per year.

Salaries, however, might vary greatly depending on factors such as the institution’s level (e.g., community college, liberal arts college, research university), geographic location, and years of experience.

Outside of academia, the earning potential for people with a PhD in Philosophy varies substantially depending on the subject and professional function.

Salary ranges for those working in research, think tanks, or policy analysis may differ from those working in non-profit organizations, government agencies, or other industries.

Salaries in non-academic professions may also be determined by the individual’s specialized talents, competence, and experience.

What is expected job growth with PhD in Philosophy?

The job market for philosophy PhD holders is competitive, with prospects varying by sector and locale. The job market in academia, which is a frequent career option for philosophy PhD holders, can be competitive, and job availability may be affected by factors such as the institution’s level, departmental finances, and overall demand for philosophy courses.

Tenure-track roles, which provide long-term employment security and promotion chances, can be extremely competitive.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of postsecondary teachers, including philosophy professors, is expected to expand by 9% between 2020 and 2030, roughly in line with the national average.

Outside of academia, philosophy PhD graduates may find employment in research, think tanks, policy analysis, non-profit organizations, government agencies, publishing, writing, and other professions.

However, the demand for philosophy PhD holders in these areas may be influenced by factors such as economic situations, employment market trends, and the individual’s specific skill sets and expertise.

What can you do with a PhD in Philosophy?

A PhD in Philosophy can lead to a variety of job opportunities both inside and outside of academia. Here are some examples of what a PhD in Philosophy may get you:

1. Academic Career: Many PhD holders in philosophy go on to become professors, researchers, or scholars in philosophy departments at universities or research institutions. They may instruct undergraduate or graduate courses, do research, write academic articles or books, and serve as mentors to students.

2. Research and Think Tanks: Philosophy Research and Think Tanks PhD holders may work in research institutions or think tanks, performing interdisciplinary research on philosophical concerns or contributing to policy analysis, ethical research, or social science research.

3. Non-Profit Organizations: Philosophy PhD holders may work in non-profit organizations that focus on ethics, human rights, social justice, environmental protection, or education, giving competence in critical thinking, ethical analysis, and philosophical foundations.

4. Government and Public Policy: Philosophy PhD holders may work in government agencies or public policy groups, contributing philosophical insights, ethical analyses, and critical thinking abilities to inform policy decisions, regulations, or legal frameworks.

5. Publishing and Writing: Philosophy PhD holders may work in publishing, journalism, or writing, use their analytical and writing talents to contribute to philosophical literature, write for popular media, or engage in philosophical journalism.

6. Consulting and Communications: Philosophy PhD holders may work as consultants, advisors, or communications specialists, advising organizations, corporations, or individuals on critical thinking, ethics, or philosophical foundations.

7. Education and Outreach: Philosophy PhD holders may work in educational settings such as museums, libraries, or educational outreach programs to promote philosophical literacy, engage in public philosophy, or develop philosophical dialogues in larger groups.

8. Entrepreneurship: A Philosophical Approach PhD holders can launch their own enterprises or organizations that offer philosophical services such as advising, coaching, or training programs in critical thinking, ethics, or philosophical investigation.

What are the requirements for a PhD in Philosophy?

The specific requirements for obtaining a PhD in Philosophy can vary depending on the institution and program, but generally, the following are common requirements:

1. Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree: Applicants to most PhD programs in Philosophy must have a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university. Although it is not usually required, certain schools may accept applicants with a Master’s degree in a related discipline.

2. Academic Transcripts: Applicants are usually expected to present certified transcripts of their undergraduate and graduate education, which demonstrate their academic performance and achievement.

3. Statement of Purpose: Applicants are typically expected to provide a personal statement or statement of purpose detailing their research interests, academic ambitions, and reason for pursuing a PhD in Philosophy.

4. Standardized Test Scores: Applicants to many PhD programs may be required to submit scores from standardized tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or other related assessments.

5. Letters of Recommendation: Applicants to PhD programs in Philosophy are frequently required to provide letters of recommendation from academic or professional sources who may speak to the applicant’s academic talents, research potential, and eligibility for a PhD program.

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How long does it take to get a phd in philosophy.

The time it takes to earn a PhD in Philosophy depends on several aspects, including the program, the institution, the country, and the individual’s progress. A PhD in Philosophy typically takes 4-7 years to complete, though it can take longer in some situations.

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Do you need a masters in philosophy to get a phd in philosophy.

In many circumstances, a Master’s degree in Philosophy is not required to pursue a PhD in Philosophy.

While some PhD programs in Philosophy may require or provide students the option of completing a Master’s degree prior to or during their PhD program, many institutions accept students directly from a Bachelor’s degree program.

PhD programs in Philosophy often have their own entry requirements, which may include a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy or a related discipline, such as Humanities, Social Sciences, or an interdisciplinary field.

Some programs may also require applicants to have completed a particular amount of coursework in Philosophy or a related field, as well as exhibit skill in appropriate research methods or languages.

What are the Best PhD in Philosophy Degree programs?

1. new york university (nyu) – department of philosophy 2. harvard university – department of philosophy 3. stanford university – department of philosophy 4. princeton university – department of philosophy 5. university of pittsburgh – department of philosophy 6. university of oxford – faculty of philosophy 7. university of cambridge – faculty of philosophy 8. massachusetts institute of technology (mit) – department of linguistics and philosophy 9. university of california, berkeley – department of philosophy 10. yale university – department of philosophy, leave a comment cancel reply.

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What can you do with a philosophy phd, the glorious path.

The “expected” career choice for philosophy, as it is for many humanities fields, is still the professorship. Professorship comes in different degrees of prestige, too. At the top of the ladder is someone who has job security (“tenure”, which is a status that makes it extremely difficult for a university to fire you) who works at a research-focused university (colloquially called an “R1”). More concretely, an R1 university for a philosopher is one where its philosophy department trains PhD students. There are also departments that only train master’s students. They may be at schools with comparably less research (sometimes referred to as “R2″s), but can also be at a large R1 who happens to have a small philosophy department.

Other than these, there are also universities that do no have graduate programs. They tend to be liberal arts colleges, or LACs (sometimes SLACs for small LACs or selective LACs). Another term you might encounter is PUIs, or primarily undergraduate institutions, which include both LACs and regional universities that grant 4-year degrees but do not have graduate students. One can also hold a tenured position at a community college (CC).

In general, professors at R1/R2s are expected to spend most of their time researching — publishing papers and attending conferences — and secondarily on supervising graduate students and doing administrative work. Most of them are not rewarded for undergraduate teaching. If you have had bad professors as an undergrad in a big research university, this might be why. In contrast, PUIs and CCs place a lot more emphasis on teaching.

Traditionally, the highest-regarded job is the tenured R1 professorship. Many graduate programs (especially prestigious ones) still assume that R1 is the obvious goal of their graduate students. Some academics still believe that choosing a teaching job (PUI or CC) over an R1 when one has the ability to pursue R1 is a waste of talent. Graduate students who find themselves enjoying teaching more than research often feel the need to hide this from others.

It is my impression that more programs are starting to recognize and respect the desire of philosophically talented students to pursue teaching careers. However, teaching jobs are very different from research jobs and, by definition, professors at graduate programs hold research jobs. Consequently, not all programs go out of their ways to provide students with adequate teaching training. If teaching is something you are seriously considering, it is worth some effort assessing the degree of openness and support a department has on this front.

The shadowy isles

Not all teaching staff has tenure. In fact, if you come from a big research university, chances are that some lower-level classes you took were taught by “adjuncts”. Adjuncts are teaching personnel who work on a contract basis. They hold PhDs just like tenured professors, but are often paid less than a fraction in salary, sometimes putting them below the poverty line. In fact, the “adjunctification of higher education” (the increased use of adjunct staff over full-time staff) is a huge social justice problem right now. If you are interested, just google “adjunct crisis”.

The problem (one of the many problems) adjuncts face is that, while most people take on adjunctship as a temporary financial solution in the search of the tenure track, many end up being stuck as adjuncts. This is because adjuncts often have to work extreme hours to keep financially afloat, leaving no time to build a competitive research profile.

Another form of temporary employment is the post doctoral fellowship (or “post-doc”). Post-docs differ vastly, with some offering great salary with no teaching duty and others being essentially the same as adjuncts.

According to the 2017 report by the Academic Placement Data and Analysis of “graduates between 2012 and 2016 … 36% are in permanent academic positions, 40% are in temporary academic positions”. In other words, being a professor in the way that your undergraduate professors are is far from guaranteed by a PhD from even the best programs. In fact, it is perhaps more rational to approach the “should I pursue a PhD?” question with the assumption of not able to land a professorship.

The rest of the world

What about the world outside of academia? The situation is similar to that of teaching jobs, except many times more extreme. That is, many academics still consider jobs outside of academia (also known as “industry” jobs) as a sign of professional failure and last resort. Students who have such aspirations often have to hide them from their departments, as departments sometimes withhold resources, intentionally or not, from students who are “wasting talent and education” by not pursuing academic jobs. In general, alternative to academia (or “alt-ac”) career path is still a delicate issue.

I believe the situation is improving, if only slowly. Graduate students, including some of the founders of wonderphilosophy, are calling attention to alt-ac acceptance and support. I know of a number of professors who are supportive of alt-ac. Nevertheless, since successful academics tend to be life-long academics, it is difficult for them to provide alt-ac support. I believe the APDA (mentioned above) is trying to contribute in that direction.

If alt-ac is something you’d like to consider, it is also important to assess the general attitude a department holds in this regard. Alt-ac attitude is, in my experience, easier to assess than teaching attitude, since academics tend to be less apologetic at declaring their contempt (if they do hold it) towards industry jobs than towards teaching.

And the chaos in between

Many things can happen during the 5, 6, 7 years it takes (Note: do not go to a program whose normative time to degree is more than 6 years) for you to complete a PhD. It is probably unwise to plan to stick to one plan.

Still, PhD training is, at the core of it, a professional training . It trains you for a specific profession, and all statistics show that this specific professional demand does not meet the trained supply, and PhD training has been slow to adapt to this fact. While I certainly think it’s not true to claim (as some do) that graduate training in philosophy is a “waste of time” if you do not go into professional philosophy, I think it’s wise to keep your eyes, minds, and options open during the entirety of this process.

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How to Get a Doctorate in Philosophy

Last Updated: May 26, 2024

This article was co-authored by Felipe Corredor . Felipe is a Senior College Admissions Consultant at American College Counselors with over seven years of experience. He specializes in helping clients from all around the world gain admission into America's top universities through private, one-on-one consulting. He helps guide clients through the entire college admissions process and perfect every aspect of their college applications. Felipe earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Chicago and recently received his MBA. This article has been viewed 60,792 times.

A doctorate is the highest degree you can earn in the field of philosophy. Earning a PhD in philosophy takes hard work and perseverance. The process of getting your PhD in philosophy varies depending on the university and program. However, almost all programs will require coursework, intense research, and a completed dissertation. Earning your doctorate in philosophy is difficult but with dedication and hard work, you can complete the requirements and get your PhD.

Applying to PhD Programs

• You should have at least an idea of your dissertation subject. Ideally, the PhD program you attend will have a strong background in your subfield. Look for the leading philosophers in your subfield and consider applying to their universities.
• Most philosophy graduate programs are small which means there are many people applying for a few spots. You may want to apply to many different programs to increase your chance of acceptance.

• The GRE’s have a verbal, writing, and mathematics section. The first two are probably more important for a philosophy major, but a strong score in all sections will be necessary to be accepted into the competitive graduate programs.

