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332 lines
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Markdown
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[Source](http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/ "Permalink to The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.")
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# The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.
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# The illustrated guide to a Ph.D.
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[[article index][1]] [] [[@mattmight][2]] [[+mattmight][3]] [[rss][4]]
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Every fall, I explain to a fresh batch of Ph.D. students what a Ph.D. is.
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It's hard to describe it in words.
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So, I use pictures.
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Read below for the illustrated guide to a Ph.D.
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* * *
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**Update**: [Print version][5], [slides and translations][6], [CC licensing terms][7].
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**Update:** I wrote a follow-up to this 5 years later -- [HOWTO: Get tenure][8].
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Imagine a circle that contains all of human knowledge:
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![][9]
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By the time you finish elementary school, you know a little:
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![][10]
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By the time you finish high school, you know a bit more:
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![][11]
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With a bachelor's degree, you gain a specialty:
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![][12]
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A master's degree deepens that specialty:
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![][13]
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Reading research papers takes you to the edge of human knowledge:
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![][14]
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Once you're at the boundary, you focus:
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![][15]
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You push at the boundary for a few years:
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![][16]
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Until one day, the boundary gives way:
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![][17]
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And, that dent you've made is called a Ph.D.:
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![][18]
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Of course, the world looks different to you now:
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![][19]
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So, don't forget the bigger picture:
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![][20]
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Keep pushing.
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* * *
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There's a bit more below, but I also wrote a follow-up 5 years after the illustrated guide which may be of interest -- [HOWTO: Get tenure][8].
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## Related posts
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* [HOWTO: Get tenure][8].
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* [Recommended reading for grad students][21].
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* [What every CS major should know][22].
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* [How to get into grad school][23].
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* [Advice for thesis proposals][24].
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* [Productivity tips for academics][25].
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* [Academic job hunt advice][26].
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* [Successful Ph.D. students: Perseverance, tenacity and cogency][27].
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* [The CRAPL: An open source license for academics][28].
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* [The shape of your problem][29].
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If you like these posts, then I recommend the book [A PhD Is Not Enough][30]![][31]:
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![][32]![][31]
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## Get it in print; fund students; save lives
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By request, a print version of _The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D._ is on sale.
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[**Click here to preview or buy it.][33]**
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[ ![][34] ][33]
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<strike>Any and all proceeds will fund graduate students whose work may impact the discovery, diagnosis or treatment of genetic disorders.</strike>
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Any and all proceeds will fund graduate students (and postdocs) doing work in biology that may impact treatment of diseases of cellular metabolism.
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**Update**: If you're interested in [being that postdoc][35], get in touch with me!
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It is available at [$6.50][33] thanks to Hewlett-Packard's high-quality on-demand publishing service, MagCloud.
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It's sixteen pages, saddle-stitch bound and in full color.
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It's a good gift for new students, the recently defended and relatives thereof.
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**Why biology?**
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If you zoom in on the boundary of human knowledge in the direction of genetics, there's something just outside humanity's reach:
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![][36]
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My wife and I chose to start funding these graduate students after we learned that [our son][37] has a rare, fatal genetic disorder.
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It may be too late for my son, but it's not too late for other children.
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Even one child suffering is one child too many.
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The only way to end this kind of suffering is science.
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And, the best way to do science is through graduate students.
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_**Update**: When I first wrote this post, my son's specific disorder was unknown. Thanks to a scientific advance made in genetic diagnostics--specifically exome sequencing--we were able to isolate the mutations in my son's genome and determine that he is the very first documented case of a new disease: N-glycanase deficiency.
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One small dent in the circle of knowledge; one giant leap for my son.
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You can read the full story in a new post: [Hunting down my son's killer][38]._
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## License: Creative Commons
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I receive numerous requests to reproduce this work, and I'm happy to grant them all, subject to three small conditions:
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1. Please attribute the original work to me (Matt Might) and link back to this page in your reproduction:
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http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/
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as `The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.`
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2. When you attribute, please also link my name, `Matt Might`, to:
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http://matt.might.net/
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3. And, don't forget the "Keep pushing," at the bottom!
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This work is licensed under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License][39].
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That means you can share, copy, modify and reproduce this work as long as you attribute the original work to me and link back to it as outlined above.
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However, you may not sell this work, or use it for commercial purposes. You may only distribute it free of charge. If you're not sure whether your use is a "commercial purpose," please send me an email.
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If possible, please host the images on your own server instead of linking back to mine.
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If you use it in a presentation, I'd love to hear feedback.
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Here's an example attribution that satisfies the legal requirements:
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> [Matt Might][1], a professor in [Computer Science][40] at the [University of Utah][41], created [The Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.][42] to explain what a Ph.D. is to new and aspiring graduate students. [Matt has licensed the guide for sharing with [special terms under the Creative Commons license][7].]
