OP-ED - PhD student Ying Wang is concerned about the waiting time PhD students face between finishing their thesis and defending it. The corona crisis made this situation even worse. 'It influences job search, salary entry level, and causes enormous stress and anxiety.'

After three-to-five years of PhD life, PhD students are eager to receive their certificate soon. However, the long duration of promotion procedure at Radboud University often turns out to be a disappointment. From getting a promoter’s approval for the thesis manuscript to giving the defense, PhD students have to wait for five to six months. This is a long waiting time even without the corona crisis, and could become even horribly longer during this period. Radboud University should make an effort in shortening waiting times.

Before the corona crisis, the PhD promotion procedure at Radboud University already took more time, compared with other Dutch universities. PhD students at University of Amsterdam, Wageningen University, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) normally wait about three months for their defense. They are allowed to reserve the defense date before sending their thesis to the Doctorate Committee and in some places even before the thesis is finished. However, at Radboud University, the date can only be reserved after the thesis is approved by the committee. The strict regulation leads to the long waiting time for defense, and the situation has been exacerbated by the corona crisis.

Finishing the thesis is, to some extent, an indicator of the end phase of PhD life. After the approval, PhD students cannot do much more than spend these months waiting for their certificate. Of course, there are things they can do to kill time, such as writing more papers related to their PhD research and searching for jobs. However, a long waiting time for the promotion puts these young researchers in a disadvantaged position in the job market. For example, some academic positions require that the candidates holds their doctorate degree. Besides, the certificate also influences the entry level salary in both academia and industry fields.

‘These young researchers end up in a disadvantaged position in the job market’

The corona crisis makes the situation of the end-phase PhD students even worse. Currently, all gatherings and events on campus are cancelled until September, and most scheduled PhD defenses have been postponed. Alternative online PhD defenses are possible, but they are the exception. The horrible situation can continue even after the crisis, given a mountain of postponed defenses. During the long waiting time, PhD students experience enormous stress and anxiety because of their upcoming defense, besides job seeking in the decimated market by coronavirus. Moreover, they have to brush up on their thesis content before the defense which can disrupt their future career.

It is urgent to shorten the certificate waiting time. Some measures can be taken to ease the situation. For example, the university should modify the PhD regulation and arrange more frequent online or personal defense during and after the crisis to speed up the promotion procedure. If not, Radboud University unnecessarily increases their PhD students’ stress and puts their alumni at a disadvantage.