I’ve read through many RHD student posts recently (catching up on my internet scrolling after travelling!) and noticed a recurring theme: people feeling overwhelmed by their confirmation of candidature and writing. I wanted to share some of my journey. It’s been an eye-opening experience since I started full-time in February 2023.
For context: I’m an expert in my field. I was a high achiever – winning awards, leading programs, mentoring. Entering a doctoral program has been a shock because I am not at the same level now.
- Initially, I felt lost. Meetings used unfamiliar terms, and directions were vague. I struggled. Thankfully, my uni required a coursework unit (at that time) to build confirmation of candidature sections, providing structure and examples. My first drafts were heavily criticised by my supervisors, which was a little bit distressing. I had to process the critical feedback. A senior colleague advised me “criticism of your writing is not criticism of you as a person.” It’s true, but separating the two is challenging when it’s your passion.
- By Nov 2023, I was ready to submit my CoC. Though not perfect, my supervisors agreed. I submitted in early Dec, the same day both supervisors went on leave. Around the same time, I was awarded an RTP Stipend Scholarship. To incorrectly quote the Lego movie “everything was awesome”
- Three days later, I received an email. The program central to my research had withdrawn their support without notice. I quite literallly threw up. I had to call my supervisors who advised me to take leave to extend the finish date, have a break and take time to process what changes I would need to make to my (now withdrawn) confirmation of candidature
- Do you think I took time to relax and process? Haha no. I contacted every smaller organisation in my field, spending hours researching, calling, and emailing. By Feb, I had a list of smaller organisations willing to support my research. We rescoped the method and lit review and by April, it was ready to resubmit.
- Finding external reviewers took time but eventually two agreed. This was tricky as both areas of my research (dogs and books) were quite different so reviewers were worried they would be okay with one but not the other. The feedback I received was one very positive and one very negative with many, many revision requests and some fairly harsh personal comments. My supervisors were amazing, as were the school of graduate research at my uni and it was decided I would respond to all of the feedback and action it where relevant. So, I responded to every comment in my response table which ended up being 27pgs long. Working through them one by one, I found much of it was helpful when viewed discretely. My CoC document grew from 10,000 to 12,000, then 15,000 words.
- With my supervisors’ support, I completed the changes and the review table (most edits were where I had been too sassy with my reviewer comments) and resubmitted (now at 16,000 words) in June. We also submitted my university-level human ethics committee application early, as my ethics process involves state education departments and will be lengthy. That had 24 attachments and was a mammoth effort!
While I was on holiday in July, both my CoC and uni human ethics app were approved. It’s been quite a journey to here, but it’s a huge step forward and a relief to know I am on the right track.
Here’s a photo of my favorite shirt ready for the upcoming RHD intensive week with CQU!
Melissa Smith 