Re: phd

["Matthew Bonnan" <mbonnan@hotmail.com>]

Robert J. Schenck asked:

"i'm curious, how long does it take one to get a phd in
something like vertebrate paleontology, on average.  I
ask because i have been told at least 7 years for a
phd (this being from someone who w/a phd in sociology)
and i have seen that some people take as little as a
single year.  So whats the story?"

Briefly, it varies not only field to field but also person to person and 
program to program.  In the sciences, you typically take 4-5 years for the 
B.S., 2-3 years for the M.S., and 4-6 years for the Ph.D.  However, some 
programs and/or advisors will allow you to jump from the B.S. to the Ph.D. 
without a Master's degree, provided you meet their requirements and complete 
something like 90 hours of coursework and research in a 4-5 year time span 
instead of a 6-8 year span.  In other words, in the sciences a Master's 
usually involves 30 semester hours of coursework and research, and a Ph.D. 
60 more hours on top of that.  In essence, if you jump from B.S. to the 
Ph.D., you are doing an accelerated program where you condense the 
coursework and research hours of the Master's into the Ph.D.  Keep in mind, 
too, that many Ph.D.s must also do 2-5 years of postdocs prior to landing 
their first museum/professor/etc. position.  Keep in mind also that, if you 
are financially supported, you will make a very meager living during grad 
school, and will put in far more than 90 semester hours worth of time and 
energy into your research.

Incidentally, I understand it takes folks in the humanities and social 
sciences longer to complete a Ph.D. because they typically have very little 
monetary support as graduate students and have to hold down other jobs.  Not 
that everyone in the sciences is well-supported, but there do seem to be 
more opportunites for graduate assistantships, etc.

My experience was atypical and I was extremely fortunate -- 4 years for a 
B.S. in Geology (Biology minor), 1 year woring for the U.S. Geological 
Survey, and then 5 years in a Ph.D. program in Biology (i.e., no Master's).  
I applied for several postdocs and teaching positiions, and was very 
fortunate to land a university tenure-track assistant prof. job  in the 
Biology Dept. at Western Illinois University without postdoc experience.  
So, all told, my education took 10 years -- again, atypical -- I am very 
fortunate and many Ph.D.s take much longer.

If you are genuinely interested in vertebrate paleontology, the time 
investment is something to consider but ultimately you should enjoy what you 
do.  Having broad interests in many subjects, and doing research that is 
connected in some way to larger subject areas (i.e., anatomy, physiology, 
embryology, as examples for biology), helps very much.  In addition, good 
writing, math, and computer skills never hurt. =)  Most folks do not get 
hired simply to teach or research dinosaurs, for example.  I was hired to 
teach anatomy, embryology, and intro biology courses, and the dinosaur 
research was the frosting on the cake.

Hope this helps,

Matthew F. Bonnan, Ph.D.
Department of Biological Sciences
Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 298-2155
mbonnan@hotmail.com
MF-Bonnan@wiu.edu
http://www.wiu.edu/users/mfb100/

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