What is the minimum time duration to complete one's PhD after graduation?

Question

What is the minimum time duration to complete one's PhD after graduation?

Answer 1

Agree with the previous comments, but it also seems to depend on which country you're studying. I graduated with a BA in the UK and have just finished an MA in Poland which took 2 years. I was recommended for a 'fast track' PhD (also in Poland) which is a minimum of 2 years. I think it also depends on the discipline, some subjects require a different type of research or simply longer to do it (eg conducting experiments). You'd need to ask around at different institutions, or try a central source of information - again this depends on the country you're intending to study in. Maybe you could do it quicker if it's a DPhil, as this requires less quantitive research?

Answer 2

I've heard of a few very people getting a Ph.D. in 2 1/2 years. . . but they also had a master's degree first.  The norm in my field is 4-5 if you already have a master's (usually 1 1/2-3 years) and 5-7 without one.  If things perpetually keep going wrong or you have some other issues to deal with, that 4-5 I mentioned if you already have a master's can definitely be 8-10. . . I've known a few people over the years that's happened to.  No, it had nothing to do with their work ethic in any case -- it was a Murphy's Law situation.

If you're talking about going straight from a bachelor's to a Ph.D., you have to factor in that you have a bunch of graduate-level classes you'll need to take -- it's probably going to be at least 60-70 hours if it's like anywhere I've been.  Full-time is generally 9 hours in grad school, and I've never really seen anyone take more than 12 hours -- 9, really, is often plenty of work given than you're probably also trying to do some research and might well have some teaching duties as well to manage.  You're probably doing the same research project the entire time that way as opposed to someone doing both a master's and a Ph.D. project, but the course requirements are still the same. . . you can bring in courses from a master's for a Ph.D., usually, so all isn't quite lost if you go that route.

Answer 3

I assume when you say "after graduation" you mean your undergraduate bachelors.

It really depends on the program. I was just looking into this too (because I'm thinking of applying to graduate programs) and most programs say it takes most candidates between 5 - 7 years. However, if the research is complicated or an unexpected pitfall comes your way, it'll take longer. From what I've heard, some people work 10+ years towards a PhD.

Hope that helps =D