Planning to finish your dissertation soon? Here’s what you can do about it!
The journey to a Ph.D. usually is taken by a person who truly loves the subject and wants some in-depth training and understanding. However, in the end, it is the person who has immense patience that will end up completing the Ph.D. Not only that, but there will also be many hurdles on the way. So many of these roadblocks will be ones you may have never anticipated. Predicting the finishing date of a Ph.D. is definitely a task that feels more daunting as the years go by. You may also find friends and family asking when you will be "done" and wondering about your plans for a "real job"!
Over the years, I have seen many Ph.D. candidates not finish in spite of several years invested. This happens for a variety of reasons - again, some within and some outside of one's control. It would be helpful to have more open discussions on this topic and help students know that it's okay to not finish, but it's also okay to not give up! The narrative needs to change - from being on the receiving end of other's decisions to taking control over one's own research journey.
Be assured that sincere commitment, wonderful mentors, love for a subject and trust in the future are some of the things that can carry you all the way through -to the finish line. The timelines are dynamic - being highly dependent on many factors, including your thesis committee, your experiments working, and your overcoming writer's block! That does not mean you cannot have a reasonable plan in place to get done and get that degree!
So, when can you really start to plan to write your dissertation?
In my experience, starting to write the dissertation (at least the Introduction section) at least 6-8 months before your intended defense date is a good idea.
Talk to your advisor and get your committee together. Put together a presentation of the milestones achieved, pitfalls faced and how you addressed them. Go through the highlights of your doctoral research, one specific aim at a time, but don't bog them down with details. Take ownership! Remember, at this point, you should be the expert in the room on your dissertation topic, and they are there to guide and support you.
What are some reasonable timelines and steps you can take to meet them?
Find out what needs to be done in order for you to defend and make sure your committee agrees to the plan. Then sketch out a tentative timeline. Once you have completed most of the requirements, set up another meeting with your committee to get their go ahead to start writing! Remember, keep your advisor and committee informed at every step, and seek help to navigate any hurdles that may come your way.
If you think you are ready to write and plan your defense, remember that the Graduate School will have set deadlines for forms and submissions that must be met. Be sure to schedule an appointment with your Graduate School to go over these requirements and make maximum use of the resources that they provide you for dissertation writing and formatting. If needed, you can reach out to colleagues or professional editors to help prepare the finalized dissertation.
Here is an example of a Graduate School website that compiles all of the necessary information to help you finish. You can look at guidelines from various Universities and websites, but make sure you know your own Institute's rules and deadlines!
https://gradschool.cornell.edu/academic-progress/thesis-dissertation/
Here is a useful planner from the University of Edinburgh. The planner can help you get through all the stages of your dissertation.
https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/pdpfinal_web_march_2015.pdf
Your Graduate School will probably help you out with a checklist like this one:
https://ed.buffalo.edu/current-students/lai-students/dissertation-checklist.html
Conclusion
Finally, set aside a quiet space and block some time daily to get through the dissertation. Whatever stage you are at - whether finding the right topic, selecting a mentor, preparing your proposal or writing a defense, a bit of planning will go a long way!
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