• If your undergraduate program required a thesis, consider submitting this as your sample. If a thesis was not required, consider writing one for the application. Your sample should be of the highest quality and thoroughly edited and proofread.

Completing the First Two Years of Graduate School

• Most PhD programs will require 3-4 classes a semester for the first two years.
• It is important to get the majority, if not all, of your coursework done during your first two years. The remainder of your PhD program should be focused on researching and writing your dissertation.

• The research proposal should explain what your dissertation will add to the field of philosophy; what arguments your making, and the new theories you are proposing. It should be a relatively specific topic, and you should discuss it with your professors during your first two years of graduate school.
• The research proposal should outline your plans for completing your dissertation. It should explain how your work will build on existing scholarship and outline each step of the dissertation writing process.
• Most PhD programs will require that your proposal be accepted by the department before you progress to writing the dissertation.

• Many programs will award a master's degree after the successful completion of the coursework and exam.
• Some programs will not give you a test but will still require formal approval before you advance to the dissertation-writing stage.

Writing Your Dissertation

• Talk to several faculty members, and try to envision working with them. Make sure you are comfortable working with the professor you ultimately choose, and that they will be available to advise you over the next several years.

• You should also understand the history of research into your field, and how other scholars have contributed to it.
• Your advisor can suggest books and authors to begin your research. Your dissertation should build on the research that has already been conducted.

• You should travel to different archives, libraries, and philosophical institutions. Your research might also include interviews, surveys, and data analysis depending on your topic and subfield of philosophy.
• Your dissertation should not simply be an overview of other people’s work; it should show your arguments and original research.
• Your advisor will be crucial in the research process. Not only can they point you in the direction of sources, but they will help you analyze your research and what it means to your thesis.

• The exact length of your dissertation will vary depending on your university’s requirements and your subject. Typically, dissertations are between 70,000 and 100,000 words long. [6] X Research source
• In addition to your main arguments, your dissertation needs to include a literature review, an explanation of your methods, a summary of your research, and an explanation as to how you arrived at your conclusions.

• In addition to your advisor, have other professors and philosophers review your work. The more people who edit your draft, the fewer changes you will have to make after your dissertation defense.

Completing Your Doctorate in Philosophy

• How the panel is selected varies by institution. In general, there is at least one member of your department present and one expert from outside your department. This expert should still be a philosophy expert; often they are philosophy professors from other schools.
• Usually your advisor is present at the defense, but they are not a member of the panel.

• Generally, the changes that are required are minor. You should make them and then resubmit your dissertation. You will still be awarded your doctorate as planned. If major changes are required, you may have to take more time to implement them fully. This may delay your doctorate being awarded.

Expert Q&A

• Because studying philosophy at an advanced level requires mastery of a specific type of writing and argumentation, it is important to study philosophy as an undergraduate. Doctoral programs will likely not accept students who do not have a broad background in the field; if you have majored in another subject, earning a master's in philosophy before applying to PhD programs might be best. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• One of the hardest things about earning a doctorate in philosophy is the financial burden that graduate school places on students. When applying to graduate programs, be sure to find departments that provide generous funding to their students, and consider the financial package when choosing your eventual place of study. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 1

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• ↑ https://theihs.org/blog/getting-a-phd-in-philosophy/
• ↑ https://philosophy.columbia.edu/content/phd-philosophy
• ↑ https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215199&p=1420520
• ↑ https://www.findaphd.com/advice/doing/the-phd-journey.aspx

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What You Need to Know Before Getting a PhD in Philosophy

Is a getting PhD in Philosophy an attainable career option in today’s world?

Whether you are interested in influencing academia or becoming a scholar at a think tank, obtaining a doctorate degree in philosophy can be a rewarding and realistic step in your career—if you are willing to work hard.

Even getting into a graduate program can be competitive. Dr. Bill Glod notes that there could be over 200 applicants for every five spots at some of the top schools. But with the proper planning, you can be successful despite the competitive field.

In the podcast below, Dr. Glod walks you how to get into a good PhD program—and what to expect once you enroll—so that you can succeed in this field.

A few things you should think about before getting a PhD in Philosophy:

• Whether a PhD in Philosophy is really right for you, and how to prepare for a career in Philosophy as an undergraduate.
• Different types of programs in Philosophy.
• Different methodologies you’ll encounter within the field.
• How to approach the application process if you are sympathetic to classical liberal ideas.
• How many programs you should apply to, and what you should be looking for in a program.
• What classes to take once you enroll.

Previous Post The 5 Significant Advantages of Interdisciplinary Research

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Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

PhD FAQs – A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Doctoral Study

Tempted to do a PhD but have lots of questions? Hopefully this collection of popular PhD FAQs will help you to tick a few off the list!

Note – If you’re already sure that you want to do a PhD, and are looking for guidance on the applications process, check out my post on How to apply for a PhD which includes advice from successful PhD applicants. My post-PhD reflections on the things I regretted from my own PhD may be useful for you too, you can find that post here .

Let’s start with the absolute basics of PhDs!

What does PhD stand for?

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy. Doctor of Philosophy ? No matter which subject area your PhD is in you’ll become a Doctor of Philosophy because philosophy derives from Greek to mean “Love of wisdom” which make a bit more sense.

What is a PhD?

A PhD is a type of research degree classified as a doctorate. You get a PhD by doing original research into a topic, typically for at least three years.

There are loads of other types of doctorate and a PhD is simply the most common. EngD is another which is relatively common for industry-funded engineering students here in the UK.

PhD & DPhil what’s the difference?

There is no real difference between a PhD and DPhil, they’re both Doctor of Philosophy qualifications. A small number of historic institutions in the UK such as Oxford and York offer DPhils but the degree itself is equivalent.

How common are PhDs amongst the population?

Approximately 1% of the working population (25-64 years old) have a PhD. This varies a lot by country:

Can you call yourself Doctor with a PhD?

