One of my biggest fears is not being good enough. I went to an average undergrad because I was too scared of those prestigious universities. I went to a very well-known master’s and realized most people were average like me. Now, I’m at a top university for my PhD and most people are just as clueless as I am.

Given the huge opportunity cost associated with spending so many years getting one, and still resulting in having a job (academia) that pays worse than a private sector job that just requires a bachelors degree.

I get that people pursue PhDs for passion, but do most people really have that much passion that they are willing to forgo years of salary, put themselves under immense stress, AND still end up with a job afterwards that doesn't pay super well? Am I missing something?

This is a pretty big deal for me because I always thought I was too stupid for graduate school. Ended undergrad with a 2.9 GPA.

Working full time and attending school full time has been such a challenge but I'm proud of myself for this accomplishment. I can't believe the first year is done.

As someone who is currently about to start her masters degree, but has always had an interest in pursing a PhD I'd like to ask what is "enough" to validate actually obtaining one.

I've never had a particular research interest in mind-I simply love the process of doing research, data analysis, statistics, etc. Similarly with learning, it really doesn't matter what I learn about I just love the process of acquiring knowledge and then being able to apply it theoretically and practically. However, I don't feel as if that's enough to justify the pursuit of a Ph.D.

Whenever I look into Ph.D applicants or prospective faculty advisors--they always have these specific research interests as well as an illustrious background in that particular subfield. I obtained my BA in Psychological Sciences this past may with a bit of research experience under my belt, and like I said-will be obtaining my Master's of Science in Data Science within the next 1-2 years.

I have ALWAYS been under the impression that a PhD, is time consuming, rigorous and expensive. That I have absolutely no doubt about. However, I am blessed to be in good health living with my parents in New England where I have access to many great schools with data science, statistics, psychology programs. I just don't want to pass up the opportunity of pursuing this when I have the least amount of expenses and responsibilities (not to mention the job market sucks rn lol)--however I just don't know if I have a valid enough reason. Part of is the love for education, but another is just out of spite and being able to say that got my doctorate in a field I love.

Hello, topic is probably the wrong word for this, but I'm looking into PhD programs and I know we need a proposal to get into programs. I finished my master's at a fancy college and had a terrible experience considering their mishandling of certain issues. Somehow I managed (honestly had no option but to manage, considering the obscene amount I spent on it. Also was on visa).

I am slowly opening up to the idea of a PhD in literature and critical theory. I won't be applying in the coming year or maybe two years, but want to slowly mentally prepare, especially considering how I went into my master's without thinking of anything besides how interesting the course was (and thankfully it did not disappoint in that area).

I somewhat suddenly got an idea for a PhD thesis/ research topic. I explored it quite a bit and it makes sense for me to pursue it as it aligns quite well with my other areas of interest (overall, broad and scattered but I've decided that while I will need to specialise to a great extent to make it in academia-temporarily or otherwise-I also want to follow my curiosity).

What I want to know is, how will I know if I will still be interested in it for five whole years? How do I ensure l'm not sick of it and I don't pull my hair out because I feel like, or actually am, running in circles? The benefit is my idea can be quite broad, but I just remember how much I struggled during my master's. We also only had three months albeit for only 10,000 words then. Also I did not know that this is not really common among other institutions.

Any and all advice would be appreciated. I'm quite new to all this as I could not fathom going back into academia for a while. I apologise if the question is basic, but I would really appreciate some guidance.

Hello guys!

I am so so for this question but I know a lot of phd programs are having their funding cut off which is making it harder to get into the program (please correct me if I am wrong in this)

Is this also affecting masters students. I will apply to colleges for my masters (psychology major) this year where I will have to do a thesis, and research.

Will I be affected? The schools that I am applying to will be funded by me.

I'm going into my final semester of undergrad this September, and I'm hoping to apply for masters during this time. I will need two academic references to apply and I am so incredibly anxious about what to do!!!

I have really bad social anxiety so I never made any particularly notable connections with professors -- I'm thinking of asking one professor in my program whose fourth year class I did very well in, but I feel so badly about it because It's like BEGGING them to do something, and I hate to inconvenience them / or even make myself known.

What do I even say? Can I just write them an email? I'm so, so anxious

between Linear Systems Theory & Design or Linear Systems Theory & Design

I'm in a Public Affairs program at UW-Madison and feel like I'm having an existential academic crisis every day. We're sitting here in classes, being drilled the idea that public policy is driven with hard, statistical, number-crunching precision and theory by well-educated technocrats... and, like, right now, that is literally not how any federal policy is being formed, churned out of the White House, or passed in a good chunk of state legislatures.

