Original PhD Blog

What is a thesis and how it differs from a dissertation?

If you’re a candidate in a university planning to write a comprehensive paper and stumbled upon under which category to post the paper – A Dissertation or A Thesis, then you’re not alone. Both dissertation writing and thesis writing are more often than not used interchangeably in various countries. According to Brian Allison, the terms dissertation and thesis are used synonymously; however, the differentiating elements are the guidelines by respective universities providing the course.

Similarities

In order to understand the differences, you must comprehend the similarities first. Both forms are structured in a similar manner including an introduction, literature review, body text, conclusions and recommendations, limitations, bibliography and appendix. Despite the similarities, there are various subtle differences between a dissertation writing and thesis writing.

Differences

The key difference is the prefixes for thesis writing and dissertation writing. For instance, usually dissertation is prefix with Masters or a respective post graduate degree. On the other hand, a thesis is usually prefixed with PhD/MPhil/DPhil. It is vital to understand that a dissertation and thesis have differentiated statements. A PhD thesis requires a candidate to build a hypothesis, define anticipated results, delineate expectations, conduct a primary research, and utilize an existing theory whereas a Master’s/Post Graduate dissertation requires a candidate to explain an argument or statement based on existing research.

Another major difference is in the structure of research incorporated in the writings. For a thesis, a candidate has to conduct an original research whereas for a dissertation, she/he can use an existing research dataset. Moreover, a thesis research is conducted under the guidance of a University guide or supervisor, who helps with PhD thesis. The degree of engagement of a supervisor in case of a thesis is relatively more than that of a dissertation.

According to the Royal Literary Fund, any research writing comprising of around 20,000 words is called a dissertation whereas around 80,000 is called a thesis. Similarly, some universities also considered number of pages to differentiate between a dissertation and thesis writing.

How to create a PhD thesis

Although the differences between the dissertation and the thesis terms are quite subtle, for this article, let’s assume that a thesis writing is considered for an authentic research work in order to attain a PhD whereas a dissertation writing is considered for a research work to complete a Post graduate degree or a Master’s degree. So, what does it take to write a PhD thesis? There is no simple answer to this question because thesis writing involves so many tasks and requires so much time, dedication, commitment, and engagement from a student. In this article, we will not provide a step-by-step PhD thesis writing guide. Instead, we will cover some of the most important aspects and details of this process, as well as some external factors you should consider, to get a better understanding of what a doctoral thesis is and how to approach it.

1. Keep it concise

A PhD thesis consists of many structural elements and each element is a task within itself because it has its own goal and requires a particular approach to writing. Take a dissertation abstract, for example. This brief section summarises the key ideas and findings of your study. Frequently, it is also the only part of it read by other academic practitioners. The key problem with PhD abstracts is the need to condense hundreds of pages in one or two paragraphs of text.

When your word count is limited, you may want to focus on your key findings rather than the theories explored at the literature review level. Preferably, you should also mention your aims and research questions and how they were answered by your analysis results. Try to select 4-5 main points throughout your abstract to not diffuse the attention of your readers. Every university may have its own requirements regarding the word count and contents of your dissertation abstract. In order not to lose precious time, consult with your tutor and study all available information to make sure that you do not violate any of them.

Being clear and concise is also a key to a successful PhD thesis as a whole since you are not the only person who will read your work. You should avoid unnecessary words and sentences to help your reader get a better understanding of what you are trying to say in your PhD thesis. Waffling on about your topic would not help in reaching your audience, which could have a strong negative impact on your final mark. So, here are some tips for being concise in writing a PhD thesis.

Be aware of long sentences

A useful rule of thumb is that you should not write long sentences because they make it more difficult for the reader to understand your argument. While there is no rule on how long a sentence in a PhD thesis should be, it is helpful to mix shorter sentences and longer ones. Just remember that if your sentence is too long, your points are likely to get lost. Be aware of sentences that use too many clauses, as well as fragments that do not have a subject.

Make sure your structure is easy to follow

The structure is what helps you communicate your argument to the reader. When writing a PhD thesis, sticking to the ‘rule of three’ structure would significantly benefit the quality of your writing. This structure implies that each paragraph should have a clear introduction, main body, and conclusion. In the opening sentence, introduce the reader to the subject and focus of your paragraph. The ‘main body’ sentences provide the core argument and set out reasoning, develop implications, or elaborate thematic points. Finally, the concluding sentence pulls the paragraph argument together, adding value to the whole thesis.

Avoid redundancies and repetitions

Redundancies occur when you express the same idea twice so make sure you avoid redundant sentences and phrases when writing your PhD thesis. Many phrases in PhD writing are commonplace but in most cases, they are redundant either partially or entirely. Adverbs and adjectives are part of this problem and are often used in the place of evidence, so make sure you get rid of them when writing your PhD thesis as well. Replace as many of these words as you can with data, quotes, quantities, or dates to achieve concise writing.

Do not use low-value phrases

Some writers have the temptation to use wordy phrases as a means of making their writing sound more formal. However, experienced PhD writers know that there is no place for low-value phrases in a thesis as they can make sentences sound heavy. You should also avoid unnecessary prepositional phrases, which add a description to a noun by using a preposition.

Proofread and check for errors

You would be surprised how much proofreading can add to the clarity of your writing, making it concise and crisp. Not only proofreading allows for detecting grammatical mistakes and errors. It also helps in finding and dealing with all the issues mentioned above. Are there any sentences that are hard to follow? Are there irrelevant words and repetition? Are these adjectives and adverbs necessary? Draw up a checklist of these issues to make sure you are concise in your writing.

2. Always be to the point

As previously noted, every section and chapter of a PhD thesis is unique and requires a particular approach to its writing, content-wise. For instance, the introduction chapter is one of the most important parts of your thesis after choosing the right topic. This chapter introduces the topic to the readers in a manner that they are able to get an idea of what is to come. The introduction chapter is also important in terms of justifying your research and formulating your research questions.

When it comes to writing a thesis introduction chapter, you need to build the background to the topic in an appropriate manner. The best strategy is to begin with information regarding the topic and then build up towards the main statement. This helps the readers in getting a grip on the topic and also allows them to understand the context in which the study is being conducted. You also need to describe the reasons behind undertaking the research. If you are able to provide a compelling rationale, you will be able to engage your readers in a better manner. Further, you should also formulate a set of aims and objectives for your study.

If the introduction chapter creates a base for you to build upon, the conclusion chapter summarises the outcomes of your thesis and provides major theoretical and practical implications. In its most basic form, the conclusion section is a rehash of the ideas that you have gradually introduced throughout your thesis. There’s no single answer to the question of how to compose a decent concluding chapter. However, one suggestion is to avoid anything new. Go through your thesis and search for any instances in which your PhD refers to notable research gaps or a lack of empirical knowledge. A good conclusion for a dissertation should re-visit these major arguments and detail how each of these gaps has been addressed by the findings.

3. Establish your PhD writing routine

Having a writing routine is perhaps the most important thing you must have to become a productive PhD writer. Since all students are different in how they approach the writing process, there are no hard and fast rules of how to arrange an effective PhD writing routine that would fit all. Luckily, you can always ask for a piece of advice from professional PhD writing services. Their highly experienced writers know exactly how to write a PhD thesis. The good news is that you can use their experience in creating your own routine to make the writing process easier and more fun. To create a successful PhD thesis, you will need to:

Determine the most effective time of day

First things first. To make sure you can achieve your writing goals, you need to select the most creative and productive time of day. Some students prefer to work in the morning whereas others are more productive at night, so it is up to you to decide on the best period of the day to allocate time to your writing sessions.

Set achievable writing objectives

When writing a PhD thesis, it is important to set a daily target and stick to this amount of work. It should be noted, however, that setting achievable goals is key to your sanity and emotional wellbeing. For example, if you set a goal of writing 2,000 words per day but end up producing only around 1,000 words, it is most likely that you will feel bad about it. Try to keep your expectations as realistic as possible to make sure the writing process is fun and engaging.

Create a writing space

Creating a dedicated, comfortable writing space is crucial when it comes to establishing a PhD writing routine. This can be anything from a comfortable desk and chair to a full home office. Whatever your writing space is, you must feel comfortable in it and isolated from other people in a good way.

Eliminate all the noise

Once you have established your writing time and writing space, it is time to make sure you are not distracted by anything while writing your PhD thesis and achieving your daily writing goals. Put aside your smartphone (or even turn it off) and do not access social media while writing your text. Sometimes it is worth turning off the internet to avoid the temptation to spend some time checking news headlines or watching YouTube videos. Remember that during your most effective time of day, you should concentrate and dedicate your attention exclusively to writing.

Avoid writer’s fatigue

Working to exhaustion could be beneficial but only in the short term. Remember that wiring a PhD thesis is a long run so you do not want to find yourself in a situation where you face an impasse and just keep procrastinating. Make frequent breaks while writing, complete a guided meditation, exercise, read books – do whatever it takes to give yourself some rest. Taking a short nap can also eliminate brain fog and provide you with the energy needed to accomplish your daily writing goals.

Once your PhD writing routine is established, you should stick to it, though some changes to your schedule are totally possible and are likely to occur at some point. Thesis writing is not easy by any means but by sticking to your routine, you can become an effective writer and achieve your writing goals.

4. Use technology to your advantage

From managing a number of activities to researching and compiling your entire research with thorough analysis can at times make you feel miserable. With so much to achieve in a short period of time, any help with PhD thesis can come as a blessing for PhD students. If you feel pushing yourself towards keeping up with everything, go through the below list of top 6 apps that can actually help you with your PhD thesis and make your life easier.

