50 Best Blogs for Ph.D Students
Whether the most rewarding or alienating of times, whether your job prospects are good or grim, you’re one of the best and brightest, and you’re being given years to research what you find most fascinating. Here are the best blogs for your unique struggles, needs, triumphs and entertainment. Here’s to you, Ph.D candidates.
General
- Gradhacker: this Inside Higher Ed blog focuses on general trials, tribulations, tips, tricks, and thoughts on the process of seeking your Ph.D.
- Ph.D. Life: while this blog is British, there are still tons of tips, tricks, insights, and some humor regarding the process of being a Ph.D student.
- Ph.D works: this blog focuses on everything you need to know for writing dissertations and theses. From effective research, to writing tips, to submitting papers for publication, this blog covers it all.
- Ph.D 2 Published: similarly to Ph.D works, this blog focuses on academic writing for theses and dissertations, but focuses more on academic publishing, particularly for the first timers.
- Get a Life Ph.D: this blog focuses on general productivity and life tips for writing your thesis. It also focuses on how you can have a family, and perhaps (gasp!) a life while a Ph.D student.
- The Thesis Whisperer: thoughts on the Ph.D process, writing a dissertation, humor, and general life hacks for Ph.D candidates, edited by director of research at ANU, Dr. Inger Mewburn.
- The Dutch Ph.D Coach: this blog, from the Netherlands, offers both life, writing, teaching, and general well-being tidbits for Ph.D candidates and students.
- Schoology: this blog offers general thoughts on heading to graduate shool, obtaining a Ph.D, and most particularly, how technology and educational media plays a roll in the process.
- Grad Resources: this blog focuses on a number of areas of support and advice for all 2.5 million graduate students in America. General topics include time management, balance, finances, productivity, your community, dissertations, and relationships.
- The Grad Cafe: this forum offers a vibrant community sharing insights and camaraderia for those in graduate school. Sign in to view and share content on a variety of topics.
- My Graduate School: this blog is written for anyone in the process of preparing for or trying to gain acceptance into a graduate school. The blog is told by Dave G. Mumby Ph.D, a professor at a major university in Montreal.
- Terminal Degree: this honest and oftentimes humorous blog centers around the quest for tenure in the south, also includes a look into life dealing with students, and advice.
- the Graduable: this blog is provided by a Victorianist who blogs about navigating academia, practical advice for being in grad school, education in general, and personal musings.
- The Stingy Scholar: as you might have guessed, this blog focuses on the intersection of saving money and academia. Particular discussions focus on obtaining texts cheaply, politics that affect the cost of education, and online education opportunities.
- Iterating towards openness: this blog focuses on the goal of educational openness, and emphasizes “pragmatism over zeal.” Posts include personal stories from school as well as larger policy thoughts.
Humor
- Ph.D Comics: this site offers humor in the form of comics on being a Ph.D student. Other entertaining aspects of the site include the Ph.D movie as well as a merchandise store.
- the Grad Student Way: this blog is maintained by Dr. Ryan Weaver, a Ph.D graduate in cellular and molecular pathology. The blog is filled by humor about the ups and downs of graduate school, as provided by a number of sources.
Productivity
- Academic Life: this blog focuses on productivity tips for aspiring and established academics, including reading suggestions, and a free e-book titled 4 Common Mistakes Every PhD Student Should Avoid.
- To Do: Dissertation: this blog offers advice, support, and general thoughts about making it through the process of writing a dissertation.
- Phinished: this forum is an attempt to keep members accountable and making progress as they write dissertations, theses, chapters, or books. There are also sections focusing on advice for navigating academic after you have obtained your degree.
- Pro Quest: this platform allows for graduate students to communicate about finishing their dissertations, as well as to upload their work to be cross referenced and commented on by other grad students.
Teaching
- Faculty Focus: this blog, put on by Magna Publications, is offered in the hope that it will help promote quality higher education teaching strategies from graduate students as well as full professors.
- Constructing the Academy: this blog focuses on those in the early stages of working in the humanities, with tips on how to balance research and teaching, productivity, and what you might not have learned in graduate school.
Humanities
- Practical Ethics: this blog presents up-to-date analysis of the ethics of technology, science, environmental policy, public health, and information ethics. The blog is maintained by researchers at the University of Oxford.
- Girl Scholar: this blog follows a tenured “Associate Professor of Medieval Stuff” as she talks about moving up in the academic world, tips for academics, and just general thoughts on life.
- Academic Cog: this blog follows the journey of a Ph.D level literature student, with humorous anecdotes, thoughts on grad school in general, and tips on higher education.
- Epistemic Value: this blog focuses on epistemology, the philosophical branch focused on theory of knowledge, with employment information, up-to-date news from the field, and general grad school thoughts.
- The lyf so short the craft so long to lerne: this blog follows the life of Melissa Ridley Elmes, doctoral candidate at UNC in English and women’s studies. The blog covers a variety of angles about teaching including Melissa’s teaching philosophy, as well as thoughts on the grad school process.
Natural Sciences
- Benchfly: this platform enables science marketers, researchers, and teachers to collaborate through educational videos. The site has tons of food for thought, quick ways to refamiliarize yourself with scientific concepts and experiments, and great videos to share with students.
- Occam’s Typewriter: this blog is a network of scientists who like to blog about the latest science developments, humorous anecdotes, the state of academic science today, and teaching tips.
- Happy Science: this blog has entertaining science tidbits, musings on being a Ph.D student, science writing tips, and academic productivity in general.
- Swans on Tea: this blog focuses on a mixture of physics, technology and humor, with a focus on what it’s like to be a scientist.
- Looking at Nothing: this blog gives up to date data on recent chemistry research and breaks down basic concepts to graduate level work for the layman.
Social Sciences
- The Monkey Cage: this blog was named the Week’s top blog of the year in 2010, and seeks to publicize political science research, provide commentary, and provide some non-academic distractions.
- PhDiva: this blog focuses on items reported lost by the government, and re-locating them through research. The blog is maintained by a published Archeologist named Dorothy King.
- Grad Psych Blog: this blog is presented by the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, and offers general graduate studies and dissertation advice that is tailored–in particular–to graduate level study of psychology.
- Grad School Guru: this blog, presented by Psychology Today, offers tips on preparation and gaining acceptance to graduate schools in psychology.
- Chaos and Noise: this blog is by a PhD student exploring Australian small business owners’ use of social media to promote their businesses online. Research, trade talk, and the life of a Ph.D student are all tackled on this blog.
- Ph.D Blog (dot) Net: this blog focuses on a PhD candidate at the University of Nottingham who is in the process of examining how doctoral practice and identity development are facilitated by social and participatory media.
- Cognitive Daily: this blog focuses on developments and neat tidbits in neuroscience. Whether Ph.D students wish to look inside how other students learn, or they personally learn, neuroscience and education are the focal points of this blog.
Math
- Math Ed: this blog focuses on the intersection of research, policy, and practice, with a special emphasis on mathematical teaching.
- Reidar Mosvold’s Blog: this blog is by a professor at the University of Stavanger, and pulls you into the world of mathematics research and teaching.
- PhD Plus: this American Mathematical Society blog is provided by an early career mathematician as she experiences the challenges of being an early career academic at Bates College.
Computer Science
- Communications of the ACM: this blog centers around the leading publisher for computing and information technology fields both in print and online.
- Matt Might: this blog focuses on both computer science specific posts, as well as general productivity, study, and thesis defense tips.
- Vivek Haldar: the blog of a back end programmer at Google who received his Ph.D in computer science some years ago, the blog features trends within the Ph.d in computer science industry, thoughts on industry developments, and some academic thoughts as well.
Employment
- The Professor is In: this blog is presented by a one time department head, and tenured professor at a R1 institution. She has since left academia, yet offers advice to those not sure if it is the right path, or having trouble. The Ph.D debt survey is particularly valuable.
- Leiter Reports: this blog is centered on philosophy grad school, and is one of the best locations for finding out detailed employment and placement data post grad school.
- How to leave Academia: this blog focuses on providing peer to peer support for students looking for a post-academic future.
- Alternative Ph.D: this blog centers around alternative (non-academic) career paths for graduate students. A particularly valuable list of other blogs covering those who have forged their own paths after academia is a centerpiece of the blog.