One of my final “exams”

Advancement

At some point in the first few years of graduate school an individual makes the transition from a “PhD student” to a “PhD candidate.” It may not sound like much of a change, but to some the distinction is important¹. Personally, I do not necessarily put much weight on the distinction itself but do stress all of the work that goes into achieving that distinction. Advancement to candidacy indicates that an individual has completed all of the academic requirements for their degree, except their thesis defense itself.

Facing the unknown

One of the components of the candidacy exam for the Chemistry Department at the University of Oregon is an independent proposal. In this proposal I must come up with an original, and significant, research proposal on a topic that is not directly related to my own ongoing research. Not only do I have to try and sort through journal articles about things I feel I know next to nothing about, but then I also have to try and pull out some idea from all of that. An idea that a good number of other PhDs haven’t thought of yet or haven’t yet attempted. I cannot simply pick anything though; I have to justify the proposal and defend it. What impact will it have? How feasible is it to execute? How much thought and consideration have I put into the proposal (does it make sense given fundamental principles of physics and chemistry)? Did I effectively demonstrate my knowledge of the material and also my ability to think on my feet?

This feels like a whole new challenge for me. It is like nothing I have done before and I do not feel confident about doing it well. There are so many unknowns and things that I do not know it is easy to quickly become overwhelmed and paralyzed by the scope of it.

Accepting the challenge

While I am still terrified about delivering my independent proposal (and my own research update along with it) I am ready to face that hill and not stop running up it until I get to the top. I set the date for my advancement exam so it feels more real now than it did before. It won’t be easy, it won’t always be fun, and it won’t be the only thing I have to work on but I’m ready to tackle this new obstacle and come out the other side better for it.

Asking questions and asking for help is not always my strong suit but I recognize that this is also something I need to work on if I am going to succeed in this endeavor. I will need to turn to colleagues, friends, and family for support. I want to thank Lindsey ahead of time since I will likely be more occupied than I already am. Her support is what holds me together and I would likely spin out of control if I was trying to undertake this while also trying to train and feed myself at the same time.

Wish me the best and I’ll let you know how it goes once I come up from underground.