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How to Know When It's Time to Quit Your Ph.D. Program

Here are some pointers on when to stay in a Ph.D. program and when to drop out.

When to Quit Your Ph.D. Program

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Alumni of Ph.D. programs say one valid reason to exit a Ph.D. program is if having a Ph.D. is not necessary for you to achieve your professional aspirations.

Earning a doctorate of any sort is difficult. After years of study, candidates must pass a qualification exam, write a lengthy dissertation or complete a capstone project, and defend their research and conclusions in front of a panel.

And unlike most other degree programs, research doctorates - commonly known as Doctor of Philosophy, or Ph.D., degrees - frequently do not have precise parameters on how long they take to finish.

Uncertainty surrounding when graduation day will arrive is one of the challenging aspects of these programs, and Ph.D. students often struggle to plan for the future when they don't have an end date in mind, says Adam Ruben, who has a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

"It's so indeterminate, how long it will last," says Ruben, who wrote a satirical book called "Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School."

"People ask you how long it will be until you graduate, and most of the time you tell them you have no idea," he adds. "It's not really until that last six-month stretch or so, when you have a thesis defense date scheduled, and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, that you know how long it is going to be."

Students who have started to regret their decision to enter a Ph.D. program should carefully evaluate whether it makes sense to stay in graduate school, experts say.

"Sometimes, openly considering quitting as a real option can help you to reconnect with why you started the PhD in the first place, and why you would like to stay," Katherine Firth, an academic adviser at the University of Melbourne in Australia, who has a Ph.D. and supervises Ph.D. students, wrote in an email.

Noncompletion and Academic Delays

Many people who enroll in Ph.D. programs leave those programs without Ph.D. degrees or take longer than eight years to finish their studies.

Ph.D. completion statistics from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences reveal that only 42% of humanities Ph.D. students in the U.S. who began pursuing their degrees sometime between 1996 and 2006 had doctorates eight years later.

Research on Ph.D. program attrition indicates that conflict between Ph.D. students and their academic advisers increases the odds that students will leave grad school. Frustration that arises while coming up with ideas for a dissertation or capstone, completing that project and defending it can be a major source of stress for Ph.D. students, many of whom leave their programs after completing doctoral coursework but before finalizing and successfully defending their work, research shows.

Additionally, Ph.D. students often express a need for additional funding, mental health services and professional mentoring.

Ph.D. program alumni often say they were mistreated by faculty during graduate school. A global survey of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at academic science institutions, published in May 2021, revealed that 84% of current and former science Ph.D. students and postdocs felt that an academic supervisor had treated them abusively.

"Cases where people are facing harassment, bullying or exclusion for example, might mean a person decides the only safe option is to quit, but a better academic culture would let them stay and complete," says Firth.

Reasons to Leave a Ph.D. Program

When a ph.d. won't help you get where you want to go.

Lt. Col. Robert Solano, a U.S. Army aviator and commander for the federal Defense Contract Management Agency, exited a distance learning, predominantly online Ph.D. program in aviation science several years ago. He realized he could advance in the military and thrive as an entrepreneur and investor without a doctorate.

"You don't need Ph.D. behind your name to show the world your self-worth and the value that you bring," he adds. "I wish I'd understood that sooner in the process."

Solano, who was a part-time Ph.D. student with a full-time military career and military scholarships, had acquired around $15,000 of debt to finance his Ph.D. studies, he says.

"One of my biggest deciding factors was that I felt like the dissertation process didn't allow me to be creative and pursue research that was going to be really meaningful and impactful in my career and my life," Solano says, adding that he submitted three dissertation research proposals that were rejected. "I could not imagine doing that for the next two to four years of my life, struggling with a dissertation board, and I think that was really the biggest factor for me."

When Your Well-Being Is at Risk

Experts say it's worth considering pausing or ending your studies if they are significantly interfering with other important aspects of your life, such as your family, health and relationships.

For Solano, the volume of Ph.D. reading and writing assignments he had to complete often felt overwhelming when combined with his professional duties. "I was declining in happiness and declining in health," he says.

Solano also worried that time spent on doctoral studies would take away from time with the woman who later became his wife, he says.

"If I could have done one thing differently, it would have been paying closer attention to that and not sacrificing those two things - my happiness and health," he says.

When You Find Another Way

Sometimes Ph.D. students receive job offers for their dream positions during their Ph.D. studies. In those cases, "they might choose to leave because they have already achieved their goals," Firth says.

Another valid reason to leave a Ph.D. program, she says, is if a student discovers that the actual experience of obtaining a Ph.D. "is not what they signed up for, and it doesn’t suit them after all."

What to Do if You're Considering Quitting

Ask for advice from someone other than your thesis adviser.

Certain problems with Ph.D. programs, such as disagreements and misunderstandings with advisers, may be addressed by seeking help from various faculty members or administrators at your grad school and outside experts who aren't on your thesis committee, experts say.

