About once a month for the last several years, I receive a message or email from someone asking me about my experience as a part-time distance PhD student at the University of Aberdeen. I started my program in 2014, and I recently passed my viva (dissertation defense) in September. Now that I'm finished with my program, I have given some thought to what kind of advice or insight I would give to someone who is either considering the option of becoming a distance PhD student or starting the distance PhD program. The distance PhD program is fairly new, but it is becoming more common among European schools. In the United States, if you are accepted into a PhD program, usually the program comes with a stipend, and you are required to take courses and physically be on-campus for a certain period of time. The distance PhD programs in Europe offer greater flexibility since there are no required courses in the European PhD model, and the entire degree is the written dissertation (which can be written anywhere, hypothetically speaking).
My distance PhD program was a long journey, and one I'll never forget. I can't tell you how many times I almost quit my program. It was quite lonely and difficult. I became bored with my research and with my own questions. I didn't see the point in doing theology at times when the world was falling apart all around me. Depression and anxiety hit hard at many points. My health declined at many points. And it is a struggle to stay motivated when you are by yourself in a distance program and the only thing getting you up and moving every day is your own sheer discipline, motivation, and will power. I made the joke once that writing a dissertation is 1% intelligence, 3% writing skills, and 96% resilience, perseverance, and a high capacity for suffering. I'm convinced of this now more than ever, especially for a distance PhD program.
In the end, even though the program was difficult and it involved a tremendous amount of struggle in so many ways, I am glad I never gave up. I needed to finish my dissertation for myself. I had questions I wanted to keep asking and researching. And there is something to be said about completing what you start (though there are definitely legitimate reasons to not complete what you start, don't get me wrong!). For me, I needed to complete my program, and it was a good decision. I also had an incredible PhD advisor, and amazing friends and colleagues who encouraged me every single day. They made the whole experience worth it in the end.
With all that said, here are some of the best insights I can offer as you consider or begin a distance PhD program in the United Kingdom or beyond. Please keep in mind that these insights are based on the assumption that you will not be living on-campus but will be studying from a distance:
Finances:
- Most PhD programs in the UK will charge tuition for students from the US. And it is difficult to find substantial scholarships to cover the cost of tuition. You may find modest scholarships here or there (for $500-$1000), but this will not cover the cost of your tuition. You need to consider what the cost of tuition will be for you and how to pay for it.
- With that said, the part-time tuition fees at the University of Aberdeen are 50% of the full-time tuition rate. For that reason, I recommend that anyone considering a distance PhD program at Aberdeen seriously consider becoming a part-time student. You will pay less for tuition, and it will give you more time to complete your degree. If you finish sooner, great. That means you've paid less tuition all around.
- The part-time PhD program will also give you the time and space to work, assuming you need to provide for yourself or your loved ones during the course of your program. I think it is beneficial for a theology student to work while they complete their PhD program. Emerging yourself within the world in all its complexities, struggles, and joys will make you a better theologian. It will also aid your writing.
- I was fortunate enough to have tuition reimbursement available through my employer. It did not cover all of my tuition, but it helped a great deal. I also received generous donations from my church's educational fund. I also researched tons of grants and scholarships. Aberdeen always has a running list, although some are only available for Scottish nationals, and most are not substantial. But everything adds up. Here's a list for where to start looking:
- Aberdeen Divinity: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/courses/divinity-and-theology-scholarships-1987.php
- Scholarships.com: https://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-major/religion-theology-scholarships/
- Boston University Resource page: https://www.bu.edu/sth/academics/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships-fellowships/outside-awards-scholarships/
- Best Colleges List: https://www.bestcolleges.com/financial-aid/theology-and-religion-scholarships/
Supervision:
- You will want to do research to find a potential supervisor who might be a good fit for your research interests and questions. Once you find a scholar who fits that profile, send them an email introducing yourself and asking if they might be interested in your project.
- Ask other students about their experiences with the scholar you've chosen as a potential advisor. Are they good at responding to email? Do they give timely and helpful feedback? Do they think both with and beyond you? Are they kind and encouraging? These details matter. Your supervisor will make or break your experience in a European distance PhD program.
- If you are accepted into the PhD program, communicate regularly with your supervisor and determine a schedule for meetings, especially for the first year of your studies. Every supervisor will have a different style, but you should determine very early on what their expectations are and what your needs are.
Writing and Research:
- Everyone told me to do this, and I didn't do it, but it's the best advice: write every day. The reason that this is good advice is not because what you write every day will be helpful or valuable. But if you write every day about your topic, it means your mind will be engaged in the subject matter. I can not overemphasize how valuable and important it is to stay in your material. I had weeks of time when I did not look at my writing or research. And when I returned to it, I would spend days getting back into it. It's much easier to keep something in motion than to get something moving.
- Find spaces that help you focus and study. My home office was the best writing spot for my 5 AM wake up writing sessions. I had coffee shops (pre-Covid) that were my best writing venues in the late afternoons. Depending on my mood and my project, I knew which place would be the best for my particular writing session on any given day. It's important to know your writing and research rhythms and patterns.
- Get a focus app. We all know how difficult it can be to drown out distractions, whether that be our phone, the internet, work email, family obligations, etc. Find a good focus app and use it regularly. I used the Pomodoro method in the beginning of my program, which was very helpful to get me focused when I could not focus on certain days. It also structured my time. However, I realized at some point that 25 minutes was sometimes either too much time or more often not enough time for me when I was in a writing session. For this reason, I used the "Forest" focus app religiously towards the end of my program. You can set the timer for anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours. And the idea is that you can't touch your phone while the focus timer has been set on your phone. If you touch your phone during that time period, the tree you've planted will die. The cool thing is that after you've successfully "planted" so many trees, the app will actually plant real trees in other parts of the world for you. You can do these focus tree planting sessions with friends as well so you have more reason to not "kill your tree." The app is free and available on Apple and Android.
- Find a friend or colleague in your program or who is also a fellow PhD student as a writing partner. You can not get through your program alone especially as a distance PhD student who won't see your colleagues on a regular basis and will be studying/writing alone most of the time. I was in regular communication with several friends and colleagues about my writing on a daily basis, so it felt like I almost had a cohort of my own. This virtual community kept me going more times than I can remember.
- Read widely. Do not just read what you agree with or what you think is right or correct or who looks just like you do. Be curious and read as much as you can in your first year or two of your program. And immerse yourself in the news, watch movies and shows, travel. Be a student of the world and let it shape your questions, your ideas, and your false assumptions.
- Become friends with those in the theological world that are very different from you theologically. Their critiques and insights about your theology will be correct at many points and will make you a better theologian.
- Attend the annual distance PhD student retreats or the department retreats. Every year, I would try to travel to Aberdeen to attend the retreat for the systematic theology department, either in March or towards the end of the term in May. These retreats were helpful, because it would give me a chance to present something about my research, no matter how minor, and it would give me the time and space to think about my research and meet face to face with my advisor. It also was encouraging to be on-campus, and actually feel like a legit student. At times, these visits would give me the motivation and boost I needed to write for a few months. They are more than worth the investment if you can afford it. I think that the University of Aberdeen is now offering these kinds of distance PhD annual meetings in the United States for the US distance students, so that is also something to consider attending.
- Present your research anywhere at least once a year. This will force you to write something and get parts of your chapters completed. In my last year of study, I presented my work in a systematic theology course for my department, and it single-handedly helped me finish the second half of my last chapter. I also received invaluable questions, feedback, and insights from my colleagues.
