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Open PHD Guiding – Official Website for PHD2

Phd2 is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you concentrate on other aspects of deep-sky imaging or spectroscopy..

• Easy-to-use, “push here dummy” guiding for beginners
• Sophisticated guiding and analysis tools for experienced users
• Extensive support for commonly-used equipment
• Easy upgrade/co-installation with PHD1, including many new features
• Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Extensive online help and responsive product support

Getting started

PHD2 comes with a built-in help file, which is an excellent way to get started with PHD2. You can access the help file from the Help menu in PHD2, or you can view or download the manual here:  HTML   PDF .

For questions about using the application, general troublehooting, bug reports, feature requests, and questions about PHD2 development, please post on the  Open PHD Guiding  Google group.

Please read  How to ask for help with PHD2  for tips on how to ask for help with a guiding problem or to report an issue with PHD2.

Latest News

Head to Downloads  for the installation files and release details.

Bruce and Andy have compiled a list of best practices for PHD2.  These aren’t “must-do’s”, but they represent lessons learned from both personal experience and from analyzing hundreds of log files covering a wide range of equipment configurations. Updated Dec 2019.

Download PDF: English Français Italiano

PHD2 is now compatible with macOS Catalina. Download here

Ken has put together some video tutorials on the new PHD2 polar alignment tools: Polar Drift Alignment (PDA) and Static Polar Alignment (SPA) They can be viewed here: PHD2 polar alignment tutorials .

Bruce has contributed a new PHD2_Broker package that lets you use PHD2 with the latest CCD Autopilot automation package (v 5.09.8 or later). You can manage your imaging sessions with CCD Autopilot while letting PHD2 handle guiding and dithering in a coordinated way. Details are provided in the help document that’s part of the Broker package. Download: PHD2_Broker download

A tutorial on how to interpret your Guide Log and improve your guiding performance, by Bruce Waddington. Highly recommended!   Download PDF  English Français Italiano 日本

A tutorial on using PHD2’s Comet Tracking tool for off-axis guiding on comets , by Lars Karlsson.

Bruce Waddington has contributed a new PHD2 dithering application. This handy utility can be used to dither PHD2 from applications like MaxIm that do not have built-in support for PHD dithering. Download: PHD_Dither 1b

Recently Andy Galasso sat down with The Astroimaging Channel to discuss PHD2 via Google Hangouts. You can watch the session here :

Andy Galasso has written this PHD2 Log File viewer for quickly visualizing your guiding performance and spotting problems in your PHD2 Guide Log.

Details here :  http://adgsoftware.com/phd2utils/

News & Resources

December 22, 2023 - PHD2 v2.6.13 Released

December 21, 2019 - PHD2 Best Practices

December 7, 2019 - macOS Catalina

April 26, 2018 - Polar Alignment tool video tutorials

June 12, 2016 - PHD2_Broker package available

How to become a PhD guide

A PhD guide or supervisor is an experienced person and a tutor who helps students to achieve their PhD and guides them during the entire tenure of their doctorate.

If you are in this article, perhaps you are a doctorate, a professor or someone who is looking forward to becoming a guide or wants PhD guideship. However, it isn’t as easy as a PhD because the experiences and expertise of the guide decide the fate of a research scholar. 

So the “should have” qualities in a PhD guide are, experience in their field, expertise in several techniques, decent research background and obviously, affiliation with some institute. 

Nonetheless, such criteria are also not enough. Universities have their own rules and regulations for supervisors and one who is willing to be; must have to fulfill all those. But what are those criteria? How does one become a PhD supervisor? All these questions will be answered in this blog article.  

But before going ahead I have to announce that I am not experienced enough to guide a guide. But I have collected information from various sources to make it available in one place. I hope this article will help some. 

Stay tuned. 

Educational qualifications: 

Academic background: , research background: , previous guide-ships: , other requirements: , responsibilities of a phd guide or supervisor: , criteria to become a phd supervisor or guide in india, usa or uk: , conclusion: , who is a phd guide or supervisor .

A PhD supervisor with other names: doctorate supervisor, PhD advisor, or a doctorate guide is a mentor of research scholars. Supervisors usually are regular faculties of the university. Note that in some cases, external guides are also allowed. To be a PhD supervisor or guide some of the general criteria are here.

• A person should have a PhD degree. 
• A person should have a strong academic and research background.
• A person should have enough experience to guide others. 
• A person should have a decent research background. 
• A person should have enough publications and reputation in the research fraternity. 

Now let’s see each point in detail. 

Criteria to become a PhD supervisor or guide: 

An applicant must have graduation, post-graduation and/or M.Phil and PhD degree in their relevant field which must have been completed from a reputed and well-known university. Note that all the degrees must be achieved from a government-recognized university.  

In addition, the applicant should have done research in the subject or related allied subject in which he or she wants to become a guide. Importantly, the fellow applicant must have a doctorate, research or equivalent degree.  

To be a doctorate advisor, an applicant must have enough academic experience as a lecturer, professor or assistant professor. A strong academic or teaching experience is required with 10 years of undergraduate and 6 to 7 years of postgraduate teaching experience. 

Noteworthy, the experience of only the government-approved universities is counted in the recruitment process. Furthermore, the applicant must be a regular faculty of the university to which he or she wishes to apply. The applicant must be affiliated with the university, anyway.

The applicant should be working as a lecturer, assistant professor and as a professor in the university or affiliated college or school.   

The research background and reputation of an applicant in the research fraternity are also taken into consideration during the evaluation process. During their academic tenure, the applicant should have substantial research contributions in their field. 

He or she should have enough publication in the form of original research, review articles, short-communication and patent in peer-reviewed internationally approved journals. He or she also has guided students at the undergraduate or postgraduate levels. 

Noteworthy, consistency in research work, publications and other research activities are crucial factors for recognition. Such parameters dictate dedication, responsibility and interest in research. In addition to this, patents, copyrighted materials and any IPR product are acknowledged as extra points.   

