Preparing your PhD Proposal Nancy M. Amato
What is a PhD Proposal really? A brainstorming and planning process A succinct writeup of your proposed research goals, strategies, jus=fica=on, contribu=ons A good =me to get feedback and direc=on from experts Some=mes a stressful period of graduate school
Why write a PhD Proposal? An important, required step towards gradua=on! Focus your research direc=on Wri=ng can clarify your thoughts Establish contact with commifee Obtain feedback from commifee Side effect: Proposal wri=ng experience
The Proposal Process in 1 slide Select your commifee with your advisor Get them on board Get defense date Write proposal itera=ng with advisor: the proposal will be a contract with your commifee Give proposal to commifee Prepare presenta=on of proposal Prac=ce several =mes Get the =ming down Prepare for hard ques=ons reread proposal as commifee member Present and defend proposal Reviseproposal based on feedback & formally submit Celebrate this big milestone! Thank commifee, meet with advisor (and commifee members) to discuss ques=ons and direc=ons Move forward on research!!
How long should a proposal be? Check your department & UniversiF rules Texas A&M: at most 10 pages Some do 2 versions, one for commifee and one for university Columbia: 30pp no more Others may be shorter
What is the role of the CommiFee? Throughout the process Guidance and understanding of what to expect Feedback Eventually, reference lefers At the proposal Make sure you know what you re talking about Make sure you know the previous literature Make sure you know the tough issues and have some answers Make sure your plan is reasonable
Selec=ng the PhD CommiFee Know your department & University rules Ideally PhD advisor(s) Faculty in the topic area to provide useful direc=on Faculty outside topic to provide high level feedback External member someone in research area who could write a ref lefer
Proposal Presenta=on Tips AFend others proposal defenses in your area Thank commifee, introduce yourself and background Prac=ce presenta=on many =mes Be polite during interrup=ons with ques=ons Have someone take notes of ques=ons Be open to sugges=ons Prepare for ques=ons Don t be afraid to have no answer for a ques=on. Ask for direc=on/help on those ques=ons. Be confident. Don t look to advisor for answers.
Challenges, Frustra=ons, Misconcep=ons The proposal is just a hurdle. I can just propose ideas off the top of my head now and then figure out what I really want to do later. the lazy path How can I propose something when I don t know the details yet? the unknown path I don t know how to organize the different parts of the research on the page. writer s block I m not ready yet. I might as well solve the problems and then present them. postpone, postpone, postpone.
What does a good Proposal Accomplish? The proposal should clearly answer: What is the problem you are studying? Why is it important? What results have you achieved so far and why to they mafer? How is this substan=ally different from prior work? How will you systema=cally evaluate your work? What do you need to do to complete your work? What is your =meline?
When is the best =me to write/ present a Proposal? When you ve completed the rest of your requirements When you have a clear idea of the problem you want to solve When you have some preliminary work done to demonstrate promise of your approach When you have some no=on of the major subproblems to be solved When your advisor recommends
What to do before I start wri=ng? Think about what YOU want to accomplish Write a succinct thesis statement/ hypothesis Discuss your ideas with others Present parts of the research at seminars, workshops, PhD workshops, conferences Think about 3-4 major contribu=ons/ papers Formulate these contribu=ons in wri=ng
How do I get started wri=ng? Look at examples in your department, with same advisor, in your area Breadth of project proposed Separa=on into subprojects Wri=ng style: problem statement, hypothesis Organiza=on Overall outline and flow Within each proposed project sec=on How they mo=vated their topic and foreseen contribu=ons
Think about the Audience Your CommiFee Not necessarily all in your general topic area Not familiar with your specific problem Not aware of your prior work Not aware of your skills, infrastructure Implica=ons Background: terminology, problem, State of the art related to your problem Convincing mo=va=on for importance Demonstra=on of feasibility/promise of success Is a star=ng point for your disserta=on/thesis
How to organize a proposal? Introduc=on Problem statement and importance Background and State of the Art Proposed Research Subsec=ons on each research contribu=on Evalua=on Plans Research Plan Summary of your Contribu=ons and Timeline
The Introduc=on General, high level problem for people outside area to appreciate Quick overview of what state of the art does not address Thesis statement specific open problem and proposed strategy Brief overview of key insights and why your approach is promising List of your likely contribu=ons
Proposed Research Overview of project maybe a figure Specific project in steps For each Problem Strategy Details known now Plans for remaining challenges Evalua=on plan
Evalua=on Plans Experiment Design: Ques=ons you will ask to judge success of your approach Independent variables what is being varied/compared Eg, your technique versus other techniques Dependent variables and measures what is being measured Effec=veness precision and recall, f measure Cost efficiency Human subjects? Methodology What ac=ons are you going to perform to conduct the experiment?
Research Plan What steps do you plan to take next? What will you save for post- thesis work? Why?
Conclusion Summary of contribu=ons to the state of the art intellectual merit Repe==on of broader impact on society
Sample Ques=ons at Proposal Defence Topic too large? too small? doable in the =meframe? Focused? What problems haven t you foreseen? What happens if your planned experiments fail (backup plans)? Evalua=on (plan, sta=s=cs, ( validity Related work missing? Prac=cality/scalability Vision of where this can go Certain people have go- to ques=ons Watch your commifee members on other proposal defenses Especially if your thesis touches on work they have done or know a lot about Ask your advisor