Researcher

A free journal finding mobile app, Researcher helps students to read new journal papers each day. Being one of the most popular research apps, Researcher is used by approximately 3 million researchers and scientists around the world. It offers research journals in 10 major research areas such as Business and Management, Economics and Finance, Engineering and Computer Science, etc.

Mendeley

Another free app exclusively crafted for researchers, Mendeley can be used as a PDF reader and reference manager. This app will help you to organise your research and writings in an appropriate manner which you can further use for your PhD dissertation writing. Additionally, you can use this app for generating references, bibliographies and citations in different journal formats.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a great app to store all your files in one place. It can be safely synced to all your devices and just by signing in you can access your entire work from any place. It also allows PhD researchers to make a creative collaboration space from where you can easily share a big file with anyone.

Google Keep

As a PhD scholar, you might have to deal with a number of things. This might make it difficult for you to remember things or recall any important thing later. To make this simple you can use Google Keep which can help you to quickly capture your thoughts and get a reminder for it later. Apart from taking quick notes, you can even use this app to record a voice memo, take handwritten notes or capture important results using the camera.

Trello

An efficient project management app, Trello helps PhD students to create different projects and assign various stages within the project. For example, for PhD proposal writing, you can make different chapters for your PhD dissertation and assign an individual card to each section. You can add your comments, due dates and even attachments to these Trello cards to see your progress at a glance. By doing this, you can easily track the progress of each section and even share your progress with your PhD supervisor.

Plagiarism Checker

As you cannot risk your PhD thesis for any sort of duplicity, it is better to run your entire PhD thesis writing through a plagiarism checker. This app works in conjunction with different search engine apps and can detect any kind of duplicate content in your paper. Thus, it will save you from losing any marks and modifying any duplicate content before submitting your final PhD dissertation.

5. Have a backup plan

Unexpected family complications, caring responsibilities, career changes or sickness can easily put you off the track. The main idea behind ‘Plan B’ scenario analysis is not to prevent the possibility of such risks. A good backup plan should simply help you mitigate their impact and get you back on track as soon as possible no matter what. Let us consider the 5 best tips for creating a Plan B scenario when writing your thesis.

Build up a financial cushion

As trite as it may sound, an emergency fund is still one of the best risk mitigation instruments ever. If possible, reserve the sum that will keep you going without external income for at least 6 months prior to starting your thesis. Double this sum if you have a family and/or children. Keep in mind that your PhD project is very similar to a small child. It will be demanding most of your personal time for the following 3 years and you will not be able to ‘put it on pause’ for long.

Learn all the rules

Any survivor knows that survival powers come from seeing the outcomes of your plans as a spectrum rather than 1-2 convenient options. Have you ever wondered what happens when you skip one of your mortgage payments? How about failing a semester exam in high school? If the mere thought of these outcomes makes you shiver inside, now is the right time to overcome your fears and start learning more about these Plan B options. Before you start writing your PhD proposal, you need to find information about all extensions, counselling support, remote learning options, emergency funding, and other instruments that can help you survive any hindrance associated with PhD thesis writing.

Put on your stoic face

The ancient Greek practice of stoicism means staying calm under stress, accepting any life scenario, and stopping one’s desires through the frugal practices of Voluntary Discomfort. Stoics would voluntarily expose themselves to various forms of discomfort just to see that a hard life is not something worth fearing. This also teaches you to better appreciate the things you already have. Facing temporary problems will inevitably put you through some hardships such as extra work, poor living conditions or tight budgeting. Approaching these challenges with a stoic face may be a good way to not let them ruin your life and sense of self-worth.

Have an emergency team ready

If your car loses control on a wet road, the best time to act is right away. Proper emergency response will only help if you apply it while you are still in your lane rather than lying wheels up in a roadside ditch after getting hit by an oncoming truck. Even if you are not planning to use PhD services for your thesis writing needs, have a contact of a reliable PhD writing services agency you can trust. In most situations, it only takes several failed submissions combined with the lack of proper university support to transform a perfectly controlled PhD project eligible for academic extensions into a highly problematic PhD project requiring extensive salvage work to proceed with. A good agency offering PhD writing services will keep you safe from harm by helping you to avoid missed deadlines in the first place.

Plan for contingencies

Finally, the best way to implement the earlier suggested recommendations is to balance your PhD expenses right from the start. Many students make the mistake of overestimating their academic capabilities and personal resources. While working 24/7 may seem like a fantastic idea to write your PhD thesis faster during the first months, a PhD is a marathon rather than a sprint. You will inevitably face various challenges and disappointments as well as long-term periods of frustration. These unexpected costs and hindrances should be planned from the onset if you want to ‘get there’ no matter what. Try to take the minimal possible workload during your first PhD year, save a lot of money and work on creating multiple ‘backup options’ to survive any contingency. This way, you will naturally build up your strength as an ‘academic athlete’ and will speed up afterwards in a much safer way without straining yourself.

Thesis writing can be really daunting as doctoral students need to have certain things, including dedication, inspiration, and creativity to accomplish such a challenging task. Sometimes, due to the pressure of completing a PhD, students may feel overwhelmed or face so-called writer’s block. If you find yourself in such a situation, don’t be hesitant to seek for PhD thesis writing help. Original PhD provides a wide range of PhD writing services, starting from PhD application assistance to editing and correction services. We have a team of professional PhD-educated researchers and writers who will help you overcome the challenges you are facing and help you create a winning PhD thesis.

The trajectory of a PhD course is a steep but steady learning curve. You have likely already received some advice on your first steps as a PhD student such as reading research papers, properly communicating with the supervisor, and developing good research habits. However, such advice often lacks some crucial details that may not be immediately apparent to a new PhD student. This guide is meant to be a comprehensive overview of things to know as a PhD student to help you on your academic journey.

What to Expect in Your First Month as a PhD Student

Correct planning and preparations during the first month of the PhD course put you in the driver seat for the rest of the course. Following are the key elements you could experience during the first month as a PhD student:

Orientation and Paperwork

During the first week itself, you’ll be surrounded by stacks of administrative related papers. You may be engrossed to fill in various forms and documents including submission of personal details, address information, and so on. Some meetings will be related to your course, funding, or conference opportunities, while others will be about non-course stuff like where the college library is or how to enroll in the university’s journal database. Thus, be prepared for loads of administrative and menial tasks during the first month of your PhD!

Introduction with the Supervisor(s)

The essence of first month of a PhD course is encapsulated by the meeting with your guide or supervisor. It will be the vital stage of your PhD process wherein the supervisor will meet you, perhaps along with the supervisory team or colleagues. This period will be a great time to develop a strong professional and personal bond with the supervisor as you’ll be going to work together for the next few years.

Reading, Reading and Reading

During the first month, you may be asked by your supervisor(s) to read variety of research papers from a domain of your choice. Moreover, they may even ask you to build a short literature review of the findings of the research papers you’ve read. Use this time to develop a habit of reading research papers. This will hone your thought process during the first month of your PhD.

Registering for courses and going through course work

Different PhD courses follow different patterns of course work. For some, there may be a broad curriculum of courses wherein you’ll have to register before a deadline. For others, there may be various professional but voluntary courses and workshops to enhance different skillset. You’ll have to go through the mandatory course work and select amongst the optional ones according to your liking.

What Kind of Support Should New PhD Students Expect from Their PhD Supervisor?

Preparation of a great PhD dissertation depends a lot upon quality of interaction between a PhD student and the supervisor. But what exactly should a student expect in terms of supervision? And what are the elements that lie (or not) in the ambit of supervision? Well, this section of the guide clears the air on what kind of support you should expect from your PhD Supervisor.

Expect expert advice

Firstly, you can expect the supervisor to provide you competent and expert advice on your topic of research. For instance, in case you’re opting for a research topic or an approach which has been commonly used before, then they should caution you regarding its usage. You can also expect your PhD supervisor to give you suggestions on the sources of material, websites to visit for research, and provide general consultations on your literature review.

Expect dedicated one-on-one time

Secondly, a PhD candidate can expect some dedicated one-on-one time for meetings and dialogue with the supervisor on a regular basis. Now, regular is a nebulous term, it can be referred to daily, weekly, or every fortnight, depending upon the prior discussions between the student and the supervisor.

Expect productive feedback

Thirdly, a PhD student should expect consistent and regular feedback from the supervisor on the developments of the PhD thesis writing. The feedback regime is vital during the early stages of the research to ensure that the PhD student is on the right trajectory.

Expect to be the first line of contact

Fourthly, you can expect your supervisor to serve as a mediation and representation hub of the University for you. A supervisor will act as a point of contact in terms of your engagement with the University. They will be responsible for your direction on writing the PhD thesis, your specialized development, monitoring your growth, and even observing your behavior regarding the ethical guidelines of the university. Hence, they will be your first line of contact in case any issues or developments regarding the course happens. You can expect at least a rudimentary form of support in case of concerns.

Limitations to supervision

Having said that, there are certain practices you should not expect from a PhD supervisor. Your supervisor is a point of contact that helps you regarding your research and you need to comprehend the difference between help and teach. Moreover, you should not expect your supervisor to be authoritative regarding your PhD research like a teacher. You should also be responsible on your own regarding meetings, progress, and seeking input.