The applicant must have mastery and expertise in techniques, methods, tools and instruments used in their subject. 

As mentioned somewhere in the article, the applicant must have experience as a mentor. He or she must have guided students during their Master’s or M.Phil with excellent academic rewards. 

The ratio of students guided, students who completed the research and students publication is also counted in the evaluation process. It shows how experienced, consistent and potential the applicant is for guiding the doctorates. 

Besides, the applicant should be involved in other research projects or activities like seminars, gatherings and symposiums. 

Several professional, technical and scientific organizations prefer more in-depth evaluation for supervisor recognition including the quality of their research, publications and reputation. 

A full-time faculty of the university, university-affiliated college or department, state-level scientists or those working in national institutes or laboratories can apply. 

The applicant must have at least 5 research publications in peer-reviewed and renowned journals as a first author or second author as a guide but the whole work belongs to the applicant and their students only. 

Mentions as an advisor, acknowledgment or fourth author aren’t considered as publication, nonetheless, it would be considered as some extra credit.  

All of the applicant’s work must be plagiarism-free and/or their original, in the case of ascertaining the application would be rejected and the applicant can be banned. 

The supervisor doesn’t have guideship from other universities, however, he or she may become a co-guide, joint guide and can collaborate with other universities or organizations.

Moreover, the applicant shouldn’t be involved in criminal activities, shouldn’t have any criminal record, and should be devoid of student controversies and allegations. 

I think, as per my knowledge, these qualifications are enough to show your interest in becoming a PhD guide. However, rules and regulations vary among universities. Now let us go through the roles and responsibilities of the applicant or supervisor.   

Read more: Are PhD studies in India waste of time?- Students’ Voice (unfortunately- unfortunate does exist- an individual’s perspective!!!)

As aforementioned, the doctorate supervisor will be a responsible and experienced person with a balanced attitude. He or she would have a positive attitude and balanced behavior towards their research students.  

Their major responsibilities during the tenure of guideship are enlisted here. 

• They have to guide or supervise PhD candidates in completing their research.
• They should have troubleshooting and problem-solving behavior. 
• They have active involvement in students’ research work and encourage them continuously. 
• They also have to teach other post-graduate students too. 
• They have to actively participate in other university activities and academic works. 
• They can stand alongside their PhD student in every situation and support them during their emotional, economical and academic setbacks. 
• They have to always motivate their students. 

As a PhD supervisor, a teacher can guide a maximum of 8 to 10 PhD students and 5 M.Phil students at a time.

• A PhD degree from a reputed university 
• 5 to 7 years of postgraduate teaching experience or at least 10 years of undergraduate teaching experience.  
• Broad research experience 
• Enough publications in internationally reputed journals. 
• Enough experience in teaching and guiding students. 
• Note that in some cases, a person with broad industrial research experience or well known national personality or a retired professor can also be a PhD supervisor or guide if they have enough research background. 

How to become a PhD guide in India, USA, UK: Download the PDF .

This article shows that the PhD mentorship recognition process is as difficult as getting admission into PhD, still is not accurate enough. Sometimes PhD advisors also leave their position midway due to lack of experience and frustration, in such cases, students have to face bad consequences.

Some of my friends left their PhD midway because of the bad behavior, incompetence and negative mindset of their supervisor. Some of my female colleagues also left their research midway because of other reasons. The thing is, universities don’t follow their own recruitment process, strictly and appoint the wrong person intentionally or unintentionally. 

Such mal-research practices must be stopped, central authorities along with the university have to closely monitor the entire process of supervisor recognition and ensure that the process strictly follows international standards or not.  

In conclusion, an applicant for the recognition of PhD supervisor should be an experienced person. But their potential and endurance must be assessed prior to the evaluation process.

Dr. Tushar Chauhan is a Scientist, Blogger and Scientific-writer. He has completed PhD in Genetics. Dr. Chauhan is a PhD coach and tutor.

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What is PhD?- History, Definition, Origin, Requirement, Fees, Duration and Process

How to write a PhD thesis?

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Advising Guide: Building a successful relationship with your advisor

Conducting research meetings with your advisor, holding regular meetings, planning your agenda before the meeting, sample meeting agenda topics, taking notes, keeping a research notebook or journal, if you are co-advised, why have a co-advisor, allen school considerations for co-advising, additional planning if co-advised, joint or separate meetings.

Schedule regular meetings with your advisor (usually once per week) even if you think you have nothing to talk about, you haven’t made much progress, or you are worried that you will be wasting your advisor’s time. Often that is exactly when it is most important to have a meeting. Note that a meeting need not be long or even fill the allocated time slot. Everyone, including your advisor, is happy to suddenly have a few extra minutes if the meeting ends early.

Regular meetings will give you more ideas, connections, and resources to achieve your goals. It also keeps your advisor up-to-date on your progress and helps them keep your project in mind. Often when there isn’t much progress, a meeting is a time for your advisor to help you stay energized and excited about the project since they are likely to take the long view.

Set up a regular meeting time that works for you both every quarter since your schedules will likely change. Offer several possibilities to respect the other person’s needs and preferences. (Some advisors opt to use an on-demand calendar, where you can reserve free meeting slots. In this case, claim a slot every week.)

If your advisor needs to skip a meeting and you still need guidance, follow-up with them by email to discuss the issues or to reschedule the meeting.

Outside regular meetings, you and your advisor should establish norms for asynchronous communication (e.g., email and slack). Sometimes a quick exchange with your advisor between meetings can save you a lot of time. Don’t hesitate to reach out.

Consider preparing a weekly progress report and sending it to your advisor before your meetings. This will help you make the most of your time together. It also forces you to review your work and think about its consequences, in addition to helping you and your advisor track your longer-term progress.

Write down an agenda and send it to your advisor in (sufficient) advance of the meeting; you could also bring two hardcopies to the meeting. Some students use a slide deck to guide the discussion. Prioritize the items on your agenda. Importantly, focus first on items that are most likely to help you make progress between the current and next meeting.

