What does the life of a PhD student look like?

Many PhD students have about 40 hours a week of reading and classwork, plus around 20 hours a week of assistantship or lab time. I had two classes a semester, which ended up being 6 hours a week of class time, plus preparation and grading. It’s easy to have a 60-80 hour week.

Do PhD students sleep?

A more recent study of 2,683 graduate students (including doctoral students) gave a similar average of 6.4 hours of sleep a night 2. And, of course, this is not a problem exclusive to PhD students: post-doctoral academics often suffer from the same chronic lack of sleep.

What is the daily life of a PhD student like?

The daily life of a PhD student can be quite a departure from what you’ve experienced as an undergraduate or Masters student, with much more independence and little to no ‘taught’ elements. Your average week will likely involve a similar amount of PhD study hours to a full-time job, including some teaching and administrative responsibilities.

How many hours does it take to complete a PhD?

As a general rule, you should expect a full-time PhD to account for 35 hours of work a week – the equivalent of a full-time, 9-5 job. It’s likely that during especially busy periods – such as when you’re writing up – you may work considerably longer hours.

Is there any sliding in a PhD program?

There is no sliding by unnoticed in a PhD program. All that said, the coursework phase of the life of a PhD student is not altogether different than their previous educational experience, besides being more rigorous. It’s like school on steroids. Depending on the school, there may be a transition from classwork: comprehensive exams.

Are there definitive semesters in a PhD program?

There are definitive semesters, quarters, or terms. In between terms, there’s really not much work to do. Of course, there are different expectations for PhD students than for undergrads. They are held to a far more rigorous standard in the work that they do.