• Question: What's a phd

    Asked by Chicken Cow to Valerie, Steve, Sean, Kath, Carmel, Alex on 9 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Valerie Bentivegna

      Valerie Bentivegna answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      A PhD is an extra degree you can get after doing an undergraduate degree at university. It is a little bit in between studying and working: you learn how to be a researcher by working on your own project. You still get a lot of help and supervision, but in the end, it is your own project.

      If you finish a PhD, you are a “Doctor of Philosophy”. But that doesn’t mean you are a Medical Doctor, just that you are an expert in the field that you have studied. Also, you’re not really a philosopher, you just learnt how to think and work like a researcher.

    • Photo: Kathryn Thomas

      Kathryn Thomas answered on 9 Nov 2017:

      It means that you’ve taken a number of years to work out something that no-one knew before in your field, so you’ll be the expert in one tiny bit. Day to day like Valerie has said it’s more like being trained to be a researcher.

    • Photo: Carmel Howe

      Carmel Howe answered on 10 Nov 2017:

      Valerie and Kathryn’s answers are great. Also, you have to spend a lot of time during your PhD telling other people about your research at conferences or by writing papers that go into scientific journals.

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