The Ph.D. Process

"Graduate school . . . is the only established route to advanced study of the nature of the universe. It culminates in the award of a doctoral degree but requires some advanced and very specialized courses, an 'independent research project,' a thesis or dissertation, passing very intense exams or other requirements, and, last but not least, interactions with other students, faculty, both on and off campus at conferences and other relevant sites. Bloom, Karp, and Cohen have gone into considerable and realistic detail about this 'life experience' and have taken a viewpoint as an advocate of the student. No graduate school catalog I have ever seen has given a list of disclaimers, disclosures, hidden hurdles, barriers, possibilities for disaster, the culture of science and the sociology of scientists, and stress generators, let alone any hints on how to over come any of these problems. This book goes a very long way to helping to fill in those gaps and omissions."--scientistlifeboat.com "[T]he most comprehensive guide to date about graduate school in the sciences. . . . The Ph.D. Process marches through all aspects of the grad school experience, from application through dissertation defense, and includes some excellent topics not covered in other books, such as advice to foreign students. . . . In addition, the book includes the voices of graduate students themselves, discussing, and in some cases qualifying, the authors' advice. The combination of authoritative summaries along with anecdotes from students themselves help lend substance to what otherwise might be a daunting litany of do's and don'ts about grad school. The book is organized in a more or less chronological sequence of major events and issues in the grad school process. Interspersed with these subjects are chapters on more strategic and issues-related subjects . . . Together the chapters work both to explain how things work and also how to make things work well for you."--Science's Next Wave