In the beginning.....

Hi Everyone!

I decided to start blogging about the experiences and meanings of being a PhD student/candidate. First, if you are a PhD student that means that you have not completed your required classes and have not yet completed your preliminary exams. Preliminary exams are a series of test that evaluate if you are ready to conduct independent research - research without the help of your advisor. What is great about the preliminary exams is that you pick the people who give you the exams. I have selected a group of five people who are experts in their fields. I have chosen a social psychologists (who is also my advisor or major professor - Dr. Burns), a functional apparel design professor - Dr. Mullet, a sport and exercise psychologists - Dr. Ebbeck (who is my minor professor), Dr. Bee an expert in consumer behavior and Dr. Roper the VP of Student Affairs at OSU. I picked these people because I knew they would challenge me and support me throughout the journey. Long story short, I am a candidate not a student - but that is simply logistics and not the essence of the post.

I am in the last phase of my degree, meaning that I have finished my coursework (about 112 hours of in class meetings), completed my preliminary exams, proposed my research project and am waiting on IRB approval. (IRB - Internal Review Board - every higher educational institution that conducts research has one of these and it is theory job to make sure that the professors are conduction safe and ethical studies.) I have 7 more months left and I decided this would be a great way for me to share the process, trials, tribulations and successes with those who are interested.

OK,  great. But still, what does it mean to be getting a PhD?

Well, to me it means several things. It means broadening and challenging my scope of thinking. It means challenging social norms. It means questioning why we (humans) do the things we do. It also means educating. It means 9 years of college. It means a lot of debt. It means a passion for analytical thought processes. It means I challenge the norms of our society. It mostly means that I want to become more intellectually engaged with and more critically sophisticated in the study of human behavior.

What does it mean to you?