"There are other folks that (students) can go to for help and perspective, on and off campus," says Jennifer Polk, a Ph.D. recipient who provides career consulting to Ph.D. students and alumni via her consulting firm, "From Ph.D. to Life."

Ph.D. students often feel disempowered and isolated, Polk says, but "if the decision is whether to quit or not, that actually gives you power."

"If you're willing to walk away, you have power, so you can go and talk to other professors," she adds. "You can go and talk to the chair of the department. ... You can escalate to the graduate dean. There might be other offices you can go to before you burn it all down."

Firth notes that sometimes changes to a Ph.D. program – such as a switch from one adviser to another or a change to a thesis committee – can address a Ph.D. student's concerns and negate the desire to quit. Transitioning to part-time study or taking a leave of absence could make sense, and so could shifting between locations if a university has multiple campuses, she adds.

"Sometimes people think they have to quit, but they could seek out other adjustments," Firth wrote. It's also important for Ph.D. students in distress to evaluate whether their "current problems might go away with time or are here to stay," she says.

Consider Whether You Are Being Too Self-Critical

It is common for Ph.D. students to have a crisis of confidence in the middle of their studies, but Ruben cautions that doubts about personal competence may simply be impostor syndrome in disguise.

Though skepticism is frequently beneficial when conducting academic research, it can become destructive if it compromises someone's faith in themselves, he says.

"The problem is if you apply that skepticism to your own abilities and you apply it too harshly and say, 'I'm no good. I'm the worst person here. I don't deserve to be here,'" Ruben says. "You're going to feel terrible and you may also make some decisions that you wouldn't necessarily have made if you had a better sense of your own abilities and interests."

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Three questions to ask yourself before quitting your PhD

It’s normal for PhD candidates to consider abandoning their studies. Here’s how to take emotions out of the decision.

Gemma Conroy

Credit: Jacobs Stock Photography/Getty

28 July 2020

Jacobs Stock Photography/Getty

Amid lab shutdowns and cancelled fieldwork, many PhD students are facing tough choices regarding the future of their research career.

Roughly 45% of PhD students expect to disengage with their studies within the next six months due to financial hardship related to the pandemic, according to a new survey of 1,020 doctoral candidates in Australia.

While walking away without a doctorate will be the right choice for some – and perhaps the only choice for those with inadequate financial support - it’s important to ask the right questions before making a decision.

“Students need to separate the fake and real reasons for leaving,” says Shane Huntington, deputy director of strategy and partnerships at the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences in Australia.

“Some of the most common reasons students quit have nothing to do with their ability to do a PhD.”

Below are three questions that can help a candidate decide whether to quit or continue with their doctoral studies.

1. Are your problems solvable?

Kate Kenfield

Shane Huntington

A disengaged supervisor, toxic lab culture, or a string of failed experiments might feel like reason enough to quit your PhD, but these are not insurmountable problems.

Huntington suggests switching labs if poor supervision or an overly competitive environment are causing you distress.

“I try to get students to determine whether their reasons for wanting to quit are really about them, and not just due to systemic problems. My advice is to map out what the problems are and explore how they can be solved.”

Struggling with specific tasks, such as writing, isn’t a sign to start drafting a withdrawal letter, says Inger Mewburn, director of research training at the Australian National University in Canberra.

“This is a fixable problem,” says Mewburn, who edits a popular blog called The Thesis Whisperer .

“But if you just aren’t enjoying what you’re doing each day, then those feelings need to be critically examined.”

2. Have you talked to someone about it?

It can be difficult for students to admit that they’re struggling, but reaching out to supervisors and other lab members can offer some much-needed perspective, says Frey Fyfe.

“There is a lot of pressure to only convey the positive,” says Fyfe, who quit their PhD in volcanology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom in 2018, and has not returned to academia.

“I wish I had spoken to someone in my research group, as pretty much every PhD student wants to quit at some point.”

Huntington recalls that a quick chat with his PhD supervisor saved him from quitting his own PhD in physics in the late 1990s. The discussion led to weekly meetings where other lab members could help him find solutions to his experimental problems.

“My supervisor told me that most students want to quit at least three times, which sort of gave me permission to feel the way I did,” says Huntington.

He says the weekly meeting helped him feel supported. “We were able to work through the low points.”

Fyfe says that viewing a supervisor as a fellow collaborator, rather than someone to win approval from, can make it easier to communicate more openly.

“It’s not a one-way street,” says Fyfe. “You need to be able to communicate what’s going right and what isn’t.”

3. Does your PhD fit with your long-term goals?

Inger Mewburn

Embarking on a PhD is a major career milestone for many students, but it’s important to consider how it will further your aspirations in the long-run, says Mewburn.

For example, if a candidate wants to end up in a research-focussed job that doesn’t involve teaching, gaining experience from an industry placement could be a more strategic investment than spending years on a PhD.

