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Academic English & Research vocabulary · Graduate Study and Supervision

PhD

Meaning in academic english & research, with examples

/ˌpiː eɪtʃ ˈdiː/abbreviationCore term

In academic english & research, PhD means: Doctor of Philosophy: the highest university research degree, awarded after several years of original research and a thesis.

In Turkish: doktora, doktora derecesi

How it is used

Awarded in almost every field, not only philosophy. People do, start or complete a PhD and are PhD students or PhD candidates. British English usually writes PhD; American English also uses Ph.D.

Example sentences

  1. She is doing a PhD in molecular biology at a university in Ankara.

  2. After finishing his PhD, he applied for postdoctoral positions abroad.

Common collocations

  • do a PhD
  • PhD student
  • PhD candidate
  • PhD thesis
  • PhD program
  • thesisA long piece of original research written for a university degree; also the main idea or position that an essay or article argues for.
  • supervisorAn academic who guides a student's thesis or research project, giving feedback on plans, drafts and progress.
  • postgraduateRelating to study after a first university degree, such as a master's or PhD; as a noun, a student at this level.
  • thesis defenseAn oral examination in which a candidate presents a thesis and answers questions from a committee of examiners, who then decide the result.
  • dissertationA long, formal piece of research writing completed for a degree; in the US usually a doctoral thesis, in the UK often a final project for a bachelor's or master's.

More terms: Graduate Study and Supervision

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