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If it helps, here's the corresponding HTML, which you can modify to suit your site's needs:
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<a href="http://matt.might.net/">Matt Might</a>, a professor in
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<a href="http://www.cs.utah.edu/">Computer Science</a>
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at the <a href="http://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a>, created
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<a href="http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/">The
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Illustrated Guide to a Ph.D.</a> to explain what a Ph.D. is to new and
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aspiring graduate students.
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[Matt has licensed the guide for sharing with
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<a href="http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/#license">
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special terms under the Creative Commons license</a>.]
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And, of course, thank you for sharing!
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## Resources
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Please let me know if you translate this post into another language.
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* [A slideshow version in PDF][43].
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* [French translation][44] (by [Sara Mathieu-C.][45])
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* [Urdu translation][46] (by [Adnan Masood][47])
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* [Japanese translation][48] (by [Kimikazu Kato][49])
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* [UK English "translation"][50] (as interpreted by [Gabriel Egan][51])
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* [Brazilian Portuguese translation][52] (by [Kleber Jacinto][52])
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* [Turkish translation][53] (by Y.Ercan Payidar)
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* [Spanish translation][54] (by [Ismael Peña-López][55])
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* [Italian translation][56] (by [Alessandro Ferrari][57])
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* [Indonesian translation][58] (by [Robin Malau][59])
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* [Greek translation][60] (by [Anestis Chatzidiakos][61])
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* [Korean translation][62]
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* [Norwegian translation][63] (by [DION][64])
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* [Russian translation][65] (by [Shemra Rizzo][66])
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* [Hungarian translation][67] (by [Zoltan Prekopcsak][68])
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* [Chinese translation][69] (by Yifeng Yuan)
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* [Simplified Chinese translation][70] by (Sijia Zhao)
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* [German translation][71] (by [Paul Balzer][72])
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* [Persian translation][73] (by Kian Abbasnejadi)
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* [Czech translation][74] (by [Lukas Kalous][75])
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* [Slovak translation][76] (by [Stano Bustor][77])
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* [Serbian Translation][78] (by Lazar Kovacevic)
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* [Swedish Translation][79]
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* [Filipino translation][80] (by [Andrew Pua][81])
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* [Italian translation][82] (by [Marco Fotino][83])
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* [Arabic translation][84] (by [Areeb Alowisheq][85])
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* [Vietnamese translation][86].
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* [Polish translation][87].
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* [Dutch translation][88].
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* [Ukranian translation][89].
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* [Hebrew translation][90] (by [Regev Elya][91]).
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* [Belarussian translation][92].
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* [Catalan translation][93] by Sebas Mas.
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* [Finnish translation][94] by Joutsiniemi Anssi.
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* [Basque Translation][95] by [Jesus Romo][96].
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* * *
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[[article index][1]] [] [[@mattmight][2]] [[+mattmight][3]] [[rss][4]]
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matt.might.net is powered by [**linode][97]** | [legal information][98]
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[1]: http://matt.might.net/
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[2]: http://twitter.com/mattmight
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[3]: http://gplus.to/mattmight
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[4]: http://matt.might.net/feed.rss
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[5]: http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/#print
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[6]: http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/#resources
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[7]: http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/#license
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[8]: http://matt.might.net/articles/tenure/
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[9]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.001.jpg
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[10]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.002.jpg
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[11]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.003.jpg
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[12]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.004.jpg
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[13]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.005.jpg
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[14]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.006.jpg
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[15]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.007.jpg
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[16]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.008.jpg
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[17]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.009.jpg
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[18]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.010.jpg
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[19]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.011.jpg
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[20]: http://matt.might.net/images/PhDKnowledge.012.jpg
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[21]: http://matt.might.net/books-papers-materials-for-graduate-students/
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[22]: http://matt.might.net/articles/what-cs-majors-should-know/
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[23]: http://matt.might.net/how-to-apply-and-get-in-to-graduate-school-in-science-mathematics-engineering-or-computer-science/
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[24]: http://matt.might.net/advice-for-phd-thesis-proposals/
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[25]: http://matt.might.net/productivity-tips-hints-hacks-tricks-for-grad-students-academics/
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[26]: http://matt.might.net/advice-for-academic-job-hunt/
