Frequent Questions
7,579 questions
161
votes
3
answers
101k
views
How are Ph.D. applications evaluated in the US, particularly for weak or borderline students? Am I likely to get into school X?
This is a special community wiki 'canonical' question that aggregates advice on a frequently-asked question. See this meta discussion. Please feel free to edit this question to improve it.
When ...
193
votes
1
answer
111k
views
What does the typical workflow of a journal look like? How should I interpret a particular submission status?
What steps does a manuscript typically go through from submission to publication (or rejection) in a typical journal? How are these steps referred to, in particular by editorial systems, and how long ...
82
votes
1
answer
17k
views
How should I phrase an important question that I need to ask a professor?
When needing to ask a professor about something important and potentially delicate, what is an appropriate way to phrase the question or write the email?
Examples include:
Requesting a recommendation ...
- 192k
39
votes
10
answers
9k
views
How does the admissions process work for Ph.D. programs in Country X?
This is a special community wiki 'canonical' question that aggregates advice on a frequently-asked question. See this meta discussion. Please feel free to edit this question to improve it.
Please give ...
639
votes
14
answers
93k
views
How should I deal with becoming discouraged as a graduate student?
I am a third year (starting fourth year in the fall) PhD student in mathematics. I've passed all qualifying exams and am currently doing research. As far as I can tell, I am not doing poorly. I have ...
- 20.9k
282
votes
9
answers
49k
views
How to effectively deal with Imposter Syndrome and feelings of inadequacy: "I've somehow convinced everyone that I'm actually good at this"
Imposter syndrome is a psychological phenomenon wherein an individual is convinced that they do not deserve the success that they have achieved despite (perhaps extensive) empirical evidence to the ...
- 20.9k
221
votes
5
answers
49k
views
University rank/stature - How much does it affect one's career post-Ph.D?
To what degree does the status/rank of the University (where one does a Ph.D) matter while shaping one's career after graduation? What weight is given to one's school when applying to:
Post-docs/...
- 9,761
124
votes
18
answers
123k
views
Is doing two PhDs a good path?
I am studying a combined bachelor of engineering (electrical) and bachelor of mathematics; I just started this year and will graduate in 2018. The reason why I am doing double degrees and not a single ...
user12172
163
votes
20
answers
35k
views
How do you judge the quality of a journal?
A colleague and I recently submitted a paper to a journal with an impressive-sounding name, the "International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Computational Research". According to ...
- 2,061
135
votes
8
answers
23k
views
How do I identify predatory and low quality journals? With Beall's List gone, how can I tell if a journal is spam?
Jeffrey Beall removed his list of predatory journals from the internet this past Sunday. While the reasons for his doing this are not yet public, this is a real loss of a valuable service. Does anyone ...
- 49.2k
237
votes
15
answers
73k
views
I believe I have solved a famous open problem. How do I convince people in the field that I am not a crank?
I am interested in the situation where you have a very interesting result. For instance, you have solved a very important open problem. However, you are not known in the field and do not have any ...
- 2,471
45
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Graduate school admission with a degree in a different field
Can I be admitted to graduate school in a different field from my degree? Specific cases include:
If I've taken plenty of advanced courses in field X in the process of completing a degree in another ...
156
votes
11
answers
105k
views
Does one need to be affiliated with a university to publish papers?
Assume you have already completed your undergrad and have been working for a number of years. Does one need to be part of a university or a learning institution to publish papers?
- 2,247
118
votes
9
answers
173k
views
How do you get a bad transcript past Ph.D. admissions?
I have a master's degree in International Studies, and a double major with Computer Science from undergrad. My transcripts suck. There's no other way to dress it up. I have pretty good teaching ...
user179
99
votes
9
answers
23k
views
When should a supervisor be an author?
I understand that in a lot of big-lab fields it is common for the principal investigator to append their name to a paper even if they did not write the paper, design the experiment, or collect data ...
- 8,787