5 Well-Being Challenges Faced by PhD Students

PhD thesis writing is a daunting and lengthy process. In this section of the guide for new PhD students we have a look at some of the biggest challenges that PhD students face – and suggest potential solutions!

1. Mental health issues

PhD students have to cope with considerable pressure posed by looming deadlines and a huge amount of personal investment. Because of considerable stress created by these challenges, PhD students are reported to have high levels of mental health issues, including depression, the feeling of isolation, insomnia, anxiety, and eating disorders. For this reason, decompression through meditation, communication with peers, arts, reading, or anything else is one of the most effective ways of how PhD students can maintain their mental well-being.

2. Funding

Since PhD takes at least three years, many students rely on external funding, which can become a source of concern. For example, the bank could reduce funding while still in the middle of the PhD programme, adding to a student’s stress level and increasing the risk of mental disorder. In this situation, approaching supervisors for advice is probably the best option you can take to find a solution.

3. Conflict with the supervisor

Finding a good supervisor is another challenge that many PhD students face when writing their theses. Supervisors may not be properly engaged and involved in your study, resulting in poor support and participation. Some supervisors can be frequently unavailable or extremely bossy while ignoring their mentoring role. To deal with such situations, you could try to meet your supervisors more frequently or ask them to take a step back.

4. Time management

Since writing a PhD thesis is a complex process that involves multiple tasks, there is always something to do to make your study closer to completion. That is why every academic, let alone a PhD student, must learn when to take advantage of new learning opportunities and when to say ‘no’ to an extra task. Moreover, many PhD students have plenty of commitments and responsibilities besides their PhD thesis, making it more challenging for them to allocate enough time in their day to fulfil the required tasks. Procrastination is another reason why some students experience certain issues with their time management. To deal with these issues, ‘outsourcing’ tasks to PhD writing services could be a good idea.

5. Work-life balance

This challenge is closely linked to the challenge of time management since a student’s inability to complete their tasks in time often leads to working late, leaving less time for family, friends, and hobbies. Again, using PhD services could reduce the negative impact of an incredibly lop-sided schedule on students and help them enjoy a healthy social life instead of working on their PhD thesis every evening or weekend. In the end, feeling happy and enjoying writing your PhD is key to success so it should be valued.

6 Easy Mistakes to Avoid When Completing Your PhD

Sometimes, failing a PhD is not the result of making big mistakes, but rather making small mistakes that mount up over time. Below are six easy mistakes to avoid when completing your PhD.

1. Being Complacent

Clearing the entrance process and getting enrolled in a PhD program is merely the tip of the iceberg. Thus, becoming complacent and proceeding with a relaxed attitude will be one of the biggest mistakes you can make. With a period of at least 3 – 5 years for a PhD, it’s easy to fall into the trap of feeling like you have the time to procrastinate. However, we would suggest that the earlier you start the process, the less arduous will the writing be. Irrespective of the content, you should start early with notes, bullet points, initial research, and so on.

2. Incorrect formatting and structuring

The structuring and formatting of a thesis is very important, but often overlooked. It can be a difficult and time-consuming exercise to conduct for your thesis. In addition, a majority of candidates leave the formatting and structuring until the end of the project, and thus, the end result is full of mistakes due to hasty, last minute work. Therefore, formatting and structuring of your thesis should be done on consistent basis, so that it isn’t completed in a rush.

3. Avoiding over-commitment

PhD Students often want to get it right on the first try, which makes them likely to over emphasise on the research proposal. Due to the concerns of selection and rejection of the proposal, students spend too many resources, time and effort than required on particular sections. Thus, excluding other vital areas of the project. It should be noted that over emphasising on selective sections may be counterproductive for your PhD thesis writing.

4. Not keeping up to date with changes

A PhD is lengthy, monotonous and sometimes extremely boring, and this can make candidates feel lost. The majority of PhD students make the mistake of not checking with the changes in administration or updates in PhD regulations. Notably, various new scholarships, new information regarding re-enrolling, submission dates, etc. are published on the Universities’ website every now and then. Therefore, PhD candidates should be checking emails, the University’s website, and communicating with the administration on a regular basis.

5. Not keeping a record of information

The process of writing a PhD thesis entails generation of research ideas, assessment of key empirical studies and new leads. For instance, you went to a research seminar and gathered vital ideas for research during the deliberations. You won’t be able to recall all the great ideas unless you’ve noted them down. Therefore, keeping ideas and relevant information in one place makes it easy for you to recollect and access the information at a time later on.

6. Lack of Planning

It is pivotal to understand that writing a PhD thesis and the process associated with it, is extremely lengthy and convoluted. With multiple sections and a variety of priorities, setting up different milestones and planning based on different periods can work wonders in making your PhD journey less complicated. Moreover, the technique also works as an opportunity to reflect on your progress.

How to easily make friends as a new PhD student

As PhD is a demanding course, many PhD students detach themselves from the outside world to be able to meet the demanding targets of the study. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to end your social life – take this as an opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and reach new people! If all these things sound nerve-wracking to you, here are some simple tips which will help you easily make new friends as a PhD student.

Be confident

We all feel intimidated to go to a completely new environment where we hardly know anyone. However, being confident while approaching new people can make the entire process of making new friends much simpler. There are chances that your fellow PhD colleagues will be equally as nervous as you are. So try to break the ice and start a conversation with your course-mates. Also, greet your fellow students with a smile, it will make the people around you feel more comfortable.

Attend university events

To bring the students together, many universities host a number of events at the beginning of each academic year. As these events help you meet and get familiar to different people from your and other fields, do not miss attending any such events. Such events also set an ideal platform for students to meet like-minded PhD scholars.

Be open to new friendships

While you might not be able to find someone similar to your old best friends with whom you can share every secret of yours, there are high chances that PhD course will introduce you to some compatible course mates. Having a few friends on campus will make you feel more comfortable. You can occasionally meet each other and even discuss the progress of your PhD thesis writing. By this way, you can get some help with your PhD thesis and genuine feedback on your PhD dissertation.

Be a part of different communities

By the time you undertake a PhD course, you become much matured and a little bit older from your initial university days. Instead of hanging out with Bachelors students, be an active part of different communities. Whether it is an exercise class, a book club, a social volunteer group or a part-time job, based on your interests try to be a part of societies which have like-minded people. Mix up with real adults and look beyond your student perspective to make friends with your peers.

Can You Really Juggle a PhD and a Full or Part-Time Job as a new PhD Student?

Many students wish to continue their work while pursuing a PhD – but are dreaded with the thought of squeezing any additional commitments in an already demanding PhD research and PhD thesis writing. Below are some tried and tested tips which will help you balance your PhD and a part-time or full-time job.

Plan in advance

As working while pursuing a PhD can be overwhelming, make sure to plan your schedule in advance. Take a calendar and mark all the important dates and list all your deadlines for submitting your PhD proposal or PhD dissertation. Make checklists, to-do lists and planners to ensure that you do not miss out anything important. On your work front, plan for your busier days in advance and make small but reasonable tweaks in your PhD schedule.

Do not stress yourself

Having PhD and job responsibilities can be stressful. The job can at times put a constraint on your PhD thesis, but do not let your job create any additional stress or pressure. Avoid working extra shifts to ensure that you can give adequate time to your PhD as well. As many workplaces enthusiastically promote continuous learning, do not hesitate to share your PhD schedule with your manager. Try working for flexible hours or get some time off for your PhD research or PhD writing.

Be more efficient

To make your workload easier while undertaking your studies, try to find ways to make yourself more efficient at work and university. Avoid doing things which do not have any significant impact on your final output. Ignore any unessential tasks and leverage your resources better to make the most out of your limited time. For example, you can take professional PhD thesis help from industry experts who can help you with PhD dissertation writing while you give the required time to your job and your personal life.

Stay on track

Taking on a full-time job will give you a very limited time to spend on your PhD assignments. So, use every single opportunity and do not leave any stone un-turned. Never delay your PhD assignments until you are confident that you will cover up the lost time. Keep yourself focused and always stay on track to avoid submitting an average PhD thesis due to time constraints. Don’t forget to spend some of your free time on quality activities to boost your mental and physical health.

Things to know as a PhD student 

New PhD students often find themselves overwhelmed during the first few months of their PhD course. It can be easy to get lost or to start doubting yourself. Below we provide answers to the top questions asked by new PhD students that haven’t been covered by the guide above – but are still important to get you on the right track with your PhD journey!

How difficult is it to write a PhD thesis?

Writing a PhD thesis is for the most part a question of persistence. Show up to your courses and meetings, keep your supervisor updated, read research papers, and work on your thesis little by little. Don’t give up – as long as you keep working, you’ll get there! It can be very helpful to check your University library and read PhD theses of previous graduate students: this way you’ll have a better understanding of what you are expected to produce.

Is it normal to struggle as a new PhD student?

It is not unusual for new PhD students to get impostor syndrome during the first months of a PhD course. A good remedy is talking to your peers – it is very easy to feel like you are the only one who is struggling, but you’ll quickly realize that almost everyone is struggling with something! Make it a habit to discuss courses and general progress with other PhD students – not only it will help you get a better handle on some of the material, but it will also be good for your mental health.

Is it ok if seek expert advice or consult others in my University or online?

As a researcher, you are expected to be independent. But independence is not the same as isolation! Being independent means that you have the skills, knowledge, and critical thinking to conduct research and initiate discourse. You shouldn’t shut yourself away from interaction with the research community, as communication is a necessary part of a PhD course. So don’t be afraid to ask (potentially stupid) questions – it is likely that you won’t be the first person to ask them!

