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About the AuthorDora Farkas, Ph.D., completed both her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and her Ph.D. in Toxicology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After she earned her Ph.D. she worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Tufts University in Boston. As a graduate student, and later as a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Farkas realized that there was a real need for a guide book to help doctoral students finish their degrees more efficiently. She began her quest for this guidebook by casually conversing with graduate students, and noticed that students in different fields faced similar challenges while completing their dissertations. After the realization that students across a variety of disciplines struggled with the same problems, Dr. Farkas formalized her research by interviewing 100 Ph.D.’s from over 30 majors. Her research pool consisted of 70 Ph.D.’s from the sciences/engineering/mathematics and 30 Ph.D.’s from the humanities/arts/social sciences. This ratio was based on the statistics that there are approximately twice as many graduating Ph.D.’s in the sciences/engineering/mathematics as in the humanities/arts/social sciences. The interviewees were from 46 universities across the United States, including several Ivy League schools, state universities and large research institutions. Dr. Farkas balanced her pool by interviewing 51 men and 49 women, and included several minority and international students as well. Their strategies for success, or “200 Secrets” are spread across the book in the appropriate chapters. While Dr. Farkas’ overall observation was that most students struggle with the same issues (e.g. learning how to become an independent researcher, motivating oneself continuously, and communicating effectively with advisors) she also discusses field-specific challenges such as the lack of funding for many students in the humanities/arts/social sciences, and the uncertainty of research for those in the experimental sciences. Combining words of wisdom with a wealth of tangible resources, Dr. Farkasaddresses the challenges at each stage of graduate school including the application process, choosing an advisor, preparing for qualifying exams, putting together a thesis proposal, conducting research, writing a dissertation and searching for a Ph.D.-level position. Intended for both current and prospective doctoral candidates (and their families), The Smart Way to Your Ph.D will guide students through the hurdles of graduate school and the competitive job-searching process.
The Smart Way to Your Ph.D is available on Amazon.com. For more information about the book, please email Dr. Farkas at dora@yourphd.com. Thank you for your interest! |