Yes you can. Though to avoid confusion with medical doctors, rarely will PhD-holders use the “Dr” title outside of their workplace.

Sometimes PhD-holders will add the abbreviation PhD after their name if they want to make it clear they are a non-medical doctor, for example “Jeff Clark PhD”.

What have I done about my title since getting my PhD? Nothing so far!

Why do a PhD?

Unlike a lot of other degrees, most PhD students get paid to study . Read more in the finances section below.

There are lots of potential reasons to want to do a PhD. The PhD students from our monthly PhD Profiles series said the following:

Sara found research the most enjoyable part of her undergraduate degree and a PhD was a way to carry on with research.

Ornob wants to pursue a career in evolutionary biology so began with a PhD in the field.

Vivienne has aspirations to be a professor so a PhD is a job requirement to progress in academia.

Jeff (me!) had an interest in the field and enjoyed research. I wrote a whole post with a deep dive on why I decided to do a PhD here .

Floor had enjoyed research during her Masters and didn’t think that she wanted a career in industry, so decided to do a PhD.

It’s important to mention that you don’t need to have a desire to stay in academia to do a PhD. In fact, even if you do want to go into academia afterwards, it’s probably good to know early on just how competitive it can be. Many people sadly cannot make a career out of academia long term.

Enjoy the subject matter and want to spend a few years researching it? That is reason enough to do a PhD. I’ve also now written a whole post about the benefits of having a PhD .

Applying for a PhD

Do you need a masters degree to do a phd.

No you don’t necessarily need a Masters degree to do a PhD as long as you can demonstrate you’d be suitable for a PhD without it.

For a more in-depth answer see the separate post here :

Can You Get a PhD Without a Master’s?

If you don’t have a Masters, I’d recommend checking out Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) which offer combined Masters + PhD courses. We have discussed CDTs with a graduate in Floor’s post here .

What grades do you need to do a PhD?

Entry requirements for PhDs can vary. In regards to the UK system usually you’d generally be expected to have at least a 2:1 from your undergraduate degree, plus some research experience.

My experience : I (narrowly) got first class honours in my undergrad (MEng) which certainly does help. But if you can demonstrate aptitude in research you usually don’t need a 1:1. It would be expected for you to have done well in any research projects. If you can get your name on a publication then even better!

The easiest way to find out what is expected is to check the PhD advert for entry requirements. For details on applying for a PhD, including how to find PhD adverts, check out my guide here :

How to apply for a PhD

I work in industry, can I come back and do a PhD?

Absolutely! I worked for almost four years between finishing my first degree and starting my PhD.

A PhD is more similar to a job than any other point in your education, so if you’ve spent time in a structured role it can provide you with a good work ethic. If your time in industry adds relevant skills and experience to your application, even better!

I’ve met loads of people older than me who are pursuing PhDs. If it’s your dream, it’s never too late to start a PhD!

What is the social life of a PhD student like?

Let me get this out the way first: PhD students should be able to have a life outside of the lab! If a PhD student has no time away from research I would personally suggest that they were doing things wrong.

Even if you really enjoy your project, it is good for your mental health to have a social life!

No matter the size of your research group there are often departmental and university-wide events. Plus, besides everyone you may meet through your research and department, PhD students can still join societies and sports clubs through the students’ union. I spent one of my birthdays during my PhD on the beach in Morocco with the surf club, don’t let being a PhD student put your off getting involved!

Check out the full post I’ve written: Do PhD Students Have a Social Life? Sharing My Experiences Making Friends and Avoiding PhD Loneliness

If you do go on to do a PhD, make sure to make the most of all the opportunities ! Your time as a PhD student is fantastic for personal growth.

How much holiday do PhD students get?

Sadly unlike undergraduates, PhD students don’t follow fixed semesters. This means no more three month long summer holiday, sorry!

However most departments recommend PhD students take 7-8 weeks of holiday a year , which is more than practically any job outside of academia.

I kept track of all the time off I took during my PhD and you can find the details here , including a month by month breakdown:

Do PhD Students Get Holidays? Sharing How Much Annual Leave I Take

Getting a PhD

How much work is a phd.

For a month I tracked how many hours I was working and what I was working on, so you can see a breakdown of my calendar here . I found I was working for roughly 40 hours a week. Now that I’ve recently finished my PhD, I’d say that that amount of hours was pretty representative of the whole PhD.

How Much Work is a PhD?

I do of course know some people who worked much longer hours, but most PhD students were on a similar schedule to me. Working roughly 9-5 on weekdays. Treat it like a job and you’ll be fine. PhD students don’t need to be slaving away long hours.

I managed to be strict with my time, largely avoiding work late nights or going in at the weekends. One of the main perks of doing a PhD is that you have autonomy and can be flexible with when you work. As long as you get the work done, any reasonable supervisor won’t mind when you’re there.

Yes I’ve heard stories of PhD students having to clock in and out with an expectation that they spend a certain number of hours in the office. I personally think this is stupid and doesn’t build trust. Try to speak to current PhD students from the group when choosing a supervisor .

How is a PhD assessed?

What you submit at the end of your research varies between universities and countries. Sometimes it’s a thesis and other times it can be a bunch of published papers. In all situations you give some kind of presentation and answer questions about your work.

In the UK you usually submit a thesis in preparation for a viva voce . The viva is an oral exam where you discuss your research with several academics and at least one will be an expert in your field. My viva wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be, but nonetheless it was five hours ( FIVE HOURS! ) long. At the end of your viva you’ll get told the outcome of your PhD with any changes to be made to your thesis.

There is often no requirement , to publish your work in journals during a PhD in the UK but it does help.

In other countries you may have to publish a certain number to pass your PhD and effectively these can be submitted instead of the thesis. This approach makes much more sense to me.

How long does it take to get a PhD?

In the UK, typically between three and four years to complete your research and submit the thesis. It can then take a few months for the exam (viva voce) to take place and then for any corrections to the thesis to be made.