How do I know if I’m on the right track with my research?

Develop a habit of getting as much feedback on your research as frequently as possible. While your supervisor is the most obvious choice for this, you can also try other experts at your University, professors at conferences, other PhD students, or PhD writing services.

What to do if I don’t feel like my research would make a significant contribution?

When hearing the phrase ‘significant contribution’, new PhD students often think of some breakthrough experiments or new theories. In the context of a PhD course, ‘significant’ does not necessarily mean ‘revolutionary’. Don’t expect your research to change the whole discipline – instead, pick an area where you feel like you can contribute by participating in the research discourse. You can view your PhD thesis as a rite of passage in which you want to demonstrate to the research community that you can conduct research on your own and add to existing knowledge.

How do I know if I’m up-to-date on the literature?

Use online resources and platforms to keep track of new research papers. For example, you can sign up for alerts (e.g. on Google or on websites of specific journals) so that you can stay on top of new research. Set up several alerts with different parameters such as keywords or authors to get information on new studies as soon as they are published. You can also talk to senior PhD students in your field to make sure you haven’t missed anything relevant.

How do I keep up with the deadlines?

Make sure you are applying for conferences and publications! They provide external deadlines that can help you stay on track with your research. In addition, avoid hiding from your supervisor – a common mistake that new PhD students make is not communicating enough. Keep your supervisor informed about the current state of your research project, your concerns and interests, outside opinions and feedback, decisions, and life circumstances that affect your thesis.

How much free time will I have as a new PhD student?

You should treat your PhD as a job. Depending on the program, you can expect to commit up to 40 hours a week towards coursework and research. However, don’t forget to set aside some time for yourself to avoid burning out!

Completing a PhD provides you with so many opportunities that can significantly improve your professional and personal life. If you want to work in academia as a researcher or lecturer, you will likely need a PhD. If your goal is individual development and you are looking for a new challenge, a PhD can be a great option. If you are looking for new job opportunities outside academia, getting a PhD will significantly improve your chances of getting a high-paid job.

While all these prospects and opportunities are existing, completing a PhD is commonly viewed as the most challenging task a person undertakes in their academic career. Successfully completing a PhD requires unparalleled time, energy, and even money. Earning a PhD degree entails a candidate to put a comprehensively researched, theoretically profound and explicitly detailed thesis in front of a University’s PhD committee. Thus, the idea of putting forward a weak PhD thesis can be a daunting thought. Writing a PhD thesis is a difficult procedure, but the benefits are numerous. These include getting lucrative jobs in diverse fields; including professors, researchers and top ranked professionals.

Why seek help from a PhD writing service

Let’s face it: the older we get, the more responsibilities and duties we have. We need to be high-performing employees, action-oriented business owners, and carrying parents. We need to devote almost all our time to these activities. On top of that, we need to secure some time for ourselves to maintain sanity and mental well-being.

Pursuing a PhD is far different than completing a graduate or a post-graduate course. No matter how good you must be in your academics during your graduation or post-graduation, once enrolled for a PhD you will be competing with a wide number of experts. For the successful completion of a PhD, a student is expected to invest maximum time and energy while making sure all deadlines are met on time. One of the major hurdles in completing the PhD is writing the PhD thesis. As the decision to get PhD is one of the biggest and most important decisions of a student’s life, the complete PhD journey might not appear as a fairy-tale to many.

With so much at stake, some students may seek to outsource their PhD thesis writing to a professional. For some students, putting their research and writing together may be challenging and daunting while a professional writing service can take this burden from their shoulders. For others, getting help from a PhD writing service facilitates the achievement of a more comfortable work-life balance, so they could devote their time and attention to other important things and areas of their lives. Finally, some students may want to further develop their academic writing skills. By getting help from an expert writer who has years of experience in writing PhD papers, this goal can be easily achieved.

Although it comes at a cost, outsourcing PhD writing can save students a lot of time and effort. During the 3 – 5 years required for completing a PhD, you would be required to write, re-write and edit up to 150,000 words. Therefore, a PhD thesis writing service may act as an affordable, quicker, and easier option for your paper.

For making your PhD dissertation captivating, you must not leave any stone unturned. As even a small mistake in your PhD thesis writing can have a significant impact on your academia you will have to take the extra efforts to make sure you stay ahead in the race and do not miss out on even the smallest of the things. With the increase in the peer pressure, several PhD students find it difficult to manage their time, do not feel confident enough to make the proper use of their overall knowledge or are not able to take out enough time to work on their PhD dissertation writing. With so many things to do in a short time, PhD students often seek professional help at this stage.

It is important to understand that merely submitting a PhD thesis to the committee is not enough. Thesis writing services provide an opportunity to create an excellent research thesis that stands out from the crowd. A candidate’s academic achievements would have been the deciding factor in getting the student onto the PhD course, but the right guidance and experience from a professional writing service can improve a student’s performance and success on the PhD course.

What benefits can a PhD writing service offer

Professional PhD writing services include assisting in writing the entire thesis, or individual sections or chapters, and proofreading and editing. Their team of accomplished researchers will have a speciality in strong writing skills and analytical abilities. The services actually polish your PhD thesis to a near perfection. Even editing and proofreading can be difficult at the PhD level, and sometimes you need a fresh pair of eyes to identify mistakes and suggest amendments.

There are many reasons to hire a professional PhD writing service. Some of the guarantees the best PhD writing services provide include:

High-quality research

Many PhD students are good academic writers who can find relevant information on a particular topic. However, their skills are not an exact match for professional academic writers who have years of experience in their respective fields. These individuals are subject matter and industry experts, so their experience and knowledge are unparalleled. By getting help from professional writers and researchers, you can expect a high-quality piece of writing based on thorough and deep research.

Well-designed research methodology

Students often struggle to come up with a research methodology that clearly articulates their worldview, as well as the procedures and methods of data collection and analysis. If the student selects a wrong methodological approach or is not confident about the selected methodology, they might need to rework the thesis. Any major change to the design of your thesis inevitably leads to the wastage of time and money while adding to fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Good PhD writing services offer a well-rounded methodology design tailored to the specific needs of a student. This service not only saves you important resources but also ensures that your thesis has legitimacy and provides scientifically sound results.

Full support and guidance

If you hire a good PhD writing service, you can expect considerable assistance in various aspects of the thesis writing process, starting from topic selection to formatting issues. Some organisations even provide tutoring services if students feel like their university supervisor is not involved enough in their research. By using this service, you can get a better understanding of various aspects of your thesis, which is always good for your viva and final grade.

Edit and improvement

Another guarantee that a good PhD writing service provides relates to a revision policy. Reputable agencies provide some editing if a student receives feedback from their supervisor or tutor. Such companies offer students the ability to ask for free amendments to the assignment within a set timeframe in case they are not satisfied with the original work. This is a great addition because thesis writing is an iterative process and you will submit your thesis for review multiple times throughout your PhD journey. And every time you will get various comments referring to the content of your thesis and its technical aspects. In this case, you will be provided with free editing to make sure your thesis develops and evolves in the right direction.

Plagiarism-free content

Good PhD writing services guarantee their works are completely free from plagiarism. The issue of plagiarism in academia is crucial because a high level of similarity can result in the rejection of your thesis. That is why, if you consider hiring a PhD writing service, make sure it is reputable and trustworthy to get a unique piece of writing. Read PhD writing service reviews from previous customers, check if the service guarantees a high-quality paper, provides free revisions and follows strict deadlines to decide whether it is suitable for your needs.

Should you get professional PhD writing help?

While there are a lot of arguments for seeking a professional PhD help, taking or not taking this help greatly depends on an individual’s choices. Completing a PhD successfully needs completely different studying tactics. Consequently, working out harder and making the most out of every opportunity might not be of great help. Hence, it becomes extremely important for students to either take professional help and complete their unique PhD at the earliest or keep on borrowing ideas from other experts and make failed attempts in writing their PhD dissertation.

Furthermore, taking a professional help for your PhD will not make you less eligible for your doctorate. It will only help you by providing you continuous support to climb up your career ladder. As the PhD students are the ones who select their PhD subject, the dissertation topic, the methodology to be used and the analysis to be made, they have the complete control of their PhD dissertation. The professional services act only as a support system to make sure you do not miss out on other important events while giving your entire time in PhD thesis writing. Additionally, many of these service providers will assign you a professional PhD scholar who holds expertise in your field of study. These scholars will act as your mentors at every stage and provide you critical feedback along with constructive criticism to ensure that your entire work remains innovative and flawless.

How PhD writing services work

Once you have decided you need some help with writing your PhD and selected an agency, you need to place an order. In most cases, the service will ask you to provide all the details about your thesis, including the subject area, required word count, formatting requirements, confirmed topic (if you already have one), and any other information that is relevant and might be useful (e.g., a list of relevant literature sources you would like to include in the thesis). You should also clearly communicate your expectations and other requirements, such as the structure of your thesis and what exactly you are expecting it to be content-wise.

Once you have provided all the details and information, the customer support team will check whether your order is ready to be assigned to a writer. The best PhD writing services will not give your order to a random writer. Instead, they will select the most suitable expert who has the skills and experience in your field or subject matter to ensure the highest quality possible. Moreover, these agencies select only those experts who have a PhD degree, so they know exactly what a PhD thesis is about and how it should be written. After all these preparations, an assigned PhD-educated expert will start working on your thesis.

