Get a PhD

Two days of writing at the end of November- 6 hours each day, 9 essay questions per day. Then two weeks later (after my committee had time to process my answers) I was grilled by them about all the minutia of my answers.
Least expected question: “Tell me more about Janos Starker. What is he known for, in terms of repertoire and technique?” Sheesh.
But I passed. That’s all that really matters in the end, I guess. So now, it’s time to start to work, in ernest on my dissertation. I’ve got a topic, and have begun the literature review. Lets see how much I can get done in 2010.

I know I should be studying instead of writing this. I know I should be studying instead of watching TV. I know I should be studying instead of eating, sleeping or breathing.
But I just don’t feel like it.
I need some motivation juice…

I’ve finally finished with my coursework at Penn State. Hooray! I took my last class the other day, had the last class meeting. (I still have to take the final exam, but that hardly counts.)
I’ve gotten this far. Now there are the comprehensive exams, and, of course the dissertation, but being through with coursework feels REALLY REALLY good.
It finally feels like I’m getting close to the end of this long journey.

Presented my latest research at a conference in Minneapolis, and received some really nice feedback. It was my first visit to Minnesota. Nice city, but I didn’t see much of it.
I was there for the CIC conference of Big-10 music schools; music education faculty and grad students. I don’t know that the other “athletic conferences” get together within departments. If they don’t, they should. Year after year, you get to see the same professors, getting new and different viewpoints, making contacts and developing friendships with them, and the doc students who will eventually be your colleagues. It’s a great system.

I’ve spent the last week making sure that everything is on track. I’ve talked with my advisor to make sure that all the courses I need are being offered this year (my last year doing coursework) I’ve arranged funding for next year, when I’m working on the dissertation, I’ve done the preliminary work on getting together a committee and I’ve cleared a preliminary topic. I’m working on 2 major projects (one needs to be published for me to be able to graduate, so I’m crossing my fingers) and to top it all off, I’m hustling to do all of my classes, and to do well in all of them.
No promises, ever in this game, but things are looking good at the moment.

I’m back at school again- I’m now one of the most senior of Ph.D. students in the department, and am working through my last year of course work. No time to celebrate. Too much work to do.
Here we go again with another year of classes, but this is the last one. How about that?

Gotta take a break now and again. Just got back from a lovely trip to Canada. Spent time with family, relaxing on the lake. Eating burgers at the golf club. If you, like me, are working on a PhD, I heartily recommend taking a break now and again. I’m now back to looking forward to the coming school year.

One more summer class down- just turned in the final paper and took the final exam for The Sociology of Education. I feel good about it. Turned in the paperwork for my latest big project. I’ll get started on that soon too, but first, I’m taking a vacation.
2 years down in the degree. 2 to go. (I hope)

Just finished the last class, turned in the last paper, and gave the last presentation of the semester.
I’m now done with my second full year (though I’m taking Summer School classes too, but that’s not so hard- no teaching; just going to classes).
If I figure that I’ll be done with coursework next year at this time, and will take comprehensives at the end of next Summer, so that in 2 more years, I’ll be done. More or less…
I hope I can complete the dissertation in the year after coursework is finished. I realize that it’s technically possible, but not necessarily probable.
But, for right now, I’m going to bask in the glow of being halfway there. I’d like to think that it’s like a mountain, where I’ve climbed up one side, and now I just have to get back down to the bottom. Actually, though, I think it’s more like a mountain that just keeps getting steeper as you go, but that the view from the top will make it worth the effort.

I’ve been to two major national conferences in the past couple of weeks, and am attending a state conference this upcoming week. I wish I could say it’s all been wonderful and successful, and, in general, the conferences themselves have been. (American String Teachers Association conference in Albuquerque NM and MENC national conference in Milwaukee, WI). The trouble really has been the travel to and fro. I’ve been laid over in strange cities on both trips, and the airlines have also managed to lose my luggage on both return trips. However, I’ve met some of the biggest names in the industry at these events, and the networking makes it all seem worth it. When I get home 24 hours after departing, knowing that I could have driven the distance in half the time, I briefly doubt that though.