Nosey about my PhD? For me personally, I started the PhD on 1st October 2016, submitted my thesis on 17th February 2020, had the viva on 25th March, submitted my minor corrections on 30th March and had the email to say it was officiated on 1st April 2020. Yep, April Fool’s Day…

When you realise your degree certificate will forever say your PhD was awarded on April Fools Day! #academiclife @imperialcollege pic.twitter.com/hKsGFyuc0x — Jeff Clark (@savvy_scientist) April 14, 2020

We cover all the stages of a PhD here, including putting the length of a PhD in the perspective of a whole career:

How Long Does It Take To Get A PhD?

Are PhDs really difficult?

No, well not how you might think.

You don’t need to be a genius, but you do have to be smart with how you work. Here I go into how a PhD is pretty different to all the prior years spent in education:

How Hard is a PhD?

Check out my new post covering academic challenges and failures relating to my own PhD: Overcoming Academic Challenges and Failure During a PhD

Money-Related Questions

How much does a phd cost.

If you have funding, which is explained below, all your fees are paid for by the funding source. If you are looking to self-fund, then you’ll have to pay bench-fees/tuition fees, which are usually approximately £4,000 a year for home students in the UK.

Fees vary massively depending on both the country the PhD work takes place in and where you’re from. For example, I believe Australian universities charge around $100,000 in fees to overseas PhD students. Of course ideally you have funding which covers both this and pays a stipend!

Do PhD students pay taxes?

In the UK, PhD students do not pay income tax, national insurance, council tax and student loan repayments. This means that if you can secure funding, even though you may earn less than friends in typical jobs, you get to keep all your earnings!

Do PhD students get paid?

Most PhDs, at least in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) get a stipend: basically a tax-free salary.

How much do PhD students get paid?

At the time of writing, most PhD students in the UK get around £16,000 a year . Doesn’t sound like a lot, but:

• As mentioned above, you don’t pay income tax, national insurance, council tax or make any student loan repayments. My most popular post is this one , comparing the income of PhD students vs grad jobs and the difference really isn’t that big. Plus it’s only for 3 to 3.5 years!
• You’re getting paid to learn science, working on something you’re really interested in. It’s amazing.
• You have a lot more freedom than practically any “proper job”.
• You’re getting paid, to be a student…

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid?

In summary, PhD stipends are really not that different to grad starting salaries. Please don’t be put off from a PhD simply because for a few years you might be earning a bit less than if you were working in another job.

Depending on what you want to do with your career, having a CV may lead to higher salaries. What is 3 years of lower wages out of a 40+ year career? The answer: nothing!

Where do I find PhD funding?

Getting funding will likely be the biggest hurdle for you to secure a PhD. I have a post here detailing the different types of funding and how you can find a project with funding attached.

How to Find PhD Funding in the UK

Can you self-fund a PhD?

Yes you can self-fund a PhD, and some students are in a position to do so. Just be careful that you account for university fees and not just your living costs.

Are you allowed to have another job at the same time?

Most universities encourage you to get involved with work within your department as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA). Some countries even insist that you work a certain number of hours as part of a contract for your monthly stipend.

Working as a GTA you might be invigilating exams, helping in tutorials, marking coursework etc and at Imperial you usually earn around £15-£26 an hour.

If you’re looking to work a full time job in tandem with your PhD (and doing the PhD full time), it is best checking your university’s policy. Some may have regulations against you working over a certain number of hours which could impede you from concentrating on the PhD.

There are extra ways to make money on the side which I address here :

How to Earn Money Online for Students

Can you get a mortgage as a PhD student?

Since I did my PhD in London I didn’t even consider buying somewhere during my PhD. I’m not interested in being tied into a massive mortgage for 25 years to buy a shoebox!

If I’d accepted my PhD offer for a CDT at Leeds I certainly would have tried to buy somewhere with my partner. I found this page useful when doing research. Buying a property with a partner who has a normal job would definitely make the mortgage application a whole lot more successful.

Will a PhD help your career?

This depends on what you want to do with your career. Some example scenarios:

• Staying in academia – a PhD is usually required
• Certain technical jobs in industry – a PhD may be required or a big bonus
• Non-technical jobs – a bonus

I do not imagine any scenarios where having a PhD is worse than not having one. It is true though that for certain careers there may be other things you could do which would be a better use of your time, for example gaining more direct work experience.

If you want to do a PhD that shouldn’t stop you though, and considering the length of your career taking a few years out for a PhD is inconsequential.

Whichever career path you fancy taking, if you are at all interested in doing a PhD I think you should at least apply.

PhDs in London

Can someone afford to live in london as a phd student.

Yes! I lived in London for my PhD and actually was able to save money every single month while taking many holidays and not living in a tent.

I have a few posts sharing my experiences living in London which you may find useful:

For a month last year I tracked all my expenses to get an idea of my costs living in London as a student, you can find it here .

Sharing my monthly living expenses as a student in London: September 2019

Related to reducing costs, I learned to cycle in London and loved it. It saved me about £100 a month too!

Learning to cycle in London: my first 1000 miles

On top of that, for the whole of 2019 (third year PhD) I tracked my money, and the report is here :

My personal finances report for 2019

Where is good to live in London?

I’ve lived in three different houses during my PhD in London and have a pretty good idea now of good places to live in London. You can read this whole post talking about living in London as a student and the associated costs including a breakdown of rent :

London student accommodation: Breaking down the cost of living in London for students

Bonus: Read the journeys of PhD students

Before I started my PhD I had a ton of questions and nobody who I could ask about their experience. The reality is that many of these PhD FAQs have a variety of answers as everyone’s PhD story is different. Therefore if you’d like to hear first hand from people who are going through the journey check out my series of PhD profiles , with a new profile every month. You can also discover some of their top tips for applying!