Red flags to watch out for

While hiring a PhD writing service can help you produce a high-quality, professionally-looking, plagiarism-free thesis, it is essential to know the risks involved. Here, are some of the most important things you should be cautious about to avoid agencies with poor quality.

Native English writers

Good PhD writing services always have native writers to make sure your requirements are fully met and the quality of your thesis is exceptional. Experts from a local area provide reliable references to writing books and articles, complete your task punctually, and have a linguistic advantage over non-native writers. You should avoid services that do not explicitly state that their writers are native speakers.

Money-back policy

Reputable PhD agencies provide professionally written theses, so they are certain of the quality of their work. That is why having a money-back guarantee is a prerogative of the best PhD writing services in the industry. Check if there is a money-back policy on the selected service’s website. If not, consider finding an alternative agency.

Proofreading department

Having a proofreading department is another feature that can tell you whether it is ok to order writing services from a particular organisation. The absence of this department makes the essays, reports, and dissertations unacceptable for use as high-quality, legitimate documents.

Suspiciously cheap writing services

Getting a high-quality PhD thesis from a reputable agency can cost you a lot of money because you work with the best professionals in the industry. But you should always remember that low-cost services are likely to employ non-native authors, so you risk getting a thesis with syntactical, stylistic, and grammatical problems.

How to find the right PhD writing service for you

There are two major issues faced by students that are writing their PhD Thesis. Firstly, many students struggle with the topic and the research questions. Secondly, several students are unable to meet the requirements in terms of deadlines set by themselves. In both cases, PhD writing services can come to the rescue of students. Such services can help students in achieving high grades while also ensuring that the timelines are met. But choosing the right PhD writing service can be a complicated task. Here are the best features of a high-quality PhD writing service you should focus on when selecting an agency:

Professional Writers

There are certain PhD writing service providers that hire extremely good quality writers. Students should prefer such companies. In order to check the quality of the writers, you could visit the website of multiple service providers and compare the educational background and the skill sets of the writers. High-quality PhD writing service providers have writers that are not only qualified, but they also have the ability to assess any kind of topic and write accordingly. If you want further confirmation, certain PhD writing service providers also allow you to communicate with their writers. This could give you a better idea of their competencies.

Pricing Policies

The pricing policies of high-quality PhD writing services are also a key consideration. Students need to check the pricing policies of the PhD writing service providers before making their decision. High-quality service providers do not overcharge students. They price their offerings at reasonable rates, while also offering discounts in case multiple orders are placed by a student.

Immaculate Customer Service

High-quality PhD writing service providers have immaculate customer service representatives that are ready to help the students at any time. Such companies are able to address queries related to pricing, timelines, additional work, and referencing. This is an important factor because the best companies in the business are able to distinguish themselves from the rest by providing instantaneous customer support. The responsiveness of the customer service after an assignment has been delivered is also crucial. High-quality PhD writing services are able to address the concerns of the students even after the work has been delivered. This is because such companies value customer relationships above all other factors.

Get PhD help from the best in the industry

With a number of agencies offering professional PhD help in the form of PhD writing, thesis writing, dissertation writing etc., choosing the right agency will help you gain success in your academia. So, stop feeling miserable and understand that great things can be only achieved with great mentoring. Also, believe in yourself as coming such a long way makes you eligible to get your much-deserved PhD.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of completing your PhD, don’t be hesitant to seek help. There are a number of benefits that come with using thesis writing services. This exercise not only assists with both your time and motivation, it can also boost the chances of success due to having a professional, academic writer being your guide.

Original PhD is a professional PhD Writing Service with a team of expert PhD supervisors and experienced writers. We have many years of experience in various fields, including business, international relations, marketing, management, finance, and economics. Our service portfolio includes all sorts of PhD writing services, starting from PhD application assistance and creating thesis topics to writing collaborative chapters and PhD editing. We provide a wide range of guarantees, so you can be absolutely sure of the work quality you get.

When applying to a PhD program, students face a large number of requirements and procedures, and it can be challenging to plot the course for applying to a program all by yourself. This guide aims to be a comprehensive description of what you can expect from the PhD application process, and how you can make your application stronger and more likely to succeed.

1. What are the general steps for applying for a PhD?

The PhD application process can seem rather complex, but in general it involves four steps outlined below.

Step 1: Find research projects that interest you

What kind of research do you want to do? Have you decided on the research area? The PhD application process essentially requires you to convince others that you can do research and that you are interested in the program’s research subfield, so make sure you are confident about your research interests. Ask advice from your peers, other graduate students, and supervisors at your university about suitable PhD programs based on your interests. Online aggregator platforms provide a great way for you to find appropriate programs based on certain criteria (discipline, location, fee, etc.).

Step 2: Contact potential supervisors

Check the website of the PhD program/faculty you are interested in for staff profiles. Send the supervisors an email with your CV so that they can gauge your interest and academic strength. It can be helpful to look into what the supervisors (and their PhD students) have been researching for the past few years – not only you will have a better idea of what to expect in your own research, but you can also use this information to leave a better impression on the recruitment panel! You are not expected to read through all of their publications, but a general familiarity with the research area can help you write a stronger cover letter and be better prepared for the application interview.

Step 3: Make sure you meet all requirements

Before you submit a formal application for a PhD program, make sure that you meet all the requirements that are stated on the program’s page. The basic criteria involve academic eligibility such as a Master’s degree in a relevant subject. International students should be especially mindful of additional paperwork and eligibility criteria. For example, studying abroad will likely require you to get a visa, and to apply for a visa you might need a proof of sufficient funds and a proof of meeting language requirements. Language requirements can be tricky since obtaining a certificate of competence comes with registration deadlines.

Step 4: Submit a formal application

Check the official website of the faculty, department, or university you are applying to for an online application form. Be sure to closely follow all the requirements stated, as they may differ across PhD programs and universities. Expect to prepare some supporting documentation such as academic qualifications, an academic CV, a cover letter or a personal statement, a research proposal, and references from academic referees. Don’t forget to upload your previously published studies or information on conferences you’ve participated in. It is ok to submit multiple PhD applications to different PhD programs and universities at once – just make sure that you adjust your supporting documents accordingly.

2. How to Choose the Right PhD Program for You?

The choice of a PhD programme is both an important step in your academic career and the best opportunity to learn more about the subject of your interest. Unfortunately, many students underestimate the seriousness of this step and find themselves frustrated later on. Our PhD writing editors have provided some tips on how to choose the right PhD programme for you.

2.1 Choose the Right Area

Imagine choosing an employer for a full-time position where you cannot change the employment terms later or terminate your contract within the following three years. Would you be highly considerate in your choices? Unfortunately, many students do not exhibit the same level of seriousness when they engage in PhD thesis writing that usually requires 40+ hours of work on a weekly basis. You must be 100% certain that your topic of choice will remain as interesting to you in several years as it is now.

2.2 Take Your Time

As any serious choice in life, finding the best PhD programme may require time and consideration. Taking an academic break after your Master’s degree to evaluate your credentials, appraise several university options, and find the best supervisor for your project may actually save you a lot of time and money in the long-term perspective. No one is going to blame you if you choose to work for several years before writing your PhD to get industry experience and find the topic for you are really passionate about. This may be especially important if you seek to pursue a self-funded project or fail to obtain a scholarship for your PhD.

2.3 Seek Guidance

Do you usually consult your competent friends or hired experts before you make critical decisions such as purchasing an apartment or a vehicle? We would suggest taking a similar approach to your PhD project. If you feel even the slightest hesitation in your programme-related choices, eliminate all the doubts before you start with your PhD thesis. Visit the universities you are considering, talk to several supervisors or seek some PhD writing support. In the words of Sun Tzu, victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

2.4 Plan the Funding

The availability of a scholarship may be even more critical for choosing a PhD programme than selecting a good supervisor and an effective research topic. Combining full-time work with writing your PhD is next to impossible for most of the students due to substantial workloads associated with dissertation writing. Hence, you need to be 100% certain that the university of your choice provides sufficient scholarship that will allow you to work without distractions and complete your PhD project within the allocated period of time.

2.5 Use online platforms to find suitable PhD programs

Manually checking websites for each faculty and department of each university can be very time-consuming. Use aggregator platforms to quickly find appropriate PhD programs and filter them based on your preferences and requirements such as discipline, sub-field specialty, location, tuition fee, and duration. You can also look for student opinions from online discussions on how well the program can be customized, how organized is the research, or ‘soft criteria’ such as cost of living and social life around the campus.

3. How to Write a PhD Application?

A good PhD application could be the deciding factor in attaining a PhD degree at the university you want. To help you out, we have created a short PhD application guide telling you all you need to know on how to write a PhD application.

3.1 Learn the Individual University Requirements 

Each university is different in how they handle PhD applications. Some require you to submit hard copies of applications for PhD admissions. Others focus on online admissions through their own custom systems. The important thing is not to get discouraged but instead compile a brief list of the universities you want to apply to and the key differences in how these institutions handle the application process.

3.2 Write a Proposal in Advance

The majority of applications for PhD admissions require you to submit supporting documents such as reference letters or proposals. To keep things simple, you should ideally write your proposal before starting the application process. While each university has unique requirements for proposals, being prepared in advance should save you a lot of time. Based on the university you’re applying to, you might want to make slight changes in your proposal such as modifying the timeline of the study.

