1. Milestones on the Way to the PhD
Year 1: Getting Started
Year 2: Getting Immersed
Year 3: Getting Focused
Year 4+: Getting Done
Bethany R. Lee, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Associate Dean for Research
University of Maryland School of Social Work

2. Preface Limitations: N=1
Your career goals and specific research trajectory should guide your journey.
Acknowledgments: Special thanks to my University of Maryland School of Social Work colleagues who provided helpful suggestions for this presentation and my Washington University in St. Louis doctoral student colleagues and mentors who made my doctoral program a joy.

3. Year 1: Getting Started
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Successfully transition to a new identity as a Social Work Scholar

4. Year 1: Getting Started Year 1: Getting Started
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Find 2-3 faculty in your program that intrigue you;
Join a research team;
Identify key journals in your area;

5. Year 1: Getting Started Year 1: Getting Started
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Read grants your mentor or research team has received;

6. Year 1: Getting Started Year 1: Getting Started Attend a conference;
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Attend a conference;
Find a mentor or “academic sibling” in your program who you can learn from;

7. Year 2: Getting Immersed
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Complete (or nearly) required coursework.
Finalize your area of interest;
Start to explore research focus/topic that will engage you through dissertation and beyond;

8. Year 2: Getting Immersed
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Identify a potential dissertation advisor;
Co-author a paper;
Develop an idea for a publication that you can lead;

9. Year 2: Getting Immersed
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Explore dissertation funding sources;
Pay attention to deadlines & requirements;

10. Year 2: Getting Immersed
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Submit an abstract to a conference;
Consider summer training workshops;
Attend job talks at your program;

11. Year 3: Getting Focused Complete comprehensive exam (if applicable);
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Complete comprehensive exam (if applicable);
Teach a course independently (if applicable);

12. Year 3: Getting Focused Develop & defend dissertation proposal;
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Develop & defend dissertation proposal;
Submit a journal article for publication;

13. Year 3: Getting Focused
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Submit a dissertation grant or two (or 3 if you are Byron Powell);
“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

14. Year 3: Getting Focused
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Lead poster or paper presentation at national conference;
Seek career advice from academic sibling(s)/mentors;
Seek out new PhD student to mentor;

15. Year 4+: Getting Done Defend Dissertation; Land a job!
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Defend Dissertation;
Land a job!

16. Year 4+: Getting Done Focus on dissertation:
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Focus on dissertation:
Completion;
Publications;
Consider how to continue partnering on existing projects;
Prepare job market materials: CV
Research Statement
References
Teaching Statement

17. Year 4+: Getting Done
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Become familiar with funding sources for post-docs or early career opportunities;
Weigh the value of remaining longer in program (to resubmit grant, build research or teaching skills) vs. getting a job

18. Year 4+: Getting Done
Formal Milestone
Productivity
Grantsmanship
Networking
Develop a support group for job market or dissertation writing;
Learn about academic job opportunities from your mentors/colleagues at other schools;
Consider non-academic job options;

19. A Bucket List for Doctoral Students
Attend a conference outside of your main discipline;
Find a teaching mentor in your home program;
Find a research mentor outside your home program;
Make friends with a student at another School;
Learn time management tools that work for you;
Look for ways to give back;
Participate in a research project from conceptualization to dissemination;
Learn more than one quantitative software program;
Learn at least one qualitative software program;
Find a reference management program you like and stick with it;

20. Thanks
for
your
Interest
... And enjoy the journey!