The whole situation is made worse because my university's department is primarily run by quantitative economists, and a disturbing amount of them have dual research interests in genetics (<s>because eugenics-backed economics theory is really what the country needs right now </s>.) If affordability and family considerations hadn't been a factor, I would have gone anywhere else with a qualitative research emphasis or concentrations explicitly focused on community leadership (ex. public and non-profit management at Cornell, or Ethical Leadership at Marist, etc.) Community-building is so important in this cursed timeline, yet I'm sitting here solving problem sets and organizing data in Stata.

Does anyone else feel like like their academic pursuits are actively irrelevant?

The hardest part of the PhD is not the research, coursework, qualifying/candidacy exams, and defense. Nor is it the writing of the dissertation itself. The hardest part is not the literature reviews and manuscript writings.

The hardest part is the instability baked into the program itself. Every semester, it's often a question mark about how you'll be funded. Will it be by teaching assistantship? Will it be by a research assistantship because your PI got that funding? Maybe you earned that fellowship? Maybe not.

Every semester it's a different project and a unique tweak to what you thought was going to constitute your dissertation.

Just when I adjust to a new role as a professional scientist and a contributor to the academy, I get 72 kids and two engineering courses to teach and take. I have to take a painful detour from what I love.

Trying to wear multiple hats just to practice your passion fucking sucks. It's the instability that makes graduate school so difficult. I can't fall in love with anyone nor take care of myself properly because I don't know what life will be like every three months. Why is it like this?

Could be better if: 1. make it so that coursework has to be completed prior to entry to the PhD program. This will ensure a strong foundation built back in the bachelor's program and or masters.

1. Render the PhD program less coursework heavy and more focused on the TAship, internships, collaborations, project design, paper writing. Actually assist students with paper and grant writing.

2. Remove the reliance of universities solely on federal funding such as NSF, DOE, DOD. it's obnoxious because these agencies are so painfully bureaucratic for professors and the institutions to navigate. PRIORITIZE private sources of funding whether foundations, industry partners, etc.

Hi, I moved to the states for a mph program at this medical school. From the looks of it, it’s a fairly small program and at least for this semester, although i registered for hybrid classes, the majority of my classes are online.

Now, have I made a mistake moving to here? If all of my classes are online, have I made a big mistake spending so much money here.

Are all small grad programs usually online?

Internet search results, found mention of several, but it doesn't even list one I'm aware of. I'm considering both Master's and PhD on the grad side. Thanks.

I'll soon be completing my 1st year into my master's in Philosophy, and to be honest, I've always felt like my parents, other family members and old friends don't understand or care about what I do. Unlike my younger brother, who is finishing dental school and regularly discusses biology and other stuff with my mother and relatives who studied and/or work in the healthcare field, I've never been able to have a conversation for more than five minutes about what I do, and this has always made me very sad.

However, last night my mom came to see me. I was writing a paper and out of the blue, she asked me how I was doing with my dissertation and expressed interest in understanding something about what I do. At first, I found it very strange because this is a situation that has never happened before and I was caught off guard having to explain deleuzian philosophy and cinema to her.

This morning, thinking about what happened, I realized that I have no idea what my mother, brother, father, or other relatives and friends out of gradschool actually do. Like, I don't think I could write more than a paragraph about what my brother does; to me, it's like he's just "studying teeth", you know? Hahaha.

For a long time, even if unintentionally and without realizing it, I blamed the ignorance of everyone around me, even though I AM very ignorant about their stuff. Now, I think everyone who works in a more technical or academic field doesn't really know what anyone else does. Seeking validation or interest from peers is much easier than receiving it from an outsider.

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student aiming to start a Physics or Biophysics PhD in the US for Spring 2026. Most deadlines I know have already passed, but I’m looking for programs that still accept applications from October to December 2025.

Does anyone know of any programs with deadlines in Oct, Nov, or Dec 2025 for international students? Any links, personal experiences, or tips would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance! 🙏

I just started my master's program last week and am already digging into readings. Is there any guidance for how to improve reading and summarizing skills? I have some difficulty with parsing complex academic language (not terms, the language used itself), especially in older sources. I want to spend some time improving these skills so I can start off my program on the right foot.

I don't want to use AI.

Hi, I have 3 years of work experience post undergraduate school. I have a full year of operations management experience, and 2 years of professional teaching experience. My undergraduate degree was in psychology.