An agenda for a research meeting (depending on the research area and the specific individuals involved) may include any or all of the following items:

Recap of the goals and state of the project. Like you, your advisor is juggling numerous responsibilities and context switching constantly throughout the day. Don’t be upset if your advisor cannot remember what was discussed in your previous meeting. Over time, you’ll learn how to quickly recap events to stay on track.

An update on what you’ve accomplished since the previous meeting and which previous goals have been met. Include, for example, what code you’ve written, new results and ideas, experimental results, etc. Share graphs showing these results, if applicable. Be sure that you’ve already thought through what the results mean, why they make sense, and how they move the project forward. Getting new results up until the last minute does not leave you time to consider whether these results are meaningful or even correct.

Papers you have read or talks you have attended that are relevant to your research and what you learned from them. Teach your advisor something!

Problem-solving strategies. Brainstorm with your advisor about how to solve problems, discussing in detail whatever you are stuck on or don’t understand. Key advisor added value is helping you figure out a way forward when you are stuck. Be as specific as possible when explaining sticking points. Consider writing this part out for yourself ahead of the meeting. Sometimes even just articulating what you are stuck on can help you get past whatever is blocking you. In addition, don’t hesitate to ask for help with low-level details, such as code reviews or debugging help, and your advisor will let you know if they can or are willing to work at this level.

Gaps in your knowledge or advice on what you should be learning in the short and longer term. Your advisor can help you figure out how to fill those gaps by suggesting classes you should take, papers/books you should read, experts you should speak with, etc.

Feedback on progress . Take initiative in asking your advisor for feedback on your research progress. Be receptive and open to hearing constructive feedback, and remember not to take it personally. Try to see such input as a way to help you do the best possible work and achieve your maximum potential. Focus on asking and answering clarifying questions so that you can think through the validity/utility of the feedback more carefully after the meeting.

Longer-term goals. Discuss research questions and directions that you’d like to explore in the future.

At the end of the meeting, if appropriate, briefly communicate what you understand to be the takeaways and action items going forward.

List of goals you want to accomplish before the next meeting, as well as longer term goals. Let your advisor know about any class-related or personal obligations that will impact your productivity in the upcoming week.

It is essential to record what was discussed. Usually you will write brief notes during the meeting. Otherwise, do so immediately after the meeting, while your memory is fresh. Share the summary with your advisor and keep a copy for your notes. This ensures you are on the same page and understand one another. It is particularly useful when writing a paper about your research. It will also spur both your and your advisor’s memory for future work.

It is highly recommended that you keep a research notebook or journal . (This can be a physical notebook, a set of text files, or some other form.) Whenever an idea comes to you, while reading papers, talking with colleagues, or daydreaming, jot it down. It doesn’t have to be fully conceived or considered. Use the journal to record:

Meeting notes

Calculations you have done and lemmas/theorems you have proved

Short- and long-term goals and timelines

Lists of papers you need to read

Ideas for future research

Questions you want to resolve

Topics you need or want to learn

Relevant conference deadlines and submission plans

Co-advisors provide different perspectives, different personalities, and different strengths and weaknesses, giving you the opportunity to take the best from each. They can expand your personal networks in complementary ways. When doing interdisciplinary work, it can be especially useful to have advisors with different kinds of research expertise.

There is also a cost to having co-advisors. It may mean more meetings, or more trouble scheduling meetings. The advisors may each have their own requirements for what you need to achieve before you can graduate. In some cases they may offer contradictory advice. (Example: you present an idea to each advisor. One says, “Great idea. Before you proceed further, you should do some quick experiments to validate it, to avoid wasting time if it turns out to be a dead end..” The other says, “Great idea. Before you proceed further, you should work through a proof to make sure that it is sound, to avoid wasting time if it turns out to be a dead end.” In such a situation, you will want to have a discussion with both of them to figure out how to prioritize the two alternatives.

There are many ways to have a co-advisor, and one (or more!) can be added at any point during your Ph.D. Your co-advisors will be co-chairs of your doctoral committee. They may split your funding or there may be a primary and secondary advisor (with the primary often providing the funding). These are things you should feel free to discuss at the outset with both advisors.

To formalize a co-advisor use the advisor change form .

Many Allen School students are co-advised. As just stated, benefitting the most from having multiple advisors requires some additional planning on your part. While the exact setup of your co-advising relationship will be unique to you and the advisors, there are some common items to consider early on and then revisit periodically.

Know each advisor’s relative strengths, keeping in mind that you might need different kinds of help from them at different points. If one advisor funds you on the main project you’re working on, that may be a different type of advising relationship than you have with a co-advisor who provides expertise in a particular topic.

Ensure that both advisors are aware of what you are working on and what each of their colleague’s contributions to your work will be. This will help with allocating time, resources, and credit.

You and your co-advisors should decide whether to meet together or separately. There can be benefits to both approaches.

Meeting together helps keep the project status in sync but can result in long discussions between the advisors, rather than with you. (Occasionally these discussions are illuminating about life as a faculty member.)

If both advisors are present, you will need to proactively manage the meeting agenda to clarify what you want or need from the meeting.

Meeting separately might duplicate discussions, make it harder to sync up about next steps, or require more bridging communication on your part, but it can help you benefit directly from each advisor's unique expertise and working styles (if you have well chunked-out pieces of feedback that you need from both).

If you and your co-advisors decide on separate meetings, still plan on meeting as a group occasionally (at least once or twice a year). Always copy both advisors on all progress reports, meeting agendas, and meeting notes.

It is still important to follow specific guidelines for conducting effective meetings.

Check in regularly with your co-advisors to assess how co-advising is working and whether their combined perspectives are leading to more effective research.

How to get good advising: information about the grad student - advisor relationship

First Year | Building a Relationship | Rights and Responsibilities | Ongoing Conversations Troubleshooting | FAQ | Growth Mindset

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Tress Academic

#80: Do I have to include my supervisor as a co-author?

