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This bestselling book guides PhD students through their graduate years and beyond. Filled with practical advice on getting started, communicating with your supervisor, staying the course, and planning for the future, this book is an indispensable guide for graduate students who need that extra bit of help getting started and making it through.
Who should read this book? Any student currently in, or curious about, a PhD programme, be it in the physical and life sciences, engineering, computer science, math, medicine, or the humanities – this book tackles the obstacles and hurdles that almost all PhD students face during their doctoral training. Whether you're at the very beginning of your research, close to the end, or just feeling frustrated and stuck at any point in between...it's never too early – or too late – to focus on your success!
This third edition contains a variety of new material, including additional chapters and advice on how to make the most of remote learning, collaboration, and communication tools, as well as updated material on your next career step once you have your coveted doctoral degree in hand. Some of the material in the third edition appeared as part of a monthly column on the ScienceCareers website.
- Preface
- Choosing a Research Group: Pluses and Pitfalls
- Getting Started
- Setting Goals and Objections
- How to Think Like a Scientist
- Designing Good Experiments
- Charting your Progress Month by Month
- Dealing with Setbacks
- Mentors, Leadership and Community
- How to Get Along with Your Labmates, et al
- Group dynamics: Dealing with Difficult Colleagues
- The Art of Good Communication
- Mastering Presentations & Group Meetings
- Searching the Scientific Literature
- Your First International Conference
- From Data to Manuscript: Writing scientific papers that shine
- Celebrate your Success
- How to Make the Best of your Annual Evaluation
- The Final Year: Countdown to your Thesis Defense
- Writing your Doctoral Thesis with Style
- The Final Act: Defending your Thesis with Panache
- Putting it all Together: A PhD. . .So What's Next?
- Is Industry Right for You? Opportunities to Explore
- Exploring Non-Profit Organizations
- Lessons Learned
Dr Patricia Gosling has worked in several science-related fields since earning her PhD in organic chemistry, including medical publishing and medical communications. After many years as a medical writer in the Clinical Sciences and Regulatory departments in the Pharma and Biotech industry, she currently works as a freelance science editor.
Prof. Dr Bart Noordam has supervised close to 10 PhD students in experimental physics. He is currently Senior Vice President of Strategy at ASML in the Netherlands, manufacturing complex machines for the production of computer chips. He has also worked as the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Amsterdam, McKinsey & Company, and as chair of a regional audit organization.
Reviews of the first edition:
"A must for any student in natural sciences that is doing or is considering doing a PhD. Also, I strongly recommend PhD supervisors to read this book – they will learn a lot."
– Henrik Stapelfeldt, Professor of Chemistry, Arhus Denmark
"At last, a book about graduate study that paints the big picture and that recognizes PhD work as a real job involving many of the same relationship and business issues that will be important to students throughout their careers. Outstanding!"
– Lou Bloomfield, Professor of Physics, University of Virginia, USA
"Mastering Your PhD is a wonderful book and a pleasure to read. It helps PhD students prepare for the road ahead and provides a wealth of handy tips!"
– Aletta Wubben, Trainer and coach for scientists, The Netherlands