If you’d like personalised help with your PhD application I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

Is there anything else you’d like to know to help with a potential PhD application? Let me know and I’ll write about it! You can subscribe to stay up to date here:

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My top PhD regrets: 10 lessons learned by a PhD grad

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Getting a Ph.D. in Psychology

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

Verywell / Evan Polenghi

Ph.D. vs. Psy.D.

Job opportunities, earning a degree, specialty areas, alternatives.

Getting a Ph.D. in psychology can open up a whole new world of career opportunities. For many careers paths in psychology-related career paths, a doctoral degree is necessary to obtain work and certification. A Ph.D. is one option, but it is not the only educational path that's available to reach some of these goals.

A Ph.D., or doctor of philosophy, is one of the highest level degrees you can earn in the field of psychology . If you're considering pursuing a graduate degree, you might be wondering how long it takes to earn a Ph.D. in psychology . Generally, a bachelor's degree takes four years of study. While a master's degree requires an additional two to three years of study beyond the bachelor's, a doctoral degree can take between four to six years of additional graduate study after earning your bachelor's degree.

Recently, a new degree option known as the Psy.D. , or doctor of psychology, has grown in popularity as an alternative to the Ph.D. The type of degree you decide to pursue depends on a variety of factors, including your own interests and your career aspirations.

Before deciding which is right for you, research your options and decide if graduate school in psychology is even the best choice for you. Depending on your career goals, you might need to earn a master's or doctoral degree in psychology in order to practice in your chosen field. In other instances, a degree in a similar subject such as counseling or social work may be more appropriate.

A doctorate in psychology is required if you want to open your own private practice.

If you want to become a licensed psychologist, you must earn either a Ph.D. or a Psy.D. in clinical or counseling psychology.

In most cases, you will also need a doctorate if you want to teach and conduct research at the college or university level. While there are some opportunities available for people with a master's degree in various specialty fields, such as industrial-organizational psychology and health psychology , those with a doctorate will generally find higher pay, greater job demand, and more opportunity for growth.

In order to earn a Ph.D. in psychology, you need to first begin by earning your bachelor's degree. While earning your undergraduate degree in psychology can be helpful, students with bachelor's degrees in other subjects can also apply their knowledge to psychology Ph.D. programs . Some students in doctorate programs may have a master's degree in psychology , but most doctorate programs do not require it.

After you’ve been admitted to a graduate program, it generally takes at least four years to earn a Ph.D. and another year to complete an internship. Once these requirements have been fulfilled, you can take state and national exams to become licensed to practice psychology in the state where you wish to work.

Once you enter the graduate level of psychology, you will need to choose an area of specialization, such as clinical psychology , counseling psychology, health psychology, or cognitive psychology . The American Psychological Association (APA) accredits graduate programs in three areas: clinical, counseling, and school psychology.   If you are interested in going into one of these specialty areas, it's important to choose a school that has received accreditation through the APA.

For many students, the choice may come down to a clinical psychology program versus a counseling psychology program. There are many similarities between these two Ph.D. options, but there are important distinctions that students should consider. Clinical programs may have more of a research focus while counseling programs tend to focus more on professional practice. The path you choose will depend largely on what you plan to do after you complete your degree.

Of course, the Ph.D. in psychology is not the only graduate degree option. The Psy.D. is a doctorate degree option that you might also want to consider. While there are many similarities between these two degrees, traditional Ph.D. programs tend to be more research-oriented while Psy.D. programs are often more practice-oriented.

The Ph.D. option may be your top choice if you want to mix professional practice with teaching and research, while the Psy.D. option may be preferred if you want to open your own private psychology practice.

In the book "An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology," authors John C. Norcross and Michael A. Sayette suggest that one of the key differences between the two-degree options is that the Ph.D. programs train producers of research while Psy.D. programs train consumers of research. However, professional opportunities for practice are very similar with both degree types.

Research suggests that there are few discernible differences in terms of professional recognition, employment opportunities, or clinical skills between students trained in the Ph.D. or Psy.D. models. One of the few differences is that those with a Ph.D. degree are far more likely to be employed in academic settings and medical schools.

Social work, counseling, education, and the health sciences are other graduate options that you may want to consider if you decide that a doctorate degree is not the best fit for your interests and career goals.

A Word From Verywell

If you are considering a Ph.D. in psychology, spend some time carefully researching your options and thinking about your future goals. A doctoral degree is a major commitment of time, resources, and effort, so it is worth it to take time to consider the right option for your goals. The Ph.D. in psychology can be a great choice if you are interested in being a scientist-practitioner in the field and want to combine doing research with professional practice. It's also great training if you're interested in working at a university where you would teach classes and conduct research on psychological topics.

University of Pennsylvania; School of Arts and Sciences. Information for applicants .

American Psychological Association. Doctoral degrees in psychology: How are they different, or not so different?

U.S. Department of Labor.  Psychologists . Occupational Outlook Handbook .

Norcross JC, Sayette MA. An Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology (2020/2021 ed.) . New York, NY: The Guilford Press; 2020.

Davis SF, Giordano PJ, Licht CA. Your Career in Psychology: Putting Your Graduate Degree to Work . John Wiley & Sons; 2012. doi:10.1002/9781444315929

US Department of Education. Bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions, by sex of student and discipline division: 2016-17 .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Science in the News

Opening the lines of communication between research scientists and the wider community.

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What the heck do you do with a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences?

I am currently a fifth year graduate student well on my way to earning my Ph.D. in biological and biomedical sciences (knock on wood). Every year around the holidays I’m bombarded with the same question from friends and family: what exactly are you doing? In the past I’ve answered this question by attempting to explain my thesis research on biofuels production in bacteria (see previous Signal to Noise article http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2013/mimicking-fossil-fuels-through-metabolic-engineering/ ).

These days, however, this question has taken on a new meaning. Rather than asking what I’m working on right now, I think people want to know what I’m doing with my future.