February 9, 2021 by Tress Academic

The co-authorship of supervisors on papers of their PhD students is a hot topic in academia. Should they be included or not? All sorts of rules, conventions, and rumours seem to exist. Let’s clarify a few of them here!  

1. Why worry about co-authorship of supervisors?

Oh dear, when we started to look into the question of whether PhD supervisors should be included as co-authors on a paper, we had no idea what kind of discussion we’d end up in. Of course, we always had our own opinion on it, but let us explain the situation: The question regarding whether PhD students should or must include their supervisors as co-authors/main author on the paper is a question that we get asked in almost every other course. Last time this question came up was only last week in one of our writing courses. So it must be a question of great interest to early-career researchers and PhD students! But it must also be a question that displays a lot of insecurity and perplexity. 

The answer to this question seems to be so easy because there are clear rules about what makes somebody an author on a paper and what does not. Ethical bodies dealing with publication ethics, like the COPE, CSE or ICMJE (see below) provide great guidance about authorship, and most journal publishers have adopted their suggestions. So it should be clear who is expected to be credited as an author and who is not. But having discussed it so many times in courses with students, we know a simple YES or a NO on the question above is not enough. So, we’re not providing a simple answer here either.  

2. The case of Rebecca and her supervisor

Rebecca is a 3rd year student in a biology programme and she told us her story: She is doing exciting research in a field that she loves. She’s highly motivated and brings a lot of energy and effort to her PhD work. The regulations of her university, where she will hopefully get awarded a PhD soon, require that she has to write and publish three papers in international peer-reviewed journals. Rebecca’s research is going fine, she is progressing well, and is just about one and a half months behind her original schedule for her PhD. She’s in a good mood and optimistic to bring the research work to an end, to get the papers published, and complete the degree. But she still has one big problem: She has no idea if she should include her supervisor as co-author on the paper.      

She spoke to many fellow PhD students and Postdocs and asked for their advice. The stories she heard were so diverse that she still has no idea how to do it right. Some suggested the supervisor has to be on every paper, while others said they wrote their papers totally without them, got no input and, consequently, did not include them as co-author. Another suggestion was to include the supervisor as the main author, even if they contributed very little because it might be helpful to have a “big name” as a first author on the paper. A former PhD student told Rebecca that in his lab, it was a “must” to include the supervisor as the last author on all the papers, regardless of whether they were written by Master students, PhD students or Postdocs. One friend directed Rebecca to another friend who did a PhD and included the supervisor on all his papers because he was afraid that if he didn’t do it, it would affect the successful completion of his doctorate. 

3. Is Rebecca a solitary case? 

No! We spoke to many people like Rebecca and it was surprising how diverse the advice was that students like her had received. But as diverse as the single stories are, they have one common thread: Co-authorship of supervisors on the papers of their PhD students seems to be dominated by confusion, fears, and a lack of communication. 

You can browse the web and you will find many references and cases that deal with all sorts of problems, opinions, conventions, and misconduct in the PhD student-supervisor relationship with regard to co-authorship on publications (see e.g. Find a PhD 2014 , Thompson 2017,  Academia Stackexchange 2018 ). Cases are even reported where supervisors either neglect to co-author with their students, or where they publish work from their PhD students without even considering the student as co-author (e.g. COPE 2010 ,  Hayter & Watson 2017 ). So, it is definitely a tense field in which we’re operating when trying to answer this question.

4. Who is an author on a paper?  

Luckily, you can find clear instructions in publication ethics guidelines. According to them, an author on a paper is somebody who has contributed to the research, written parts of the paper, reviewed successive manuscript versions, and taken part in the revision process. Sole provision of research funding or carrying out routine based activities that are linked to the research presented in a paper does not qualify for authorship ( COPE 2000 , CSE 2012 , ICMJE 2019 ).  

So let’s go back to our question: Do you have to include your supervisor as co-author on your papers? The answer is YES and NO!

5. No! Supervisors should not be included as co-authors!

There is no rule that says PhD supervisors have to be a co-author on a paper of their PhD students. So, you don’t have to include your supervisor due to one of the cases described below: 

• Just because they happen to be your supervisor. 
• They are in a hierarchically higher academic position than you.
• They are well-known and respected in the field.
• You think you have to be grateful and pay back your supervisor.
• You’ve been told that it is always done like that in your field. 
• You’ll feel guilty if you don’t include them as co-author. 
• You fear a negative impact on your PhD if you don’t do it.
• You have applied for a PhD position at your supervisor’s lab/institute and think you’re obliged to include them.  
• They provide funding for your project.  

6. YES! Supervisors should be included as co-authors!

We do not suggest that your supervisors have to be excluded in all circumstances from your paper. No! There are very valid and compelling reasons that make your supervisor a co-author on your paper, e.g. if …

• they contributed to your work
• they contributed to your writing
• they were advising you on the steps of the writing process
• if they provided substantial intellectual support for the work you publish
• if they provided substantial input to help you with the revision of the paper  

In the cases reported above, your supervisor is a natural co-author, and withdrawing their right to become a co-author would be a violation of publishing ethics. 

7. How to avoid a co-authorship dispute

Rebecca’s problem in the case reported above is obvious: She was never involved in any discussion with her supervisor about co-authorship on any of the three papers she has to do. She kept silent, and the supervisor didn’t initiate a talk about it. Both are operating on the assumption that things will work out in their interest. 

Another question deals with how far supervisors involve themselves in the research of their PhD students, and how much support they offer, but this is a different question which we’re not going to discuss at this time. Regardless of whether the supervisor has contributed a lot or only very little, it would have been wise for both PhD student and supervisor to sit together and get the co-authorship question out of the way. 

For Rebecca, it would have been helpful to get familiar with the rules that apply to her institute or faculty. She could speak to somebody at the university who can advise her independently. 

A good way to avoid the hassle and frustration from unsettled authorship-disputes would be to take the PhD student-supervisor relationship seriously, and let both sides do what they’re supposed to do: The supervisor is providing a supportive framework and involves themself in the student’s work only insofar as they allow the student to grow and reach their goal. Get your supervisor involved in your work, and then co-authorship will never be questioned.This would be mutually beneficial, and would provide benefits to both parties.