It’s also important for candidates to make a realistic assessment of the job prospects in their field, particularly in the wake of pandemic-related hiring freezes and job losses .

“You’ve got to explore your options,” says Mewburn. “Is there even going to be a job in your field when you finish your PhD?”

A common mistake students make when deciding whether to quit or continue is focussing on the sacrifices they have made, instead of considering where they want to head next.

“People often think of the past, rather than the future. There’s a lot of guilt about what they’re giving up [if they quit],” says Huntington. “But it’s a myth, because you are not giving up on all the hard work, you’re just taking it in a different direction.”

Whether choosing to quit or stay, it ultimately comes down to feeling confident about your underlying reasons, says Huntington.

“Students should have some power over their destiny. Make the right decision on the right basis, and feel good about the choice you’ve made.”

Thinking about quitting your PhD? Maybe that’s the right decision

Sometimes not completing a PhD is the rational choice, and having open conversations around it helps stop people feeling isolated and uncertain, says Katherine Firth

Katherine Firth

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We know that 30 to 50 per cent of PhD candidates don’t complete globally. Countries such as the UK and Australia, where about a quarter of students don’t finish their PhD, actually congratulate themselves on their efficient completions. While my day job involves trying to help more people finish on time, I also know that choosing to stop can sometimes be the right decision.

People stop their PhD for a variety of reasons, including to pursue job opportunities, to focus on external life priorities or simply because they lose interest. Over the past two years, there have been even more disruptions than usual: researchers haven’t been able to travel or do fieldwork; they have had to give up in-person conferences and avoid busy labs and libraries; they got sick or the pandemic exacerbated existing health conditions; or their priorities changed.

Supervisors, candidates and universities need to be more open to having conversations about quitting. Why do candidates choose to quit, how many people do so and what happens to them afterwards? It’s almost impossible to get detailed, accurate data about completion rates. People who quit leave the university and, therefore, we often don’t see what they do next. If we don’t talk openly about stopping, people who are considering it feel isolated and uncertain. But it isn’t rare, and supervisors are in a privileged position to recognise the signs early – and then, as appropriate, support their candidates as they successfully navigate away from the PhD.    

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Academics don’t always like to acknowledge it, but your health, family, career and community are more important than any scholarly accolade. People generally think about quitting for reasons including family responsibilities, mental health or their financial situation. Or they choose to leave because other opportunities come up. These can be rational, practical choices with sensible long-term outcomes.

After all, graduating with a doctorate is not the only pathway towards contributing to knowledge, discovering new information or being recognised as an expert. That incomplete doctorate might be suitable for a patent or to spin out into an industry application. Perhaps it makes sense to publish your findings in an academic article – or a public-facing book. Similarly, the skills that candidates have already developed in pursuing their research might be an asset in their job beyond academia.

It’s important for candidates to know that not finishing a PhD doesn’t make you a failure, and it doesn’t mean you’ll never have the opportunity to do a research degree in the future. Sometimes, now is not the right time or you’re not in the right field. You wouldn’t be the first person to return to academia after a decade in industry, or when your circumstances changed, or when your research project was safe to pursue again. The past two years have been particularly challenging for researchers who had to totally change their planned research projects. When it is just not possible to pursue the PhD you signed up for, it can be a valid decision to do something else instead.

However, I wouldn’t want to suggest that the only two options are gritting your teeth or leaving. Universities increasingly have opportunities for flexibility or support, which candidates should explore. Some adjustments are quite common if you ask around. It’s often possible to press pause on your candidature, take a leave of absence or change to part-time study. Work with the equity team or researcher development team to improve accessibility or get support. It might also be helpful to negotiate changes in the supervision team – realigning it to better support your methods, specialisation or preferences.

There are more drastic options, too. It’s possible to convert your PhD to a master’s by research. Candidates might even explore taking their project to another faculty, another university or another country where it fits better. Leaving your current situation might mean losing out on your funding or burning bridges or hurting feelings. It tends to require a lot of extra time, effort and work. It’s an extreme option, but if you’re already thinking about leaving, you are already considering radical action.

I recently wrote a book with Liam Connell and Peta Freestone, Your PhD Survival Guide , based on Thesis Boot Camp , our award-winning programme for helping get people over the thesis finish line. In our experience working with thousands of doctoral candidates around the world, having non-judgemental conversations about quitting frees people from having to pretend that everything is fine.

Supervisors, peers and mentors can also help identify what changes are possible to make or support candidates to weigh up their options and make a considered decision about whether to carry on or put down the doctorate, for now or for good, and pursue other priorities. PhD researchers are smart, resilient, persistent problem-solvers, and they contribute in so many ways to our world, whether or not they gain the title “doctor”.

Katherine Firth is lecturer in research education and development at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and a founding member of the Thesis Boot Camp team. Her most recent book on doctoral success is Your PhD Survival Guide: Planning, Writing and Succeeding in your Final Year with Liam Connell and Peta Freestone.

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