Personally, I’ve wanted to go into science writing and communication since the start of my graduate career so it is not so difficult for me to answer this question, at least in broad strokes. However, many graduate students have no idea what they’re going to do with their science Ph.D.s. Many people enter graduate school hoping that some day they’ll have careers doing research as professors at academic institutions (1). In reality, this is not actually feasible for the majority of graduate students, but, luckily, there are many other exciting paths graduates can take.

The Academic Route

Figure 1 ~ The linear route to academia. In the past, this career progression has traditionally been thought of as the path most Ph.D.s will take, but is not possible for most Ph.D.s today given the number of professorships available. Assistant professors go up for review before they are granted associate professor status. Once they achieve associate professor status (tenured), their jobs are very secure and they can be promoted to full professor through research and teaching accomplishments. 

The traditional academic route in the United States follows the linear path shown in Figure 1. In this scheme, hopeful young Ph.D. students start their careers by taking classes and doing research under the mentorship of a professor in a particular field. Graduating from a Ph.D. program usually requires a thorough demonstration of independent thinking through the publication of academic papers related to a thesis topic and the formal defense of this thesis before a committee of professors in the field. From here, the fresh Ph.D. must usually complete postdoctoral training (during which time he/she is commonly called a “postdoc”). Postdocs tend to work much more independently than graduate students and are supposed to devote all of their working hours to research, but still work under the mentorship of a chosen professor. During this period, postdocs build their resumes by developing further experimental expertise, continuing to publish papers, and writing research grants to get their work funded. Though highly respected for the skills and expertise required, the postdoc position has been much maligned recently (2-4) because of its poor pay ($42,000 a year starting salary if funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)) and long duration (the median length of postdoctoral training is 4 years (5), but it can last much longer than this) (3,5). Many also feel that postdocs are not adequately trained: despite the fact that postdocs will essentially become managers on top of researchers if they land jobs as professors, they get little formal managerial training or instruction on how to successfully run a lab. In addition, as many postdocs are in their early thirties, this training can be a particularly difficult period as they try to balance starting families with devoting themselves to research.

Nonetheless, after a postdoc has published thoroughly and achieved some degree of success, he or she can begin applying for faculty positions. At this point we come across the most egregious problem with the traditional academic route. Let’s take U.S. biomedical sciences Ph.D.s as a representative example: despite the fact that 70% of  U.S. biomedical Ph.D.s choose to continue onto postdoctoral training, only 23% ever end up with a tenure track academic position (5). In fact, while roughly 36,000 science and engineering Ph.D.s were awarded in the U.S. in 2011, only about 3,000 academic positions were created in the same year (6) (Figure 2). It is currently impossible for academic institutions to absorb all of the science and engineering Ph.D.s that they create.

The precise reasons for this precarious situation are not well mapped out, but some possible causes are the extreme stability of tenured positions (tenured professors can stay in their positions for many years) resulting in few vacancies, the need for a cheap labor source in the biomedical sciences, and the doubling of the NIH budget from 1998-2003. In particular, when the NIH budged was doubled from 1998-2003, degree granting institutions received more money for research and increased the number of Ph.D.s they trained using this money, but did not increase the number of professor positions to the same level (5). Regardless, with the large imbalance between the number of new biomedical Ph.D.s and the number of academic positions available it is imperative that graduate students actively investigate and pursue other careers and that they not be considered “alternatives” or a mark of failure since the academic route is simply not feasible for most.

  Figure 2 ~ The number of science and engineering degrees awarded in the U.S. in 2011 (left) far outstrips the number of academic faculty positions created in the same year (right); this is also true for many years previous to 2011 and will continue for the foreseeable future unless there are drastic changes to current Ph.D. programs.  

The branching career path

Fortunately, the career path for Ph.D.s does not have to be as gloomy as presented above. If a Ph.D. is lucky enough to end up as a tenured professor, the job security of the position will give him or her the freedom to pursue whatever research he or she finds interesting (provided there’s funding for the work of course). For those who don’t end up in academia, there are many exciting opportunities out there. In fact, from a simple employment perspective those with Ph.D.s in science, engineering, and health are doing much better than the general population. In February 2013, the unemployment rate for the general U.S. population was at 6.3% while that of U.S. science, engineering, and health Ph.D.s was way down at 2.1% (7). This is similar to the 2.3% unemployment rate of those with professional degrees, such as in architechture, engineering, law, medicine etc(8). There has been a recent drop in Ph.D. employment at graduation (9), and this phenomena should certainly be monitored, but Ph.D.s still fair much better than the general US populous in terms of employment.

Figure 3 ~ There are many options for Ph.D.s other than the linear progression to the academic life of a professor and many Ph.D.s begin thinking about these different options only after they enter graduate school ( 1 ) . More details about many careers can be found in Table 1.

These low unemployment statistics clearly mean one thing: there are many jobs for Ph.D.s outside of academia. Rather than following the linear academic route presented in Figure 1, most Ph.D.s are branching out into many different positions (Figure 3). Some of these positions are research oriented and some are not. A smattering of these career possibilities is presented in Table 1. These careers have a large range of salaries and life styles that can differ substantially from those expected for professors. More information about many of these can be found in references (10) and (11), but it’s generally understood that the analytical and independent thinking skills developed during a Ph.D. are applicable to a wide variety of positions.

Despite this reality, many institutions still structure their Ph.D. programs with the academic career path in mind. This will hopefully change in the near future. Indeed, the NIH, which is the major biomedical research funding agency in the United States,  is beginning to take note of this, as are academic leaders (1,5,12). It’s been recommended that granting agencies, when reviewing the successfulness of a Ph.D. program, place value on programs that promote professional development and not just the academic route. It has additionally been recommended that universities create shorter programs wherein scientists interested in non-academic careers can get the training they need without having to do an entire Ph.D. (5). Such programs would still be science oriented but would better prepare students for lives outside of academia than a traditional Ph.D. program and could help rebalance the number of Ph.D.s awarded with the academic positions available.

