Many students pursuing a PhD in the humanities in the U.S. often write reflective essays about their five-year journey. Some recount their struggles and moments of doubt, others share how they overcame challenges to achieve success, and some offer practical advice based on their experiences.

For those in philosophy, earning a doctorate involves extensive reading and writing. I haven't compared the doctoral requirements across various universities, but from my limited understanding, they are quite similar. In the first year, students typically participate in an intensive seminar designed for new students. This seminar covers foundational topics across various areas of philosophy, requiring students to give presentations and submit papers. The goals are multifaceted: to familiarize students with the basics, teach them professional philosophical writing, and help them connect with their peers. Beyond the seminar, students must fulfill coursework requirements in four main areas of philosophy: Logic, History of Philosophy (including both ancient and modern philosophy), Metaphysics & Epistemology (including philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, etc.), and Value Theory. As a result, the weekly reading load is around 200 pages. For those in the humanities, this may not sound overwhelming, but the material is far from light reading. For instance, instead of straightforward texts like Locke's essays, students might grapple with Spinoza's dense writings, where even understanding a single definition could take hours. Speed reading is no use here, as it sacrifices comprehension. Most of the time, thorough understanding is required to grasp why the author makes certain statements.

Speaking of reading, sometimes the articles we read are not written in English. In fact, if you study Ancient philosophy, there's a high chance your advisor will encourage you to take courses in Greek or Latin. While philosophy students don't need to take various Surveys that classics students do, we still face a significant workload—often reading close to 1,000 lines per week. Honestly, considering the increasing number of tools like ChatGPT, I don't believe these courses hold much significance anymore. Even without them, the previous language experience in Latin or Greek is enough to judge the accuracy of machine translations.

Typically, we need to meet these foundational requirements within the first two years, or face dismissal. Many students feel that these early courses are time-consuming and not directly useful for their future research. As one of my professors put it, much of the knowledge acquired in these foundational courses may never be used again, but it enables students to hold a five-minute conversation with any philosopher in any area of philosophy.

By the third year, we must choose an area to focus on and prepare for our area exams. This involves collaborating with a committee to create a reading list and writing a document that summarizes and discusses the key theories and arguments from the selected materials. Once the committee approves this document, we schedule our exam, which is typically conducted orally.

After passing the area exam, we can finally begin working on our dissertation. This process involves regular meetings with the advisor, who may take different approaches to supervision. Some advisors work closely with students, helping them brainstorm, draft, and revise their work, while others prefer a more hands-off approach, offering feedback only occasionally. Writing a dissertation is an arduous and often isolating process. Encountering roadblocks can be incredibly frustrating, sometimes leading to sleepless nights and stress. A supportive advisor can make a significant difference, not only by guiding the student academically but also by offering encouragement during difficult times. My advisor once reassured me by saying, "You're just writing a paper to meet graduation requirements. You're not here to produce a groundbreaking masterpiece; of course, it's great if you can." A typical dissertation is over 150 pages long. It's important because it often serves as the foundation for a student's first academic publications (it may be split into several papers when published). After submitting a draft, students schedule their defense, which is usually not as intimidating as it sounds. However, since the defense is open to the public, there's always a chance someone might ask an unexpected question. While the advisor can step in to help, students must still prepare thoroughly.

Another crucial aspect of earning a PhD is learning how to teach. Most universities consider teaching experience an integral part of the program. Students usually start as teaching assistants and gradually take on more responsibility, eventually designing and teaching their own courses. Early on, syllabi are provided by the department, but as students gain experience, they have more freedom to create their own course structures. Teaching ability becomes an important factor when entering the academic job market, as it demonstrates a candidate's readiness to handle the responsibilities of a faculty position.

Earning a PhD is a long and challenging journey, filled with moments of doubt, discovery, and growth. From mastering vast amounts of knowledge to writing a dissertation and learning to teach, the process shapes students into scholars ready to contribute to their field.