I am considering a Masters degree in Counselling psychology or Social Work. I have no direct counselling experience or social work experience (other than teaching/managing families/student forms/and having discussions with students about their behaviour and developing a plan for getting them on track)

Would a degree in either of those two help me get into either of those two fields?

I recently passed my qualifying exam, which means it’s time to start writing my dissertation proposal for the fall semester. However, next month, I’m taking a two-week cruise—a bucket-list trip I’ve been planning and saving for over a year and a half, so it’s something I definitely can’t pass up. My longest flight is about 11 hours, and there will be a couple of days at sea during the cruise.

I’m thinking of bringing my laptop to work on my paper since I’ll likely have some downtime—especially on the flight, since I probably won’t sleep the whole 11 hours. I’m curious—has anyone ever worked on their dissertation while on vacation? How did that go for you?

Hi. I’m getting my master’s in English and currently teach 2 classes. I’m in my second year, doing my theory course and thesis.

I am bipolar and in kind of a crisis right now. I won’t get too much into it as not to trigger others, but my psychiatrist said that I need extra support at school work, and that, if things get any worse, I might need to go to the psych ward for a while.

How do I bring this up to my advisor? I’m not as much worried about my thesis and the classes I’m taking, but I wonder who’ll cover the classes I teach. Honestly, it’ll be a huge weight off my shoulders to know I can go to the mental hospital if things get to a breaking point. Hopefully things will get better before that. But I don’t want to have to worry about finding a sub in the psych ward.

Thanks a bunch!

Hi All -

My last year of undergrad destroyed my GPA. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and it was over for me. I failed my last year and then had to retake courses, which only averaged out the F grades, but did not replace them. That was nearly 20 years ago and I’ve been working in corporate ever since. I’m taking online courses for an MBA program (Liberty), but my heart isn’t in it. I really want a Master’s or PhD in African American Studies, so that I can teach AA Literature. I’ve been researching schools, but nearly all of them require at least a 3.0 undergrad GPA. Is grad school not possible for me?

Are there any current or former students of UMD’s Applied Economics master that could provide some context on the program? Here is a bit about my background for context:

• Currently work as an economic consultant with a few years of experience.

• Have experience doing both quantitative and qualitative work but at a point in my career where I could benefit from additional schooling.

• Long Term goal of doing econometric analysis or working as an applied economist. Specifically, I want to improve in my ability to understand the literature surrounding an area of study and become more independent in finding and conducting regression analysis on large datasets.

• Undergrad wasn’t as math intensive as I’d hoped so didn’t have many math requirements.

In my research of the program, it seems like a perfect fit for my current and future goals. Despite the low math requirements, I understand that it is still a quantitatively rigorous program. I hope to do the Online version of the program as I hope to work part time while studying. Any insights on the curriculum, staff, benefits in econometric analysis, viability of working and studying, etc., would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I teach a creative writing after school program and absolutely love it. My only way to advance my career here is go into management, where I barely get to work with kids any more. I’m taking community college classes in film production. I’m hustling to create my own kids tv show, but that is absolutely something I do for my own joy, and not something I expect to turn a profit on anytime soon.

I would love to go to grad school. My undergrad is a combo social work/public health with a minor in education.

However, I’m looking at creative writing MFA programs, and while I desperately want to do it, I also feel a horrible sense of dread. I can’t eat art or writing. I don’t think I want to be a “normal” teacher, but at least furthering my studies in education is a practical approach to life. (High paying? Doubtful. But I currently make the same as an In-N-Out cashier, so anything would be an improvement.)

My heart soars when I look at programs that focus on: -writing for children -children’s literature/library services -screenwriting -museum education/interpretation

Alternatives that seem most likely to keep my lights on: - Masters of Education, try and find a specialty program - MSW, except I absolutely do not want to be a social worker, even though my undergrad was extremely valuable - finding a boring but stable job and pursuing art in my free time

Does anyone have any advice? Thank you in advance.

I'm applying this fall to a few costume design programs and I'm having such a hard time finding any alumni talking about their experiences! I'm worried I'm missing out on applying to a great school because no one is talking about it, or that I'm applying to a bad program and don't know it. Does anyone have advice for finding "reviews" for lack of a better word? My in-person peers have gotten me fairly far but many of them either just started or are well past graduate school at this point.

I applied to a graduate program in Tax Law in January, thinking it was my ultimate backup plan. I'd surely have another job by then, I thought.

But everything went nuts in DC, and law jobs dried up. I don't have another job, and prospects aren't great in the short term.

So the program begins Monday. And I don't want to go. But what other choice do I have?

They always say don't settle. But I feel I'm being forced to settle. What to do?