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The Road to the Ph.D. (See also: Where does the road lead? and Recent Doctoral Dissertations) The Time Commitment The amount of time required to complete the doctorate can vary widely - depending on your level of preparation at the time of enrollment, the nature of your dissertation project, work commitments, and other demands on your time. However, you must complete all requirements for the degree within eight years after matriculation.

Katherine Farley Doctoral Student in French "New York City is an ideal setting for a French program rich in the study of diverse Francophone cultures, history, and language. The relevance of our studies becomes easily apparent in the city streets, where so many Francophone cultures interact every day." Edouard Glissant Distinguished Professor of French "I would say that I don't intend to teach French only. I want my students to get a sense of the whole world in literature and art. I always say that I write in the presence of all the world languages."

The Three Stages of Doctoral Work Like its students, each doctoral program is unique. Still, all CUNY doctoral programs divide the road to the Ph.D. into three stages: course work, qualifying exams, and candidacy. Course work. Typically graduate study begins with two to three years of course work to meet the basic requirements of your chosen discipline. You will also fulfill proficiency requirements in essential research skills such as foreign languages, statistics, or computing. Generally, at least sixty credits of approved graduate work, including the course requirements in the field of specialization, are required for the doctorate. Qualifying Exams. At some point during course work - after the completion of forty-five credits in most programs - you must pass a first qualifying examination. The exam varies in form from program to program. You are also required to pass a second examination, usually upon completion of the course requirements. Candidacy. Once you have successfully completed course work, examinations, and any special requirements, you are certified as a candidate for the doctorate. You then enter the last stage of doctoral study, the completion of a dissertation embodying original research and its defense in an oral final examination.

James Trimarco Doctoral Student in Anthropology "Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is a neighborhood undergoing rapid transformation and uneven development. Construction crews are building new luxury condos while homeless people sleep in their shadows. It's extreme. It's hard to be an anthropologist in that environment and not study it." Ida Susser Professor of Anthropology Director, Developmental Psycholinguistics Lab "New York City is a crucible for understanding the transformation of the welfare state. Anthropology provides a way to think theoretically about the everyday experience of urban life; I look at the struggles of women and the poor as the city responds to global economic change."

Teaching Opportunities Whenever possible, candidates whose objective is college teaching will be given the opportunity to gain classroom experience. There are over 210,000 undergraduate students throughout the City University system, and often Graduate Center doctoral students find part-time positions teaching at one or more of the CUNY colleges. In addition, fellowships are available that provide opportunities to teach.

Diana Almodovar Doctoral Student in Speech and Hearing Sciences "The topic of my dissertation is memory processing in children with language impairment. I'm investigating whether the difficulties these children encounter in acquiring and storing words can be attributed to memory deficits." Richard G. Schwartz Presidential Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences Director, Developmental Psycholinguistics Lab "What's unique about our program is that we have a large number of doctoral students with diverse backgrounds and varied professional experience. They bring their backgrounds and experience to bear on the challenges facing the various groups of children with language impairments whom we study."

Other Training Opportunities As a doctoral candidate you will have an opportunity to join professional organizations, submit papers for publication in professional journals, and attend professional conferences. Once you reach a certain level of doctoral study, you may also be invited to work with doctoral faculty on individual research pro-jects or in one of the research centers and institutes at The Graduate Center.

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