Applying for a PhD: WHY

I often joke the PhD application process is easily in my top 5 of most trying times, which also includes a time I had bed bugs for a year.

But all jokes aside, my PhD application process was filled with a lot of doubt, questions, and concerns. It’s a big decision to make and after making it, can be hard to navigate through the applications.

But before we talk about those things, the first thing to ask yourself is: why do I need a PhD? Not want. NEED. Your field needs this research, your job needs this credential, your life cannot move on without getting this PhD, etc. This is not something you really really really really really want; a PhD is something you desperately need. This question is critical to answer— not just to application review committee, but really, to yourself. The PhD is indeed a commitment, in terms of the time, reduced income, ways that academia encroaches on your personal life, and the list continues... So you need to know the why and make sure to write it down somewhere because once you get it, you will need to remind yourself of the why often. ​

And if you do decide you want to apply, check out my post on the application process~