What does Ph.D. life look like? by Zhen Chen

What does Ph.D. life look like?

Zhen Chen zhenc4@uci.edu

When you choose to pursue the Ph.D. degree, it means that you are on a tough pathway, full of difficulties, failures and loneliness. This is a truth for a Ph.D. student since you are one of the pioneers who are exploring something that is totally new to the whole world.

In general, Ph.D. is quite different from the other learning careers. For an undergraduate student or even a master student, what you need to do is to attend the classes, finish your homework and pass the exam. Most of these tasks have standard answers. Image you have some mathematics problems in your homework or quiz. You don’t need to worry too much about whether they are meaningful or whether they have solutions. You only need to solve them because there are always standard answers. If you cannot solve the problems, you can ask the professors for help and most of the time, they will know the correct answer. However, for a Ph.D. student, you are probably the one that knows most in your research area. It means that you have to find new problems instead of just solving old problems. You have to consider whether it is a meaningful or an interesting problem. Once you have a problem, you never know whether it can be solved until you solved it. And your adviser won’t know the answers, either. They can give you suggestions but not standard answers. However, once you solve a problem, you will feel a great joy because you are the first one in the world to solve it. Therefore, Ph.D. life is bittersweet.

Then what is the Ph.D. life at UCI? I will take the EECS Ph.D. as an example. The roadmap to a Ph.D. degree is as follows: In the first quarter, you choose your research adviser, who will be the most important person in your future. Then, you need to pass the preliminary examination in the first full year in the program. After that, you can initiate your own research and choose a dissertation topic. In the sixth to eighth quarter, you need pass the qualifying examination. Once you pass it, you become a Ph.D. candidate. Then, you have to focus on your research and complete your dissertation.

At last, here are some suggestions. First, keep in touch with your advisers. They are the most important person in your Ph.D. life.  Second, be patient. The problems you are facing are always very hard. So don’t worry if you cannot solve them in a few days or even a few weeks. Last but not least, exercise.

Zhen Chen Home Country: China The Henry Samueli School of Engineering Electrical Engineering, Ph.D.