Academic Coaching Blog — Women PhDs

The message said "I'm a doctor!!!"  It was from another successful candidate whose dissertation was accepted and who passed her oral defence.  I love getting those messages, but this one was particularly rewarding. Although nobody becomes a doctor immediately after a defence (there's paperwork and a formal graduation approval and ceremony to go through first) this candidates was delighted to be at the end of the journey and I'm happy to celebrate with her.   We had worked closely together for quite a while to address the fact that TurnItIn had rated her thesis at over 80%, which is truly excessive. ...

In honour of International Women's Day, I'm posting this tribute to the women who are working on a doctoral thesis whilst juggling dozens of other responsibilities and demands.  If you're one of those, I salute you. Often the thesis writing for these candidates is done in stolen precious moments at the end of the day, or waiting for a bus, or in stolen breaks in the the office.  Even women who are full-time students still have to find time for research and personal writing in the midst of lab work, writing journal articles, or attending meetings with advisors. And then...

I'm proud to remember the woman who has gone down in history as the first to earn a PhD in 1678: Elena Comaro Piscopia. We've come a long way!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Cornaro_Piscopia