We hope that this article has helped you get a clearer idea of YOUR answer regarding the question of whether to include YOUR supervisor on your papers or not. Make a good decision, and then move on with your good work! 

Relevant resources: 

• Academia Stackexchange 2018. Telling PhD supervisor I published a paper about my thesis without telling them or listing them as authors?
• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), 2000. The COPE Report 1999. Guidelines on good publication practice. Family Practice 17, 218-221.
• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) 2010: Supervisor published PhD students work.  
• CSE (Scott-Lichter, D., the Editorial Policy Committee, Council of Science Editors) 2012. CSE’s White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications, 2012 Update. 3rd Revised Edition. Wheat Ridge, CO.
• Find a PhD, 2014. Co-authorship with the supervisor.  
• Haytor, M., Watson, R. 2017. Supervisors are morally obliged to publish with their PhD students.
• ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors), 2019. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: Writing and editing for biomedical publication. Updated version April 2019.
• Thompson, P. 2017: Co–writing with your supervisor – the authorship question . 

More information: 

Do you want to successfully write and publish a journal paper? If so, please sign up to receive our free guides.  

© 2021 Tress Academic

#authorship, #WritingPapers, #PaperWriting, #publishing #journals, #supervision, #coauthor #PhD

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Thinking About What PhD Guides Do ?

Phd research is a difficult and time-consuming task. you may feel the need for direction and expert phd consultation. we recognize this, and with this in mind, we have created a community of phd consultants and industry professionals to guidance and counselling for phd candidates throughout your journey. phdguides offer resources, training, advice, phd guidance and helping hands during every phase of your phd journey in accordance with your needs., resource center.

We are the treasure trove of resources to help you with all aspects of research writing, from finding the right format for your assignment to writing a compelling literature review.

Here you can find:

• University assignment formats for all major disciplines
• Review formats for journals, books, and other publications
• Synopsis formats for research proposals and grant applications
• Thesis formats for different academic levels
• Research writing samples from top universities around the world
• Review article samples
• Guidelines PPTs on research documentation
• Guides, e-books, and tools to help you with your research
• Free downloadable resources, such as templates, checklists, and citation generators

So whether you’re just getting started with your PhD research or you’re a seasoned academic, our website has something to help you improve your research writing skills.

The PhD Research Consultation Bootcamp

Are you interested in finding out more about how our guidance might support your success in your phd now, schedule a time to talk with one of our phd guides in order to help you make a well-informed decision on your academic career, our team of experts is available to answer your questions and walk you through the process..

Our humungous community of PHD Study will help you ask questions related to your topic and get that question solved as quickly as possible.

Read out the detailed story behind completing your PHD. May be this will engage you & help you with the complete knowledge about PHD journey.

We provide the best training to complete your PhD with an ease. These training will help you a lot till completion of your doctorate.

Here you can find university formats, guidelines, samples, PPT’s, Guides, e-books, tools and free downloadable resources to get started with PhD research.

Read out the detailed story behind completing your PHD. May be this will engage you & help you with the complete knowledge about PHD.

Recent Articles for PhD Guidance

9 tips to write your phd thesis, how to fund your phd study in india, how to stand out in your phd interview – 6 important topics you must prepare, tools and software every phd holder must have, access important phd resources, we have a massive sample database, depending on the higher education programme or course, you can find and download appropriate pdf samples., research writing sample s, university formats & guidelines, our contribution to academic research society.

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Eligibility

• A full-time bachelor's degree.
• A full-time master's degree with at least 55% marks.
• The cut-off for SC/ST and OBCs is 50%.
• University/College mandated or national-level entrance examination.
• For a part-time Ph.D., a NOC (No Objection Certificate) is obtained from the educational institute or organization of employment.
• Some colleges/universities require relevant job experience.

Prior to Enrolment:

• Document Verification
• Entrance Exam and Interview
• Issuance of a Selection Letter

Enrolment via the website and the issuance of an Enrolment Letter. For your initial research plan, you will receive a Guide.

Exams for course work and approval of the synopsis

Initial Progress Evaluation

Review of Progress (Second)

Third Progress Review

PhD Thesis Presentation and Provisional Certificate Issuance

The Certificate of Ph.D. Issuance

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The PhD can take three to six years to complete. The time limit can differ as per the institute, hence the candidate should inquire about it with the desired university before applying.

A master’s degree or M.phill from any recognised Indian university in the relevant field is required for admission to the PhD programme. To be eligible for admission, you must have at least 55% of the marks or corresponding grades.

If you are pursuing a self-funded PhD or have professional experience in the industry, you can apply with lower grades.

Not all bachelor’s students are eligible for a PhD, but according to the new UGC guidelines, students who obtain a four-year degree in UG can apply for admission to PhD programmes in their desired fields.

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Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

PhD FAQs – A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Doctoral Study

Tempted to do a PhD but have lots of questions? Hopefully this collection of popular PhD FAQs will help you to tick a few off the list!

Note – If you’re already sure that you want to do a PhD, and are looking for guidance on the applications process, check out my post on How to apply for a PhD which includes advice from successful PhD applicants. My post-PhD reflections on the things I regretted from my own PhD may be useful for you too, you can find that post here .

Let’s start with the absolute basics of PhDs!

What does PhD stand for?

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy. Doctor of Philosophy ? No matter which subject area your PhD is in you’ll become a Doctor of Philosophy because philosophy derives from Greek to mean “Love of wisdom” which make a bit more sense.

What is a PhD?

A PhD is a type of research degree classified as a doctorate. You get a PhD by doing original research into a topic, typically for at least three years.

There are loads of other types of doctorate and a PhD is simply the most common. EngD is another which is relatively common for industry-funded engineering students here in the UK.

PhD & DPhil what’s the difference?

There is no real difference between a PhD and DPhil, they’re both Doctor of Philosophy qualifications. A small number of historic institutions in the UK such as Oxford and York offer DPhils but the degree itself is equivalent.

How common are PhDs amongst the population?

Approximately 1% of the working population (25-64 years old) have a PhD. This varies a lot by country:

Can you call yourself Doctor with a PhD?

Yes you can. Though to avoid confusion with medical doctors, rarely will PhD-holders use the “Dr” title outside of their workplace.

Sometimes PhD-holders will add the abbreviation PhD after their name if they want to make it clear they are a non-medical doctor, for example “Jeff Clark PhD”.

What have I done about my title since getting my PhD? Nothing so far!

Why do a PhD?

Unlike a lot of other degrees, most PhD students get paid to study . Read more in the finances section below.

There are lots of potential reasons to want to do a PhD. The PhD students from our monthly PhD Profiles series said the following:

Sara found research the most enjoyable part of her undergraduate degree and a PhD was a way to carry on with research.

Ornob wants to pursue a career in evolutionary biology so began with a PhD in the field.

Vivienne has aspirations to be a professor so a PhD is a job requirement to progress in academia.

Jeff (me!) had an interest in the field and enjoyed research. I wrote a whole post with a deep dive on why I decided to do a PhD here .

Floor had enjoyed research during her Masters and didn’t think that she wanted a career in industry, so decided to do a PhD.

It’s important to mention that you don’t need to have a desire to stay in academia to do a PhD. In fact, even if you do want to go into academia afterwards, it’s probably good to know early on just how competitive it can be. Many people sadly cannot make a career out of academia long term.

Enjoy the subject matter and want to spend a few years researching it? That is reason enough to do a PhD. I’ve also now written a whole post about the benefits of having a PhD .

Applying for a PhD

Do you need a masters degree to do a phd.

No you don’t necessarily need a Masters degree to do a PhD as long as you can demonstrate you’d be suitable for a PhD without it.

For a more in-depth answer see the separate post here :

Can You Get a PhD Without a Master’s?

If you don’t have a Masters, I’d recommend checking out Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) which offer combined Masters + PhD courses. We have discussed CDTs with a graduate in Floor’s post here .

What grades do you need to do a PhD?

Entry requirements for PhDs can vary. In regards to the UK system usually you’d generally be expected to have at least a 2:1 from your undergraduate degree, plus some research experience.

My experience : I (narrowly) got first class honours in my undergrad (MEng) which certainly does help. But if you can demonstrate aptitude in research you usually don’t need a 1:1. It would be expected for you to have done well in any research projects. If you can get your name on a publication then even better!

The easiest way to find out what is expected is to check the PhD advert for entry requirements. For details on applying for a PhD, including how to find PhD adverts, check out my guide here :

How to apply for a PhD

I work in industry, can I come back and do a PhD?

Absolutely! I worked for almost four years between finishing my first degree and starting my PhD.

A PhD is more similar to a job than any other point in your education, so if you’ve spent time in a structured role it can provide you with a good work ethic. If your time in industry adds relevant skills and experience to your application, even better!

I’ve met loads of people older than me who are pursuing PhDs. If it’s your dream, it’s never too late to start a PhD!

What is the social life of a PhD student like?

Let me get this out the way first: PhD students should be able to have a life outside of the lab! If a PhD student has no time away from research I would personally suggest that they were doing things wrong.

Even if you really enjoy your project, it is good for your mental health to have a social life!

No matter the size of your research group there are often departmental and university-wide events. Plus, besides everyone you may meet through your research and department, PhD students can still join societies and sports clubs through the students’ union. I spent one of my birthdays during my PhD on the beach in Morocco with the surf club, don’t let being a PhD student put your off getting involved!

Check out the full post I’ve written: Do PhD Students Have a Social Life? Sharing My Experiences Making Friends and Avoiding PhD Loneliness

If you do go on to do a PhD, make sure to make the most of all the opportunities ! Your time as a PhD student is fantastic for personal growth.

How much holiday do PhD students get?

Sadly unlike undergraduates, PhD students don’t follow fixed semesters. This means no more three month long summer holiday, sorry!

However most departments recommend PhD students take 7-8 weeks of holiday a year , which is more than practically any job outside of academia.

I kept track of all the time off I took during my PhD and you can find the details here , including a month by month breakdown:

Do PhD Students Get Holidays? Sharing How Much Annual Leave I Take

Getting a PhD

How much work is a phd.

For a month I tracked how many hours I was working and what I was working on, so you can see a breakdown of my calendar here . I found I was working for roughly 40 hours a week. Now that I’ve recently finished my PhD, I’d say that that amount of hours was pretty representative of the whole PhD.

How Much Work is a PhD?

I do of course know some people who worked much longer hours, but most PhD students were on a similar schedule to me. Working roughly 9-5 on weekdays. Treat it like a job and you’ll be fine. PhD students don’t need to be slaving away long hours.

I managed to be strict with my time, largely avoiding work late nights or going in at the weekends. One of the main perks of doing a PhD is that you have autonomy and can be flexible with when you work. As long as you get the work done, any reasonable supervisor won’t mind when you’re there.

Yes I’ve heard stories of PhD students having to clock in and out with an expectation that they spend a certain number of hours in the office. I personally think this is stupid and doesn’t build trust. Try to speak to current PhD students from the group when choosing a supervisor .

How is a PhD assessed?

What you submit at the end of your research varies between universities and countries. Sometimes it’s a thesis and other times it can be a bunch of published papers. In all situations you give some kind of presentation and answer questions about your work.

In the UK you usually submit a thesis in preparation for a viva voce . The viva is an oral exam where you discuss your research with several academics and at least one will be an expert in your field. My viva wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be, but nonetheless it was five hours ( FIVE HOURS! ) long. At the end of your viva you’ll get told the outcome of your PhD with any changes to be made to your thesis.

There is often no requirement , to publish your work in journals during a PhD in the UK but it does help.

