Graduation Thoughts

Today I am in Orlando, attending faculty meetings. Tomorrow is graduation. What realizations have you gained since starting your dissertation? Here are few things graduates report.

"Writing a dissertation is harder than I thought it would be." This is a common realization that students have- they went into the process, having written many papers before; however, writing a dissertation is very different. It takes longer to research the literature, write, conduct the study, and revise than most people assume it will take. There are also many approvals you will have to get along the way; each person will want more changes.

"I was surprised that I actually enjoy the process." I hope students discover this one. Writing the dissertation is an intellectual challenge, it will force you to grow, to stretch, and to develop as a professional. Most researchers have a deep intellectual curiosity that research satisfies. It allows you to ask interesting questions and to find out the answers. Enjoy the process!

"It is a much more lonely process than I anticipated." For online doctoral students, this is a very real aspect. You need to develop a way to counter this. Get a support group, find a dissertation buddy, you need someone to talk to that is also going through the process.

"My family is supportive, but they just don't get the work involved." People who have not gone through it do not really understand how difficult the process is. It may help to share with them the day-to-day highs and lows, and incorporate them into the process. Help them to understand both the pressure and your drive and motivation to succeed. Also, get a support group!

"My defense was much more collaborative that I thought it would be." I often hear this comment. Students expect that a "defense" will be confrontational, but it rarely is. It tends to be colleagues working together to come up with the best possible project.

"I was surprised that I ended up really sick of my topic." Unfortunately, this is common. Many people become quite burnt out on the dissertation topic and do not want to do anything further on it.

"Writing a dissertation changed me." Often, I hear this at graduation. Going through the dissertation process makes you a better writer, able to cope with constructive feedback, become more compulsive in your research, and provides a deeper appreciation of your topic and participants. At Walden, we often talk about social change, but also realize that you will also be changed by going through the process.

Next time, we will take the final steps in the dissertation process and examine the approvals needed and the final defense. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu