I may be a student again sooner than expected.
At this moment, it's looking as though I may be a PhD student as early as this summer. This was not in the (current) plans, but depending on the intel I get, it may be for the best.
Keep in mind, please, that I'm talking about doing a full American program PhD--coursework, oral and written exams, foreign language requirement, and dissertation--in three years. That's it. Three years, and I'm finished. If I don't finish in that amount of time, I never will be promoted again, because I did not "accomplish my mission." End of story. Thus, I must adhere to a rather tight timeline, as you might imagine. The standard PhD program takes 5 years--or more.
We (from the AF Academy) have certain advantages that help us make that goal:
1. Where the average PhD student receives tuition and a stipend from the school of his choice for approximately five years, our tuition and living expenses are fully funded by the AF.
2. Where the average PhD student (accordingly) must be a graduate assistant for much of his graduate education, we do not. We come to the program with teaching experience and (as mentioned), we are fully funded. Graduate assistantships teach the graduate student to teach AND they repay the university for the tuition/stipend. We avoid these huge time sinks.
3. As opposed to your average PhD student, we have spent several years as officers in the AF. I'm convinced that I routinely accomplish more in a single day than the average bear accomplishes in four or five. I'm used to self-discipline and multi-tasking on a scale most people can't fathom, and random comments from my fellow (officer) colleagues have reinforced this conception. Most civilian jobs comparable to mine bear less than half the responsibility and expectations. That is, I can handle a lot.
One consideration that I take seriously is this: I must know my dissertation topic before I go. When coursework may possibly contribute to it, I write papers that will become chapters of my dissertation. I'll have about 10 months to write my dissertation. (Considering the fact that I researched and wrote my thesis start to finish in 3.5 months, ten months for a dissertation doesn't frighten me at all, particularly considering the fact that I'll be doing the dissertation FULL TIME Y'ALL, and I did the thesis in my "leisure time.") I think the issue with finishing the dissertation in a reasonably amount of time is normally self-discipline, and I'm good with that.
So anyway...I'm one of the personnel officers for the department. An instructor from a few years ago who went back into the operational Air Force was supposed to be the PhD sponsoree for this year (that is, starting the program in autumn '08). We've been trying to get a package from him for some time now, but call no joy. He seems...reticent.
Granted, he may still come through, which means I wait another year, as I originally planned. But it isn't looking like it right now, which means we have a PhD slot to fill.
Yesterday, the chief personnel officer, Lt Col Bishop, came to see me at the end of the day, as he often does, and mentioned that the subject of filling the available PhD slot had come up during the staff meeting that day, and leadership had acknowledged the current candidate wasn't coming through. A member of the exec committee asked if we could fill the slot with a current member of the department, and the department head said yes. At this point, Lt Col Bishop simply went silent. I said, "That means me, doesn't it?" He smiled, then said, "I'm just...throwing that out there."
I've thought about it since. It definitely means me. No one else in the department at this moment qualifies for the program.
I'm their huckleberry.
My biggest problem is the timing. If meeting the major board while I'm in school will hurt my chances, I don't think I want to go. I spoke with our deputy about it today. She said she'll check the records, but she's pretty sure it won't hurt my chances for making major. Further, after we talked for a bit, we determined that if she was right on the first point, my chances of making lieutenant colonel the first time up are improved if I leave for the PhD this summer instead of next.
I asked her politely to let me know as soon as possible, because if the answer to the major's board question was "Yes, you'll have just as good of a chance," then I have a 15-20 page scholarly paper to write practically overnight. (I'll need it as part of my package to apply to the Academy for the PhD sponsorship and as part of the PhD application itself. And I've already started sifting through ideas for it.)
So. No pressure, but I have to decide upon the degree program as well as the dissertation focus. I think the University of Iowa is an excellent choice. I'm thinking at the moment of looking into essay studies of some sort.
After a department discussion today concerning the opinions and a published work of our "wild card" lieutenant colonel--who I practically worship, incidentally--I think I'll pursue a cardinal value of the military officer: integrity. I haven't worked out how I'll marry the two yet, but both studies excite me, so I think I've struck gold. Now I have to decide how to shape it.
(Incidentally, the officer to which I refer above doesn't have an issue with integrity. Quite the opposite. I seem to butt heads with the paradox of "military integrity" myself from time to time, though, so the question is personal.)
More information as I learn it.
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