The Phdictionary

This is a book of advice for students considering doctoral programs and doctoral students considering faculty life. It is framed as a glossary of about 150 terms that author Herb Childress, as a first-generation student, wishes that he had known and understood as he applied for and completed his PhD and went into the academic job market. The guide examines the practices of doctoral education and faculty life through entries that illuminate terms such as buyout, edited volume, and FERPA; so many things that most academics learned somewhere along the way and forget that others don't know. The alphabetical reference format enables readers to turn directly to the topic in question and find some borrowed wisdom. Each entry features a little storytelling, then some larger context, and leaves readers able to put on the mask of the capable scholar even though they feel like impostors. Every time they hear a term they feel they ought to know, it is here. The book is often funny as well, attempting to offer both encouragement and reality to students facing unconscionable odds as they search for safe harbor. As more than half of all college instructors are now adjuncts, the questions about an academic career are changing, and there are now fewer reliable answers--and answers. Herb Childress’s volume promises to be a trusted companion to many a graduate student, aspiring academic, and adjunct professor.