In other countries you may have to publish a certain number to pass your PhD and effectively these can be submitted instead of the thesis. This approach makes much more sense to me.

How long does it take to get a PhD?

In the UK, typically between three and four years to complete your research and submit the thesis. It can then take a few months for the exam (viva voce) to take place and then for any corrections to the thesis to be made.

Nosey about my PhD? For me personally, I started the PhD on 1st October 2016, submitted my thesis on 17th February 2020, had the viva on 25th March, submitted my minor corrections on 30th March and had the email to say it was officiated on 1st April 2020. Yep, April Fool’s Day…

When you realise your degree certificate will forever say your PhD was awarded on April Fools Day! #academiclife @imperialcollege pic.twitter.com/hKsGFyuc0x — Jeff Clark (@savvy_scientist) April 14, 2020

We cover all the stages of a PhD here, including putting the length of a PhD in the perspective of a whole career:

How Long Does It Take To Get A PhD?

Are PhDs really difficult?

No, well not how you might think.

You don’t need to be a genius, but you do have to be smart with how you work. Here I go into how a PhD is pretty different to all the prior years spent in education:

How Hard is a PhD?

Check out my new post covering academic challenges and failures relating to my own PhD: Overcoming Academic Challenges and Failure During a PhD

Money-Related Questions

How much does a phd cost.

If you have funding, which is explained below, all your fees are paid for by the funding source. If you are looking to self-fund, then you’ll have to pay bench-fees/tuition fees, which are usually approximately £4,000 a year for home students in the UK.

Fees vary massively depending on both the country the PhD work takes place in and where you’re from. For example, I believe Australian universities charge around $100,000 in fees to overseas PhD students. Of course ideally you have funding which covers both this and pays a stipend!

Do PhD students pay taxes?

In the UK, PhD students do not pay income tax, national insurance, council tax and student loan repayments. This means that if you can secure funding, even though you may earn less than friends in typical jobs, you get to keep all your earnings!

Do PhD students get paid?

Most PhDs, at least in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) get a stipend: basically a tax-free salary.

How much do PhD students get paid?

At the time of writing, most PhD students in the UK get around £16,000 a year . Doesn’t sound like a lot, but:

• As mentioned above, you don’t pay income tax, national insurance, council tax or make any student loan repayments. My most popular post is this one , comparing the income of PhD students vs grad jobs and the difference really isn’t that big. Plus it’s only for 3 to 3.5 years!
• You’re getting paid to learn science, working on something you’re really interested in. It’s amazing.
• You have a lot more freedom than practically any “proper job”.
• You’re getting paid, to be a student…

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid?

In summary, PhD stipends are really not that different to grad starting salaries. Please don’t be put off from a PhD simply because for a few years you might be earning a bit less than if you were working in another job.

Depending on what you want to do with your career, having a CV may lead to higher salaries. What is 3 years of lower wages out of a 40+ year career? The answer: nothing!

Where do I find PhD funding?

Getting funding will likely be the biggest hurdle for you to secure a PhD. I have a post here detailing the different types of funding and how you can find a project with funding attached.

How to Find PhD Funding in the UK

Can you self-fund a PhD?

Yes you can self-fund a PhD, and some students are in a position to do so. Just be careful that you account for university fees and not just your living costs.

Are you allowed to have another job at the same time?

Most universities encourage you to get involved with work within your department as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA). Some countries even insist that you work a certain number of hours as part of a contract for your monthly stipend.

Working as a GTA you might be invigilating exams, helping in tutorials, marking coursework etc and at Imperial you usually earn around £15-£26 an hour.

If you’re looking to work a full time job in tandem with your PhD (and doing the PhD full time), it is best checking your university’s policy. Some may have regulations against you working over a certain number of hours which could impede you from concentrating on the PhD.

There are extra ways to make money on the side which I address here :

How to Earn Money Online for Students

Can you get a mortgage as a PhD student?

Since I did my PhD in London I didn’t even consider buying somewhere during my PhD. I’m not interested in being tied into a massive mortgage for 25 years to buy a shoebox!

If I’d accepted my PhD offer for a CDT at Leeds I certainly would have tried to buy somewhere with my partner. I found this page useful when doing research. Buying a property with a partner who has a normal job would definitely make the mortgage application a whole lot more successful.

Will a PhD help your career?

This depends on what you want to do with your career. Some example scenarios:

• Staying in academia – a PhD is usually required
• Certain technical jobs in industry – a PhD may be required or a big bonus
• Non-technical jobs – a bonus

I do not imagine any scenarios where having a PhD is worse than not having one. It is true though that for certain careers there may be other things you could do which would be a better use of your time, for example gaining more direct work experience.

If you want to do a PhD that shouldn’t stop you though, and considering the length of your career taking a few years out for a PhD is inconsequential.

Whichever career path you fancy taking, if you are at all interested in doing a PhD I think you should at least apply.

PhDs in London

Can someone afford to live in london as a phd student.

Yes! I lived in London for my PhD and actually was able to save money every single month while taking many holidays and not living in a tent.

I have a few posts sharing my experiences living in London which you may find useful:

For a month last year I tracked all my expenses to get an idea of my costs living in London as a student, you can find it here .

Sharing my monthly living expenses as a student in London: September 2019

Related to reducing costs, I learned to cycle in London and loved it. It saved me about £100 a month too!

Learning to cycle in London: my first 1000 miles

On top of that, for the whole of 2019 (third year PhD) I tracked my money, and the report is here :

My personal finances report for 2019

Where is good to live in London?

I’ve lived in three different houses during my PhD in London and have a pretty good idea now of good places to live in London. You can read this whole post talking about living in London as a student and the associated costs including a breakdown of rent :

London student accommodation: Breaking down the cost of living in London for students

Bonus: Read the journeys of PhD students

Before I started my PhD I had a ton of questions and nobody who I could ask about their experience. The reality is that many of these PhD FAQs have a variety of answers as everyone’s PhD story is different. Therefore if you’d like to hear first hand from people who are going through the journey check out my series of PhD profiles , with a new profile every month. You can also discover some of their top tips for applying!

