Author: Geoff
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 9: What comes next?
How (not) to get your PhD Part 9 (of 9): What comes next? What opportunities are available once you’ve passed your defense and completed your dissertation? Is there anything about my story that is applicable?
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 8: Committee… Assemble!: Prelims, Quals, your defense and the moving of mountains
In the penultimate post of this mini-series, I discuss your doctoral committee, prelims, quals, IRB, and your defense. What they are and why getting these things to line up make it seem like a miracle anyone gets their PhD.
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 7: Let’s Talk About Your Dissertation: the thing that people just don’t want to do
Writing your dissertation may be the most challenging thing you have to do to get your PhD. This post explores what a dissertation actually is and how to ensure you get the thing done.
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 6: Teach
Here’s something I did right during my time obtaining my PhD in Math Education: teaching. The thing I appreciated most about the UW program was the opportunity to teach several classes in several different modalities. Because I live an hour away from UW I was able to teach on-campus sporadically as both a Temporary Lecturer…
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 5: Classes, Coursework, and You
It wasn’t until I was in my doctoral studies that I realized how much my day-to-day life was going to be changed by it. I’m starting to think I’m not great at looking ahead. My and my family’s routines and rituals that offer comfort and connection were temporarily scrambled.
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 4: Do you like to write? You better.
Part 4 of “How (not) to get your PhD”. You’ll be doing a lot of writing in your doctoral program. It would behoove you to like writing, or at least tolerate it.
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 3: What is a Math Education Doctoral Degree (and what it isn’t)
The information in this post is the biggest “I wish I’d known this…” of this entire blog series. I’m a bit reticent to follow up Part 1 with this post because I don’t want to overly focus on post-graduate job opportunities. Part 9 will also focus on post-graduate opportunities and my goal in Part 1…
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 2: The right program at the right time at the right cost (if there is one)
Part 3: The right program at the right time at the right cost (if there is one) It actually took me two attempts to obtain a PhD. Don’t be like me on your first attempt. Find the right program at the right time. Oh, and maybe look into how much graduate college costs these days.
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How (not) to get your PhD Part 1: Why (not) to get your PhD in Mathematics Education
The more inherent you can make your motivation for getting a PhD, the happier you’ll be. In May of 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, I was laid off from my job at a non-profit due to COVID related “budget concerns.” It is in that context – when the world was crumbling around…
emergent math 