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[27]: http://matt.might.net/successful-phd-students/
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[28]: http://matt.might.net/crapl/
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[29]: http://matt.might.net/problem-shapes/
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[30]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465022227/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ucmbread-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0465022227
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[31]: http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=0465022227&camp=217145&creative=399349
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[32]: http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0465022227&MarketPlace=US&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&tag=ucmbread-20&ServiceVersion=20070822
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[33]: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/Issue/105539
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[34]: http://matt.might.net/images/IllustratedGuideToPhD-Cover.jpg
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[35]: http://www.glycobiology.org/news_display.php?id=1546
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[36]: http://matt.might.net/images/BertrandsLife.png
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[37]: http://overcomingmovementdisorder.blogspot.com//
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[38]: http://matt.might.net/articles/my-sons-killer/
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[39]: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/
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[40]: http://www.cs.utah.edu/
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[41]: http://www.utah.edu/
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[42]: http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/
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[43]: http://matt.might.net/IllustratedGuidePhD-Matt-Might.pdf
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[44]: http://www.thesez-vous.com/blogue/le-doctorat-illustre-un-guide-propose-par-matt-might
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[45]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smathieuc?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic
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[46]: http://bit.ly/aARgj7
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[47]: http://adnanmasood.com/
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[48]: http://www.tyzoh.jp/community/kkato/2010/08/16_123030.html
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[49]: http://sites.google.com/site/kimikazu/
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[50]: http://gabrielegan.com/teaching/What%27s%20a%20PhD/index.htm
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[51]: http://gabrielegan.com/
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[52]: http://www.slideshare.net/kleberjacinto/guia-ilustrado-para-o-doutorado
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[53]: http://yepce.com/2010/08/17/doktora-derecesi-illustrasyon/
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[54]: http://ictlogy.net/sociedadred/20100818-guia-ilustrada-para-un-doctorado/
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[55]: http://ictlogy.net/
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[56]: http://mrgorefest.blogspot.com/2010/08/cose-un-phd.html
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[57]: http://mrgorefest.blogspot.com/
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[58]: http://www.robinmalau.com/phd-guide/
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[59]: http://www.robinmalau.com/
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[60]: http://bit.ly/aLZvER
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[61]: http://anestis.magntize.com/
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[62]: http://parklize.blogspot.ie/2014/07/blog-post_8.html
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[63]: http://www.dion.ntnu.no/nb_NO/ofte-stilte-sporsmal/hva-er-ph-d/
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[64]: http://www.dion.ntnu.no/
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[65]: http://shemra.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-post.html
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[66]: http://shemra.blogspot.com/
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[67]: http://adatbanyaszat.blog.hu/2010/08/30/kepes_illusztracio_a_phd_rol
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[68]: http://prekopcsak.hu/
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[69]: http://www.openmobilefree.net/?p=670
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[70]: http://www.zhihu.com/question/32186853/answer/56083994
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[71]: http://www.cbcity.de/die-versinnbildlichte-darstellung-zum-dr-ing
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[72]: http://www.cbcity.de/
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[73]: http://www.persianwise.org/2011/03/illustrated-guide-to-phd.html
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[74]: http://kalous.blog.respekt.ihned.cz/c1-46229600-co-je-to-ph-d
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[75]: http://kalous.blog.respekt.ihned.cz
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[76]: http://morgoth.blog.matfyz.sk/p16294-ilustrovany-navod-k-phd
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[77]: http://morgoth.blog.matfyz.sk/
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[78]: http://www.inverudio.com/phd/
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[79]: http://www.ehinger.nu/undervisning/index.php/starta-haer/nyheter/4899-vad-innebaer-det-att-doktorera.html
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[80]: http://dailyexpositions.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/a-filipino-translation-of-the-illustrated-guide-to-a-ph-d/
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[81]: http://dailyexpositions.wordpress.com/
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[82]: http://marco.fotino.it/2010/11/che-cose-il-dottorato-di-ricerca.html
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[83]: http://marco.fotino.it/
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[84]: http://sws-areeb-research.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/blog-post.html
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[85]: http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/people/aaa08r
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[86]: https://sites.google.com/site/tiensilathenao/
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[87]: http://jasinski.ukw.edu.pl/bg/spip.php?article21
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[88]: http://inzichtvooruitzicht.blogspot.nl/2012/11/een-doctoraat-in-beeld-gebracht.html
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[89]: http://openstudy.org.ua/blog/28825/
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[90]: http://regevelya.net/phd-guide/
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[91]: http://regevelya.com/
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[92]: http://new.ssrlab.by/kandydackaja-dysiertacyja
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[93]: http://matt.might.net/translations/catalan/illustrated-guide-catalan.pdf
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[94]: http://butler.cc.tut.fi/~joutsini/phd/
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[95]: http://tic-investigacion.blogspot.com/2016/01/doktoretza-zer-den-ulertzeko-marrazkien.html
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[96]: https://twitter.com/jesusromo
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[97]: http://www.linode.com/?r=bf5d4e7c8a1af61855b5227279a6744c3bde8a8a
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[98]: http://matt.might.net/legal/
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