Inside Higher Ed reports on two interesting studies about which students complete a PhD and why. … [Read more...] about Who Gets a PhD and Why
phd
Call for Member Accomplishments
In our next Emerging Scholars Review, we're planning on highlighting accomplishments of ESN members, as a way of recognizing your personal achievements and encouraging other ESN members who are still in the middle of their degree, research project, or tenure process. … [Read more...] about Call for Member Accomplishments
Why Get a Ph.D. in the Humanities? [Updated]
Way back in January (ancient history for most blogs, but we at ESN are committed to learning from the past from the Dead Theologians Society), the Chronicle of Higher Education published the column "Graduate School in the Humanities: Just Don't Go" by Thomas H. Benton (the pen name of William Pannapacker, an English professor at Hope College). After reviewing the dismal (and diminishing) prospects for tenure-track jobs in the humanities, Benton recommends pursuing a Ph.D. in the humanities only if you fall into one of … [Read more...] about Why Get a Ph.D. in the Humanities? [Updated]
Licensing Your Dissertation
If you are completing your PhD, part of the process is completing forms to copyright your dissertation. danah boyd, a researcher who studies online social networks and recent PhD recipient herself, has written an interesting post about licensing her dissertation under Creative Commons, instead of the standard "all rights reserved" copyright. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that provides free licenses for creative works, generally to make it easier to share those works. (I use CC's search tool frequently to … [Read more...] about Licensing Your Dissertation
2007 Doctorate Production
Inside Higher Ed reports today on National Science Foundation's data on 2007 earned doctorates. Overall, 48,079 doctorates were awarded by U.S. institutions last year, an increase of 5.4% over 2006. This is the fifth straight year of increases. Humanities Ph.D.s, however, declined 4.6%, led by "Letters" (English literature & language, classics, etc.), which declined by 6.9%. Wow. What this means for literature fields, I'm not sure. I'd be interested in seeing how the MLA or other associations interpret the … [Read more...] about 2007 Doctorate Production