This focus on the branching career path for Ph.D.s should come with the understanding that it’s incredibly important for scientifically trained individuals to hold positions in many different parts of society. Rather than being hunkered down in academia, scientists in these many different careers can help improve society’s appreciation for scientists and science at large. With humanity facing huge and complex problems like global warming and food scarcity, it is imperative the people with an appreciation and understanding of science permeate society such that we can help others make informed decisions about how to combat these problems. The branching career path for Ph.D.s represents a small but important step toward broadening humanity’s scientific understanding.

Table 1 ~ A small sample of career options for Ph.D.s (here focused on Ph.D.s in the life sciences). Information compiled from references ( 10 , 11 ) , indeed.com, and salary.com. Salaries are rough estimates.

Tyler J. Ford is a fifth year graduate student in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program at Harvard University

1.         Fuhrmann, C. N., Halme, D. G., O’Sullivan, P. S., and Lindstaedt, B. (2011) Improving graduate education to support a branching career pipeline: recommendations based on a survey of doctoral students in the basic biomedical sciences. CBE life sciences education 10 , 239-249

2.         Johnson, C. Y. (2014) Report suggests higher pay, better mentoring for postdocs. The Boston Globe

3.         GS, M., and al, e. (2014) Shaping the Future of Research: a perspective from junior scientists [v1; ref status: approved 1, approved with reservations 1, http://f1000r.es/4ug] . F1000 Research 3

4.         Johnson, C. Y. (2014) Excess postdocs causes quiet crisis. The Tech Online

5.         (2012) BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH WORKFORCE WORKING GROUP

REPORT. National Institutes of Health

6.         Schillebeeckx, M., Maricque, B., and Lewis, C. (2013) The missing piece to changing the university culture. Nat. Biotechnol. 31 , 938-941

7.         LA, S., and S, P. (2014) Unemployment among Doctoral Scientists and Engineers Remained Below the National Average in 2013. The National Science Foundation

8.         (2014) Earnings and unemployment rates by educational attainment. in Bureau of Labor Statistics

9.         J, W. (2013) The Ph.D Bust: America’s Awful Market for Young Scientists-in 7 Charts. The Atlantic

10.       http://www.phdcareerguide.com/ (2014) PhD Career Guide.  

11.       Janssen, K., and Sever, R. (2015) Career Options for Biomedical Scientists , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor

12.       Alberts, B., Kirschner, M. W., Tilghman, S., and Varmus, H. (2014) Rescuing US biomedical research from its systemic flaws. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 111 , 5773-5777

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23 thoughts on “ What the heck do you do with a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences? ”

I am not a Biomedical Scientist, but father of a daughter holding Ph.D in Biomedical Science from the Monash University (KL Campus).

Surely, the Article is reader-friendly, and guiding to the target group. Though I have no knowledge in this regard, I understand it would benefit many concerned to the relevant field.

The reason for my response is that my Ph. D. holder daughter bearing research background and desire to pursue the same appears to be somewhat frustrated as she could not enter into any job. The scope of research in Asian countries is of course, limited. I advised her (now staying at KL) not to be worried. Please don’t take it otherwise for bringing a personal status of job in Biomedical Science field. Hope things would improve.

Hello, Your article has been incredibly enlighting! I’m pretty young… 18 years old, ugrad freshman… and have wanted to study Biomedical Research for as long as I can remember (long before I knew to call it “biomedical research” and not “like a doctor… but not working in a hospital”). How necessary is it to get a master’s degree before pursuing a Biomed PhD? Does it make sense to go through Medical School before postgraduate? Is independent research a possible/sensible route to take, realistically? The last question is really important to me because I’d like to pursue what I’m passionate about and still be able to live, at least, a moderately comfortable life. Thank you so much for your article!

Thanks for this! Very informative, especially Table 1

Hello! This post answered every question I have been seeking the answer to! I am currently finishing my Bachelors in Biology and was thinking of pursuing a PhD in Biology. That being said, I have been on the path to get a Masters in Biomedical illustration. I was thinking of getting a Phd right after my bachelors rather than having an extra two years of school from my masters. But after reading this post, I think I may stick with my masters degree in medical illustration, and then pursue a PhD later. I think having more real world work experience, a Masters, and a PhD would help with receiving a job as a professor. I know eventually I want to be a professor, but I am just trying to figure out the best path! What do you suggest? Thanks! Gabriella

Hey there Gabriella, I’m glad you enjoyed the article! If you’d like to be a professor, you’ll almost definitely have to get your PhD. That said, after working for a few years in Medical Illustration, you might find that you no longer wish to pursue academic positions. If you still want to be a professor after a few years in the industry, you can always go back and get the PhD. Thus, I like your current plan! Cheers, Tyler

I just got accepted to start this year in fall. I was wondering how are you doing? How is it going for you? I really enjoyed and learned reading your article. Thank you!!

I believe this will forever be an insightful topic, no matter when it is written or shared, so thank you for this. I’m currently in limbo as well regarding whether to do my PhD in Biological Sciences or start a completely new degree in Communication Science, which I have found a new love for. What I do know for sure is that I have no interest whatsoever in academia and would rather be in industry, although some of these industry job roles can be too repetitive and lack challenge. There are also so many options to weigh, two in particular being time and money. In the end, most degrees in Science seem more significant at PhD level but I feel the main reason for opting that route would be an individual’s passion. Again, thank you so much for this article!

Thank you for such a wonderful article. I had finished my undergrad in Biomedical Engineering and wanted to move to grad school. I am wondering if I should go with Engineering or just Biomedical Sciences. I do like pharmacology, immunology, cancer bio, and human physiology more. I do not want to go through academia being a Professor but want to work in the industry after graduation. I am dubious about what to pursue. I am looking for a very fantastic suggestion.

Thank you, Dav

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