Old news, but new as well
I got my degree certificate in the mail today.
It should feel like old news by now, but actually getting the certificate was a surprisingly big deal. To summarise for those who don't know: In early May, I had the public defence of my doctoral dissertation -- this is a biggish affair in Sweden, we do it the German way with an external examiner coming from some other university (in my case it was professor Geoffrey Leech from Lancaster University in the UK), who asks questions about the thesis for about two hours. And it's public, so anybody can come and listen. After the examination, a review board confers behind closed doors for a bit, and then come out to proclaim that the candidate has passed (or not.) By the time a thesis has come as far as the doctoral defence, it is *extremely* uncommon for it to fail, but it's of course perfectly possible to black out, forget everything and/or make a fool of yourself at the examination. As far as I know that's not taken into account when they decide whether you pass or not, but it's an ordeal all the same.
Except that mine wasn't that much of an ordeal. I was an utter bundle of nerves beforehand, but once we got started it turned out to be rather a fun occasion -- getting to talk for almost two hours about your own research, where nobody can stop you -- how cool is that! Not to mention that Geoffrey Leech was the best faculty opponent imaginable, and he made it into a really rewarding discussion.
So I did that in May, and if I'd been a diligent doctoral student that would have been it; unfortunately I had one of my reading courses left before I got the degree. A bit of an anti-climax, really, because the defence is such a large occasion, and a piddling five-credit course is such a minor thing, but obviously all the courses have to be done. So I spent the rest of May studying Old English (and loving it!) and in early June I took that exam and passed. And after that I could finally submit the paperwork for the degree.
And now I am a PhD. I've been wearing the ring since I passed the doctoral defence almost two months ago, but it hasn't really been real until today. I guess it has something to do with the fact that it took some time for it to sink in, too. That I'm really done, that is. Sure, I am going to revise my thesis for publication, but even if I never get it published anywhere I still finished the programme and got the degree, and I have doubted my own ability to do that so frequently that today, I'm going to revel in it.
It should feel like old news by now, but actually getting the certificate was a surprisingly big deal. To summarise for those who don't know: In early May, I had the public defence of my doctoral dissertation -- this is a biggish affair in Sweden, we do it the German way with an external examiner coming from some other university (in my case it was professor Geoffrey Leech from Lancaster University in the UK), who asks questions about the thesis for about two hours. And it's public, so anybody can come and listen. After the examination, a review board confers behind closed doors for a bit, and then come out to proclaim that the candidate has passed (or not.) By the time a thesis has come as far as the doctoral defence, it is *extremely* uncommon for it to fail, but it's of course perfectly possible to black out, forget everything and/or make a fool of yourself at the examination. As far as I know that's not taken into account when they decide whether you pass or not, but it's an ordeal all the same.
Except that mine wasn't that much of an ordeal. I was an utter bundle of nerves beforehand, but once we got started it turned out to be rather a fun occasion -- getting to talk for almost two hours about your own research, where nobody can stop you -- how cool is that! Not to mention that Geoffrey Leech was the best faculty opponent imaginable, and he made it into a really rewarding discussion.
So I did that in May, and if I'd been a diligent doctoral student that would have been it; unfortunately I had one of my reading courses left before I got the degree. A bit of an anti-climax, really, because the defence is such a large occasion, and a piddling five-credit course is such a minor thing, but obviously all the courses have to be done. So I spent the rest of May studying Old English (and loving it!) and in early June I took that exam and passed. And after that I could finally submit the paperwork for the degree.
And now I am a PhD. I've been wearing the ring since I passed the doctoral defence almost two months ago, but it hasn't really been real until today. I guess it has something to do with the fact that it took some time for it to sink in, too. That I'm really done, that is. Sure, I am going to revise my thesis for publication, but even if I never get it published anywhere I still finished the programme and got the degree, and I have doubted my own ability to do that so frequently that today, I'm going to revel in it.