POTUS 11, POTUS 29, and Dissertations
November 2nd marks the birthdays of both the 11th & the 29th Presidents of the United States. Here’s some words of wisdom from James K. Polk & Warren G. Harding that you can apply to your dissertation…
Every student has the ability to be a successful learner.
— Warren G. Harding
And, every doctoral student has the ability to complete their dissertation. That’s what “success” means at this level. Right?
For most students the dissertation is a hundred-and-fifty page paper, more or less.
Think about your regular course papers. I bet you’ve written several final course papers that were at least ten pages long. Right?
How long did it take you to write one of them? Five hours? Ten? Probably less, but less go with ten hours.
If we just scale up, the dissertation should be something like 15 course papers. So, that’s 150 hours.
Of course, you have more planning for bigger projects. And, each draft is reviewed rather than simply graded. When I was first learning to estimate the time required to complete projects early in my career, I was told to give my educated best guess and then multiply by 3! Even if we do that, the dissertation only comes in at about 450 hours.
In fact, we’ve found that estimate to be fairly accurate for our students. If you don’t commit to a research design that requires huge amounts of your time to collect data, you should be able to finish your dissertation within about 300 – 500 hours.
You just have to make sure that you have a solid plan and that you know how to execute that plan efficiently. Easier said than done, I know, but that’s what I’m here for!
I am heartily rejoiced that my term is so near its close. I will soon cease to be a servant and will become a sovereign.
— James K. Polk
Polk was obviously referring to his presidency. He looked forward to the day when he was no longer indentured to his office and could once again be master of his own days.
Your term, too, should soon come to a close. I can’t give you a date to look forward to, like Polk had. But, you do have a goal to work toward. Not just finishing your dissertation, but starting life as a doctor!
What will you do? Who will you be able to help? What impact will you be able to make?
Keep these goals firmly in the front of your mind so that you always have the strength to persist when the journey get difficult. With a goal to keep your feet moving and a guide to keep your feet pointed in the right direction, you will certainly graduate!
