Welcome to new students!

A huge welcome to the new students joining the Communication PhD program at Daystar University!

As you have probably been told, Daystar is unique because of its liberal arts tradition and its vision of servant leadership. We therefore expect our students to tailor their studies to influence church and society. For this reason, our discussion this coming week will be on the question: do I need to do the PhD?

There is one thing you need to do by Thursday next week: get registered on this blog because you will be expected to post comments every week.

There is one thing that is highly recommended: reading discussions and thoughts of previous doctoral students which are posted here.

See you tonight.

Wandia

Should I be a PhD student?

In our first class, we'll talk about whether the PhD is really what we need to be doing with our lives, and if so, what we should make it do for us.

We will also talk about what you need to do as a PhD student, and the rite of passage that culminates in being given the powers to read.

One of the points I emphasize is that PhD is not a status or an ego trip - it is a responsibility. There are many pressing problems in this great continent of ours, and holding the title means that we are distinguishing ourselves as people who can clarify issues. How does that relate to our reading for the week, Marian's The Unwritten rules of PhD research (2010)?