- Communicate clearly and honestly with your advisor as much as possible. Do not ghost your advisor. In the last few months of my program, I knew I needed major help getting to the finish line. It was my seventh year of study. I was exhausted and the pandemic only made things worse. I wrote my advisor and told him that without his help, I would not get to the finish line. I did not expect him to finish my dissertation for me, but I asked him if we could come up with a solid plan for how I could finish within a certain time frame. We made an arrangement that every Friday, I would check in with him, no matter what I accomplished, to tell him what I did that week. And every two weeks, we discussed via Zoom what I had written. It was intense, but it was exactly what I needed to complete my program. What I wanted to do when I was so overwhelmed with the last few months of my writing was to avoid my advisor and wallow in guilt and shame. But I knew that I wanted to finish more than anything, so I was very direct and reached out for help. This is where having an incredible supervisor like I did will be beneficial!
- When all else fails, make a to-do list. At certain points, I could not write. I had no idea where I was going next and I didn't know what to do. I have so many notebooks with to-do lists, and I would list 5-10 things I needed to work on for a particular section. Before I would end a writing session, I would make a to-do list for the next day so that I had something to get me started. For instance, my list on any given day might look something like this:
- Re-read chapter 5 in Käsemann's Romans commentary
- Fix footnote 7
- Reword first paragraph of page 19 (shorten by half)
- Figure out what is at stake in Käsemann's critique of Barth's exegesis of Romans 5:13
This would get me working, build my confidence that I've gotten something done, and inevitably get me moving towards the goal of writing more substantial material for any given chapter of my dissertation. - You don't need any fancy programs. I never once used Zotero (but if that's helpful for you, awesome!). I typed every footnote myself. I used Scrivener for my reading notes the first two years, but after that, the easiest thing for me was just to write in Word. I also used plain old notebooks. I would write out my thoughts on real paper. You have to find out what works for you and don't feel bad if that might not include all the newest or best technology.
- Back up your writing in two places! I got a bit paranoid about this, but I think two backups are sufficient. I used DropBox and an external hard drive. Sometimes I would even email a draft of a chapter to myself just to be safe. You can also upload copies to iCloud. Just make sure to have one copy in a drive somewhere that isn't connected to your computer (Google Drive, iCloud, DropBox, etc.), and then a copy on a hard drive or a thumb drive. And make sure you save your document every couple hours. The worst moments of my writing were when I lost documents because I never saved them before I started writing.
General Advice:
- Expect delays. I think what some might forget is that real life happens between when you start your PhD program and when you finish your program. I had multiple surgeries, deaths in my family, the pandemic happened, I had to move a few times, etc. It's not easy, and you should expect that life will happen and you need to be flexible. You can take suspensions if necessary through the University of Aberdeen. Do not be ashamed to use them if you truly need them, but talk with your supervisor first about what might be the best way forward.
- Figure out your library access possibilities. My job afforded me access to one of the largest theological libraries in the world. Without access to the library where I work, I don't know how I would have completed my dissertation. This factor is often overlooked when students consider the distance program. Since you won't have regular access to the library at the school where you are studying, you have to ask the following questions: How will you get the research materials you need? Do you have funds to purchase books if you can't get them through a local library? Can you sign up for library access at a local seminary or theological school even for a fee? These are critical questions to ask before beginning your program.
- You can read all the books, all the blogposts, and all the how-to manuals for finishing a dissertation, but at the end of the day, you have to sit in a chair and write. There's no magic sauce, it's just one step after another after another after another. It's about showing up every day and doing the work you need to do. It's a bunch of steps towards a goal that eventually add up to mean something.
- Exercise (it whatever way you are physically capable). I can't tell you how much riding my bike helped me with my writing. It cleared my mind and gave me renewed focus countless times over the years. It also helped with my anxiety and stress related to my dissertation. And go for walks outside as much as you can (or just get outside for a bit every day). Walking helps for processing ideas and ruminating on your reading and writing.
- Rest. I know I said above that you should stay in your material every day. And you can find creative ways to do that without working intensely every single day. Do not overextend yourself or work yourself into the ground. Academia is not worth it, and both your health and your writing will suffer for it. Take the weekends to recharge, be with your friends and loved ones (if you can get off work), and forget about theology for a little while.
I hope this helps! If you want to chat more, find me on Twitter at @kaitdugan
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