If you’d like personalised help with your PhD application I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

Is there anything else you’d like to know to help with a potential PhD application? Let me know and I’ll write about it! You can subscribe to stay up to date here:

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Related Posts

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?

5th February 2024 5th February 2024

The Benefits of Having a PhD

7th September 2022 30th January 2024

My top PhD regrets: 10 lessons learned by a PhD grad

21st April 2022 25th September 2023

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Importance of Guide/ Co-Guide for your Research Paper

Writing a thesis paper is not an easy task, especially if you are doing it for the first time. There will be a lot of hurdles on the way and milestones to complete by the time you complete this important assignment in your academics. Even the most straightforward essay cause and effect   assignment, you will need guidance if you don’t have the faintest idea of how to go about it. For that reason, co-guides exist to provide the proper insight into the project right from the beginning to the end. If you are getting started with your research paper or thesis, you can save a lot of time working with a guide or co-guide and produce quality work.

Prior to getting started with even choosing the topic of your thesis, you should have identified a guide for your help. Their input is needed in every bit of research to produce work that is unique for assessment by the thesis committee.

Also Read: What is Coursework? | Definition, Meaning & keypoints!

Why Having a Guide is Vital

With many years of research and study in a field that you want to explore, you may not be certain about what would be the best approach to your thesis assignment. However, the input of a guide to your work could make all the difference in your study efforts. A lot of things can become a lot easier to manage especially with proper guidance on what is at your disposals and what would not count as credible research for your work. A professional guide is supposed to lay out a framework for you concerning the limits of your research and how far you can go with it. That calls for regular contact throughout the writing process.

A guide for your research paper will set up regular meetings with you for interaction and tracking progress. Typically, this is for enhancing the flow of information in an effort to monitor progress in the project. Indicators of progress will be agreed upon in line with the set timeline for the completion of the work. Projects of this nature usually follow a specific guideline and therefore, it is important to know how much time you require for each of the sections. Some parts of your thesis paper are a lot demanding than the rest. For that reason, more time should be allocated to them. The knowledge and experience of a professional guide will, therefore, be instrumental in getting the facts around this process.

Written feedback on progress with the work will be provided by your guide on a regular basis to track the writing process. More than that, the guide will be there to offer academic guidance as well. Typically, you need scholarly direction to encourage you in your academic work and ensure that you are working with a suitable timetable.  A lot of things come into play when doing a thesis paper – mechanics of thesis presentation, requirements on writing style, compliance with the stipulated legal framework and meeting all other ethical and professional guidelines. Therefore, it is the work of the guide to ensure that the students adhere to them all.

Also Read: Characteristics of a good questionnaire

Thesis works are assessed and graded guided by set standards. Your guide will work with you in tandem to ensure these directives are applied. The first thing they will do is to find out if there are certain skills that the student is missing to help them complete the research. Upon this establishment, the guide will know what input is required to produce meaningful research in the process. It is important to make sure that your thesis is unique and presents ideas that have not been studied or have a dimension that has not been highlighted in the past. The essence is to make a contribution in the field of study and not to duplicate ideas and information that is already available to us.

Making Contacts through your Guide

Part of the help you will get from your guide is getting wider contacts as needed to complete the study. This includes conference and seminar presentations and making contact with other scholars in the area of study.  All these put together will lead to proper research and publishing of the work under study. Typically, your guide is a convener of sorts and also makes sure that the doctoral committee meets to check the progress you have made.  That way, a yearly review report will be made based on the stipulated format through the dean of academics.

The guide makes sure that you seize every opportunity to conduct your research wherever and whenever. They can help you identify a good institute that you can use for your study. This is usually done in a collaborative effort aimed at enhancing the credibility of your research. On completion of the thesis work, the guide must make arrangements for a pre-synopsis seminar in a meeting with the doctoral committee. Ideally, the seminar is usually open with invitees asked to leave when the committee is making their recommendation.

With the help of a guide in your research work , the process gets streamlined with proper management of time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t know what to do and at what time in the course of doing your thesis paper. Understanding the research and writing guidelines is very vital to the process of completing a high-quality research paper. It ultimately depends on the input you have received from your guide for it to be a success.

Final Thoughts

Having a guide to walk with you when writing your thesis paper or research work is vital to your success. There are guidelines and timelines to be followed from the start to the end. For that reason, it would be important to seek guidance on how you can effectively tackle this assignment. Your work should be completed within set boundaries that should define the scope of your work and the much you can go with it. In the end, you should get the necessary input to make sure it is completed following the already laid-out framework by the committee that will ultimately assess your work.

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Research guidance, Research Journals, Top Universities

UGC Eligibility criteria to be a Research Supervisor

UGC has written many rules and regulations in its UGC Ph.D. regulations, 2022 related to the Eligibility criteria to be a Research Supervisor, CoSupervisor, Number of Ph.D. scholars permissible per Supervisor, etc.

Eligibility criteria to be a Research Supervisor

According to UGC, Any regular Professor/Associate Professor of the University/ College, with at least five research publications in peer-reviewed or refereed journals after obtaining a Ph.D. and any regular Assistant Professor of the university/ college with a minimum of five years of teaching/research experience with a Ph.D. degree and at least three research publications in peer-reviewed or refereed journals may be recognized as Research Supervisor.

Number of Ph.D. scholars permissible per Supervisor

A Research Supervisor/Co-Supervisor who is a Professor cannot guide more than eight (8) Ph.D. scholars at any given point in time. An Associate Professor as Research Supervisor can guide up to a maximum of six (6) Ph.D. scholars (including co-supervision) and an Assistant Professor as Research Supervisor can guide up to a maximum of four (4) Ph.D. scholars.

More related blog posts:

UGC eligibility for Professor

UGC Associate Professor eligibility 2024 PDF

UGC assistant professor eligibility

https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/4405511_Draft-UGC-PhD-regulations-2022.pdf

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• Last Updated: 06-03-2023