3.3 Compile a List of References

When wondering how to fill a PhD application form, it’s easy to overlook the significance of references. Fact is, references could either make or break your application. You should list at least 2-3 academics who know you personally and who would want to provide a positive characteristic of you. Before submitting the application, inform these references of your project to give your colleagues time to prepare for inquiries.

3.4 Review Your Previous Research and Research Training

Most thorough PhD application forms also include fields on your prior academic research and research training. To write a good application for PhD admission, you should list your major academic milestones such as previous theses or any published research papers. Even if an application does not require you to mention this, you could always integrate such achievements into your CV or other sections of the application when asked about your research interests.

3.5 Choose a Method for Financing Your PhD

One of the key points of any PhD application is the question of financing. When you’re searching for information on how to write a PhD application, take at least 15 minutes to look up the scholarship or studentship programmes offered by your university of choice. Another suggestion is to contact the university and ask what means of financing are available. You might also want to create a custom financing plan by combining a scholarship and your own funds. In this case, you would need to clearly describe this in the application.

We hope that our guide on how to fill a PhD application form will help you in attaining a PhD position at the university of your choosing. If you’ve already attained such a position, then congratulations, and don’t forget that you can hire our PhD thesis writers to help you with any stage of the research project.

4. What makes a strong PhD application?

It is not unusual to have dozens of applicants for a single PhD program position. As such, you should avoid some common pitfalls that students do when applying for PhD programmes. But what makes a strong PhD application? Here are the major characteristics of prospective PhD students that are valued by professors.

4.1 Evidence of your potential as a researcher

Remember that the primary goal of PhD programs is to develop researchers. Your PhD application should contain concrete evidence of your research potential. First of all, you should highlight your research publications, if any, as these will directly illustrate your ability to do research. However, any other evidence of independent research, scholarship, or creativity can be helpful here! Don’t be afraid to use your research statement to discuss your research experience and interests in detail. Your goal here is to make a compelling argument of why you want to be a PhD student, and how you are capable to be a productive researcher – so avoid talking about inspiration or coursework.

4.2 Interest in the PhD program you apply to

Having research potential is only part of how supervisors evaluate your PhD application. Even if you demonstrate your capability to do research, what is at least as important is whether your research interests align with those of the PhD program you apply to. Use your research statement to convince supervisors that you are actively interested in their research area, and to explain why you would fit into their research group. What can be particularly helpful is showing that you’ve looked into the recent publications of the group. Contacting the supervisor and expressing interest in their previous studies before submitting a formal PhD application can be a big boost to your case. 

4.3 Strong recommendation letters

You can expect almost every PhD applicant to send a recommendation letter – or several. However, it is not uncommon for academic referees to use templates for these letters, and some supervisors appreciate more personalized references. What you can do to make your application stronger is to ensure that your recommendation letters provide details about your research potential. Avoid letters that just repeat information about your academic performance. Aim at around three strong recommendation letters – don’t forget that it’s perfectly fine to ask references from junior faculty.

4.4 No red flags

Finally, a strong PhD application won’t have any weaknesses or red flags. For example, did you have low grades in classes related to your proposed research area? Have you missed some important classes? Are your test scores too low? Do your recommendation letters seem overly careful or outright negative? Don’t forget to check your supporting documents such as research statement and academic CV for spelling and grammar mistakes, or seek support in writing PhD applications to make sure that all apparent weaknesses are addressed. Remember: your goal here is to demonstrate that you are serious about research, and are well prepared for it.

5. Choosing between an MBA and PhD in Finance: Top 10 Things to Consider

Having an advanced degree has become a necessity in the professional arena today. However, it is not always easy to decide which degree to pursue. We illustrate how you can reason about a PhD program choice for the case of Finance. On the one hand, Finance students could opt for an MBA in Finance, which could help their careers in blossoming, but on the other side is the option of enrolling a PhD course in Finance. Both have their own sets of benefits, but there are various factors that need to be kept in mind before choosing one or the other. So here are the top 10 things to consider while choosing between an MBA in Finance and a PhD.

5.1 Career Choice

The first and foremost consideration for you has to be the field which you want to enter. If your interest lies in the world of academia, then a PhD would be much more appropriate. For example, if you wish to move into core academic research, then a PhD would be the way forward. On the other hand, if you are looking at the business side of things, then an MBA would suit you much better. Ultimately, it should be your choice of career that should determine your course of study. 

5.2 Timeframe

Most MBA Finance degrees are limited to a two year timeframe. On the other hand, a PhD might require you to invest a significantly longer period of time. Additionally, the possible effort required for a PhD is often much more compared to an MBA in Finance. Merely choosing your topic can be a tricky aspect of a PhD, while MBA courses are much better defined in terms of their modules. A PhD degree is also dependent on your thesis being accepted, while this is not the case in an MBA in Finance where the rules are much more lenient. 

5.3 Cost Involved

Another aspect that needs to be considered in comparing the two has to be the cost involved. While an MBA in Finance is expensive in itself, obtaining a PhD degree can prove to be much more expensive without university grants. Such grants are not available to students in every case. Without the grants, the investment required for a PhD can be too much to bear for individuals who are not from a wealthy background. 

5.4 Practical Experiences

An MBA in Finance would teach you a lot about the corporate world. This includes the ability to handle tricky situations in the workplace, the ability to adhere to tight deadlines, as well as the soft skills that are needed in order to get work done from others. All such skills are invaluable for your career in the long run. On the other hand, if you wish to focus on the theoretical, then a PhD would be a more suitable avenue for you to pursue. 

5.5 Ability to Switch

Furthermore, an MBA in Finance also gives you the ability to switch fields and industries at a later stage in your career. This is because there are so many spheres of work within Finance, such as investment, taxation, research, treasury, etc. On the other hand, a PhD might restrict your options in terms of switching from one field to another. This holds especially true when your research is limited to a particular field of study. It becomes quite hard to venture outside that particular field. 

5.6 Wage Factor

If you are looking to make more money in the future, the prospects are brighter for an MBA in Finance. This is because the theoretical research of a PhD limits your ability to grow professionally. By pursuing an MBA degree in Finance, you have the option of becoming a successful entrepreneur or to join a multinational organisation where the wages can be lucrative. On the other hand, if you are pursuing a PhD then the wages in that particular field can be limited. 

5.7 Location

Almost all full-time MBA Finance courses require you to attend classes throughout the duration of the degree. This means that there is little chance of you working remotely in order to achieve your degree. Whereas during a PhD, your physical presence is not required on campus on a daily basis. You could visit the campus occasionally and continue your research elsewhere. 

5.8 Collaboration

In terms of collaborating with others, an MBA in Finance will provide you with more opportunities. This is due to the fact that there are numerous group projects during an MBA degree. Throughout these projects, you have to communicate, deal with your team-mates and create synergies with them. This is not possible during a PhD since in most cases you are working alone on projects. Also, working on a PhD alone can require you to collect a lot of market data individually, whereas an MBA in Finance allows you to work in groups. 

5.9 Enrolment Criteria

The enrolment criteria for an MBA in Finance is usually much more relaxed compared to a PhD. For pursuing a PhD, you need to be enrolled on a post-graduate degree, which is not necessary for an MBA. Further, most MBA colleges around the world will take international students based on your entrance test scores. For you to enroll onto a PhD programme, you need to have a consistent academic performance throughout and also have degrees in relevant subjects all the way through your career. 

5.10 Mental Strength

Enrolling in a PhD degree can be extremely challenging for you in terms of mental strength. This is because the degree can be extremely taxing and can include numerous revisions of your work. There are multiple cases wherein a student even has to tear up his/her entire body of work and start afresh. Such drawbacks can be extremely hard to deal with. On the other hand, an MBA in Finance is not that tough on you. In fact, there are various MBA degrees which have special modules to lighten up the burden on their students. This ensures that the fun factor remains alive.

6. Quick tips to remember about applying for a PhD

Applying to PhD programs requires you to keep track of quite a few details, and it is easy to overlook some simple ways of making the application process more likely to succeed. Below a few quick tips to remember when you apply for a PhD program.

6.1 Read up on the research related to your PhD program of choice

PhD programs are there to develop researchers. It is your goal as a PhD applicant to convince supervisors and recruitment panels that you have capabilities of a researcher, and that you are genuinely interested in the field. Look into the scientific activities and recent papers of research groups you are applying to! Use this information to support your case when contacting supervisors, writing the research statement, and preparing for the application interview. Look up review papers on topics related to the PhD program of your choice and familiarize yourself with the fundamentals so that you can at least ask basic questions about them.

6.2 Apply for multiple PhD programs

Competition for PhD program positions can be high, and there is nothing wrong with applying for several PhD programs at different universities at once. This should increase your chances of getting into a program if your preferred option doesn’t go through. However, avoid using the exact same proposal and research statement for different applications! Try to tailor each set of supporting documents to individual PhD programs. Remember that you should convince professors why you are interested in their expertise, and you will be at a disadvantage if you don’t personalize each application.

6.3 Use online resources to help you with the PhD application

There is a large number of online resources available that can help you with the process of applying to a PhD program. Aggregator platforms greatly simplify the process of searching for a suitable PhD program. Both PhD students and professors share their experiences and opinions on discussion forums, and you can use them to make better informed decisions and improve your PhD application. You can use also use discussion forums or professional PhD writing services to help you with writing the supporting documents for your PhD application.

6.4 Prepare for your PhD application interview

Your PhD interview is a major part of applying to a PhD program. The interview is your chance to talk to your prospective supervisor, discuss your research ideas, and show that you are interested in the research area. Make sure to demonstrate your potential as an academic researcher by asking questions about the group’s recent studies and explaining how you and your research interests fit into the group.

Presentation skills are crucial for all PhD students. Most universities expect you to present your intermediary doctoral dissertation results at least once per semester throughout your academic year. Additionally, the capability to impress your reviewers can largely determine the outcomes of your seminal presentation and affect your final grading. Unfortunately, most PhD students rarely get proper guidance from their universities and supervisors on how they can improve the quality and readability of their papers for this purpose. The following recommendations provided by our PhD thesis writing experts have helped many of our clients to really connect with their readers and get good reviews of their projects.

What Do Reviewers Usually Look at?

Any reviewer has to identify the main strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed thesis. While well-written works rarely fail, any doctoral dissertation has its limitations that are subject to comments and criticisms. In a way, the process of their identification is similar to peer review in academic journals where staff members appraise both the novelty of the publication and the quality of its presentation. Let us look at some factors that frequently determine whether your readers’ reactions will be positive or negative:

1. The reviewers rarely have a lot of time to thoroughly read through all parts of your thesis several times.
2. This means that you must ensure that they can easily understand why your PhD project creates new knowledge in your area of interest.
3. A reviewer needs to promptly identify the key limitations encountered by your project and the methodological instruments you utilised to overcome these limitations when addressing your research objectives.
4. Many students excessively focus on reviewing the research of others in all sections of their works, which makes it difficult for readers to understand the relevance of their project and understand its uniqueness and novelty.

What Are the Most Common Problems with Seminal Presentations?

As a professional agency providing phd writing services for several decades, we are well aware of the fact that thesis writing needs to be focused on the reader rather than the writer. This means that under the hood processes such as data collection and processing, a review of prior studies, and other elements necessary for completing your doctoral dissertation are only interesting to you as the author. At the same time, your readers expect to get a quality draft that presents the results of all these activities in a coherent format as an output of all aforementioned activities described in the past tense. This requires the capability to:

1. Distance yourself from your writing process and describe its results in the same impartial manner you would write a review of your fellow student’s work.
2. Summarise the findings in the way highlighting their novelty and minimising the visibility of potentially weak areas of your research project.
3. Avoid the intention to excessively focus on some parts of your draft you like best and see a ‘larger picture’ of individual sections as chapters of a book that should be interesting to read and present the main overarching argument.
4. Perform multiple thesis revisions to see your work ‘with fresh eyes’ and be brave enough to implement substantial amendments in order to produce a high-quality text.

While these actions seem easy to perform, many of our clients order our PhD services after attempting to improve their drafts for weeks and even months to no avail. There is a good reason why even professional writers like Stephen King have editors who enjoy the absolute right to revise their manuscripts as they see fit. Good editing work is always performed from the position of the reader. Most authors can never avoid the bias of being overly attached to their drafts, which makes it difficult for them to remove or re-write some large sections of text that do not contribute to the resulting quality of presentation.

How Can Students Improve the Quality of Their Presentations?

From a practical standpoint, the aforementioned aspects imply the need to:

1. Clearly explain why your contribution to your area of research is sufficient to award you with a PhD degree.
2. Substantiate the suitability and relevance of your dissertation topic, research aim, objectives, and questions.
3. Outline all methodological choices and activities while also comparing them against your predecessors to show how you have addressed their deficiencies and have closed the earlier identified research gaps.
4. Structure your overall argument across all PhD dissertation chapters to achieve a good flow ensuring full understanding at first reading.
5. Find the optimal balance between criticisms and presentation of findings.

The last point may be seen as a relatively complex concept since most students are told by their universities to be ‘critical’ and avoid ‘being descriptive’ in their writing. While this recommendation should not be completely discarded as overly generic, many practitioners take it too literally and forget to actually discuss their results and their novelty rather than criticise the findings of their predecessors. To avoid this pitfall, try to maintain a healthy balance between these two approaches in your dissertation. Discuss your results first in your Introduction and Findings sections and then compare them with earlier studies you revised in your Literature Review.

As a PhD thesis writer, you are exposed to a variety of risks and contingencies hindering your academic journey or compromising your future success. On the one hand, your research topic must be novel and original to ensure that no similar studies are published within the 3-6 years of your doctoral programme. To make the right choices in this sphere at a proposal level, you need to be extremely competent in PhD thesis writing and perform an extensive analysis of secondary literature in the selected sphere. On the other hand, the latest industry developments may bring fresh ideas and allow you to enrich your doctoral dissertation in ways you could not expect during your first PhD year. These considerations inform the need to use several methods of monitoring the most significant trends in your field at all phases of your project. Here are the three best sources of information you can use for this purpose.

1. Online Libraries

Such libraries as ProQuest or the British Library EThOS platform allow you to monitor newly published secondary studies as well as doctoral research studies. Make it a habit to check 4-5 resources for new information on a monthly basis. In addition to the increasing general awareness in your sphere, this will inform you of other researchers investigating similar topics. Considering the need to publish PhD research studies, this knowledge may be helpful for finding new co-authors, reviewers or advisors in your professional sphere. At the same time, these activities can also be invaluable for improving the overall quality of your work by adding new references to your Literature Review and other sections and keeping your analysis of secondary literature up-to-date.

2. Professional Communities

If your phd is based on the analysis of practical problems in a certain industry, it may be beneficial to you to join a number of online communities in it or even seek part-time employment in this sphere. The world of academia is a fantastic place for learning more about the theoretical and methodological foundation of your project. However, practical experience may not be fully substituted by academic research. Join at least 5 online communities in your sphere and start building a network of professional contacts. If you help others with their problems while also openly discussing your own sphere of interest in research, chances are people will gladly share valuable information about the latest developments in your industry of interest or provide some emerging research opportunities.

3. Academic Conferences

Academic conferences are generally considered one of the best places for researchers to meet, discuss the latest developments in their field, and present the intermediary results of their projects in progress. These factors make this information source one of the best ones for PhD students. On the one hand, you can present your research publications and get valuable comments and suggestions regarding the improvement of your thesis. On the other hand, you can learn more about the new trends in your sphere of interest as well as other projects that may compromise the novelty of your findings.

How Can We Help You?

As a long-term provider of PhD writing services, we frequently become the fourth best source of information about the latest developments in most academic fields. With hundreds of successfully completed projects under our belt, we may be some of the best-informed people in academia in relation to the most interesting fields of study as well as the industry trends worth investigating in the following 3-5 years. In most cases, we will offer our clients a choice of multiple topics and research questions to choose from. This ensures that they will pursue the problems that they are personally interested in while also feeling certain that these issues have good originality and research potential.

According to recent research, more than 65% of people are visual learners and predominantly use their visual channel to acquire and process information. Unfortunately, most students contacting us to use our writing services were not specifically informed by their supervisors about the influence of their tables and figures design on the readability of their doctoral dissertations. While most PhD thesis writing guides provided by universities focus on the formatting aspects such as numbering rules or preferred font sizes, few of them specify how practitioners can improve the quality of their visuals to better present the results of their hard work. Below, you will find five practical recommendations shared by our expert writers on how you can make your figures and tables more appealing and significantly improve your work readability.

1. Use Custom Templates

Few things annoy thesis reviewers as much as dissertation formatting problems. Even if you thoroughly proofread your PhD draft, there is always a chance that the fonts in your tables or figures may vary across different sections or get accidentally changed during the editing process. The best way to eliminate this problem is to tackle it at its source. Create a custom template for all your text editing software and make it your default one in your system (for Microsoft Office you may need to replace the Normal.dotm file). This will ensure that:

• All of your tables and figures share the same font type, size, and interval by default.
• The same formatting is applied to all in-text visuals.
• You can instantly apply your default settings to any pasted materials.
• The same style is applied to all created documents. This is highly convenient if you prefer to work with different chapters individually.

2. Learn from the Greats

While our specialists have been involved in thesis writing and the provision of PhD writing services for many years, most students lack this level of expertise. This means that any formatting solutions you can think of will probably be less effective and visually appealing than the ones used by professional writers.

The key here is to ‘learn from the greats’. Start exploring free and paid templates for tables and figures available online. You can browse through hundreds of options in the premium section on the Microsoft website or use specialised services such as Canva. Your main goal is to find inspiring examples and use these ideas in your own dissertation.

Here are some visual elements you may want to pay attention to:

• Figure and table design.
• The placement of individual elements.
• Colours used for highlighting specific sections.
• The style and position of captions.
• Optimal table size and footnotes placement.

3. Think about Readability

The main mistake made by inexperienced academic writers is the lack of attention paid to their readers. This problem is evident at many levels.

1. The use of original variable names such as VAR00001 provided by SPSS or similar software in your final draft.
2. The lack of captions for the analysed statistical factors provided within tables or figures.
3. Excessive abbreviations that cannot be deciphered without reading the dissertation text.
4. The utilised font size and colours making the captions in the figure or table difficult to read.

The best way to eliminate these problems is to use a fresh pair of eyes. Ask your fellow student or even your family members to look at some printed figures and tables from your PhD thesis. Then, ask them whether they could fully understand all their contents and main ideas. Repeat this process until you are certain that any random reader finds the information provided in your visuals sufficient for determining their main purpose.

4. Follow the One-Page Rule

Another good practice in this sphere is the ‘one-page rule’. It relies on printing all materials related to your table that fit within a single page and submitting them to a random reader. In most student drafts edited by our writers, the data presented in such figures and tables was extremely difficult to understand.

Working with your supervisor may be a highly distracting experience in this aspect since you get accustomed to a specific reader having unlimited time to read your draft over and over again. In the thesis defence process, your work will probably be reviewed by less patient persons who will be ‘scanning’ or ‘skimming’ your text for key details.

If your individual tables and figures cannot be fit within the same page to facilitate readability, it may be a good idea to break them down into smaller manageable ‘chunks’ to ensure that every page containing your visual materials presentation works as a coherent and self-sufficient element of your overall thesis.

5. Avoid Repetitions and Redundancies

Finally, you need to understand why you are using specific tables and figures in the first place. While this may sound counter-intuitive, many students simply paste their visuals into their dissertation body while also discussing all their contents in the accompanying text. This approach creates unnecessary repetitions that wear down your readers’ attention. Unfortunately, this also means that they can miss some important parts of your discussion later on.

The best way to avoid this problem is to use your tables and figures as descriptive materials. At the same time, the accompanying text should focus on the critical discussion of your findings in the light of earlier studies. This way, you will avoid being descriptive in presenting your results while also reserving the valuable word count for comparing and contrasting them to the wider body of academic literature in your field of study.

PhD thesis writing is a long road at the end of which you will have to enter for a viva examination. Just like every PhD thesis, every viva is different, depending on the requirements of your university and examination panel. Still, you need to prepare academically and mentally to make a good impression and pass your viva examination. Here, we provide the top five tips for succeeding in your PhD viva.

1. Know your thesis

To pass your PhD viva, you need to get a good understanding of what you have written in your thesis, so re-visiting and re-reading your work from cover to cover is a good way to refresh your memory and take a look at your thesis more critically. Re-reading is also an opportunity to make sure the format and content of your thesis meet the requirements and it is good to be presented to the examination panel. We would recommend you to take notes explaining the most significant parts of the thesis, such as its methodological design, aims and objectives, and key findings.

2. Plan your defence

Your defence line also plays a crucial role in the success of the PhD viva. Plan in advance what aspects of your study you will defend during the examination. In most cases, the central point of any PhD thesis is its originality and contribution to knowledge and practice. Hence, be prepared to explain why your thesis is original and how it contributes to knowledge to your examiners. Still, since no research project is perfect, it would be good to show that you have considered how you could improve your project were you to carry it out once more.

3. Keep your expectations realistic

Planning towards the viva exam is a good way to anticipate potential challenges you might face during the exam and minimise the risk of their occurrence. In most cases, the viva exam takes from an hour to three hours or even more. Hence, you must plan the steps you will take before and during the viva. Make sure you eat and sleep well the day before the exam and avoid any situations that might add to your stress level. Take a bottle of water, a pen, and a notebook in with you to make sure you have everything you need while defending your thesis.

4. Focus on your contribution to knowledge

Although the examiners will focus on various aspects of your PhD thesis, their attention will mainly be drawn to its contribution to knowledge, since it is what makes your thesis doctoral-level after all. Make sure you fully understand how your study contributes to the knowledge and practice and you can express and explain it concisely and clearly. Think about what makes your work different and unique. Remember about the notes we have previously mentioned as they can make your life much easier during the viva examination.

5. Feel positive

Finally yet importantly, try to enjoy your viva, though we perfectly understand that it can make you nervous. Sure, your examiners are likely to be the ideal professionals in the field of your interest but they are only humans after all. You could start with an icebreaker by introducing the examiners to your work and its key findings to calm down your nerves. Remember that the examiners are on your side and they want to see you do well.

The viva examination is a chance for you to discuss your thesis with experts and demonstrate your knowledge and contribution to the selected field of research. Approaching the viva as an opportunity rather than a challenge would help you successfully defend your PhD.

The relationship between a PhD student and a supervisor plays a crucial role in the doctoral studies process. A good relationship with supervisors provide students with much-needed support through the struggles of research, whereas a poorly developed relationship can result in the supervisor being overly controlling or totally uninvolved. Here are some useful tips on how to structure your relationship with the supervisor and make the most out of it.

1. Meet your potential supervisor before you begin a PhD

If you want your PhD thesis writing to be effective and successful, you need to select a supervisor who is an expert in their field. Before accepting a PhD programme, make sure to meet with your potential supervisor face to face to identify whether they seem interested in your project and open to new ideas. If not, switching to another supervisor would be a good idea.

2. Establish expectations and ground rules

Although your rapport with the supervisor is important to the success of your PhD, supervision is still a formal process, meaning establishing expectations and ground rules should be considered in the first place. For example, if you expect a lot of guidance, you should let your supervisor know this and develop a supervision plan considering your expectations, as well as the supervisor’s working style and personality.

3. Early engagement

You should engage your supervisor in your PhD project as early as possible to make sure they provide all the help they can from the very beginning. Some supervisors may not insist on early meetings during the planning stages of your study, so it is your job to do! The earlier your supervisor will be involved in the planning process, the more relevant recommendations they can provide on your research aim and objectives, literature review, and methodology.

4. Regular communication

Delivering a complete dissertation chapter to your supervisor and being told to almost or completely rewrite it because of the flawed premise is disheartening. To avoid such situations, you should get into a habit of communicating with your supervisor as frequently as possible to discuss how your thesis is going to develop and get some valuable assistance from them.

5. Disagreement is not a bad thing

Disagreement is a natural aspect of academia since you and your supervisor are likely to have different views on certain research aspects. Moreover, most supervisors disagree with at least some points made by their students to further develop their critical thinking skills. You should not be afraid of arguing with your supervisor if you believe your arguments are strong.

6. Supervisors are busy

Supervisors may not be available when you need them because they have multiple responsibilities and other students to supervise. Schedule your meetings with the supervisor in advance and come prepared with ideas, requests, and questions. And don’t panic if the supervisor does not reply to your email immediately.

7. Honesty is key

Writing a PhD thesis is challenging and sometimes this process could be hampered by various factors. Be upfront and don’t be afraid to tell your supervisor about the aspects of your personal life that may influence your work. Your supervisor is most likely to support you and together you will be able to find the most effective way to deal with these issues.

8. Switching the supervisor is a last resort

Despite all your planning and communication, the relationship with your supervisor might still be detrimental to your PhD project. In this case, you have every right to ask the university for another supervisor. Contacting PhD writing services could also be a solution since most of them provide professional tutoring services, supervision and PhD proofreading assistance to make sure your doctoral project is on track.

Both regular students and professional writers providing phd writing services have to manage hundreds of references during the thesis writing process. Manually keeping track of all these sources can be extremely tiresome and ineffective. Below, you will find the 5 best online services that will optimise your reference management and will boost your productivity as a result.

1. Mendeley

This award-winning software product is one of the most popular choices in the academic domain due to its freemium business model and good brand recognition. There are multiple versions of the product including the recently added Mendeley Reference Manager and Mendeley Cite that are fully compatible with Microsoft Office as well as mobile apps for all platforms, which provides a seamless research experience.

Pros	Cons
– Freemium model – Easy to use – Good integration with all platforms	– Servers are not always stable – Information from websites is not always extracted properly

2. EasyBib

EasyBib is another freemium product that allows you to create citations for your PhD or scan your paper for grammar errors and plagiarism using embedded tools. The basic referencing and citation-saving functionality is embedded in the basic version that is sufficient for most students.

Pros	Cons
– Freemium model – Intuitive interface – Good integration with popular browsers	– Free version shows you distracting ads and videos

3. EndNote

EndNote is another powerful alternative to Mendeley that can be used for free by postgraduate students using their university credentials. It has a number of powerful features including embedded search tools for PubMed and other specialised databases as well as full integration with Microsoft Office. One of the unique elements of this software is its capability to export citations in multiple formats and to support the access of up to 14 platform users to the same citation list via cloud functionality, which is invaluable for group projects and writing co-authored PhD research papers.

Pros	Cons
– Free for university students – Good synchronisation across multiple platforms – Compatible with all popular browsers and text editing software	– Non-online desktop versions are rather expensive even with student discounts – All future updates are also paid – The learning curve is quite steep due to the complex software interface

4. Zotero

Zotero is another long-term player in the citation software market dating back to 2006. Right from its start, it has been 100% free and open-source. At the same time, it offers substantial functionality to be used for making high-quality bibliographies, which makes it a popular choice among both new researchers and their more experienced colleagues.

Pros	Cons
– 100% free – A wide variety of import and export formats – Supports more than 30 languages and had a well-developed online community	– No ‘official’ customer support – Offers no embedded PDF editing tools – Has no native mobile apps

5. RefWorks

With 20+ years of commercial success to date, RefWorks may represent the oldest and most powerful product of the five offerings analysed in this list. It is extremely easy to use and is fully cloud-based. However, it lacks some features present in its digital-native competitors such as official mobile apps.

Pros	Cons
– Has access to many quality databases – Excellent support – Easy-to-use interface	– Costs from $70 per year – No specialised mobile apps – May be unstable at times

Many clients ask our professional writers whether they should use any specific software for their thesis writing. While the aforementioned pros and cons may determine your short-term choices due to your operating costs preferences or desired product features, it is generally a matter of love and hate. Some of our experts successfully providing phd thesis writing services for years praise by RefWorks while others enjoy the features of its digital-native competitors. If you have the time, we would advise you to install several products as trial versions and work with each of them for 1-2 days. This will allow you to select the best tool for your specific preferences, which will pay off in the future over the course of your PhD project.