A Black Woman's Guide to Earning a Ph.D.: Surviving the First 2 Years

by Nicole A Telfer

More Black women are needed in the academy. More Black women may want to join the academy, but the academy has not always been accepting of us. Black women who are currently in academia or in doctoral programs face a wide array of social challenges, from racial discrimination to sexism to anti-Black women experiences. Many Black women have hesitated on applying to or starting their doctoral programs to avoid such social challenges. A Black Woman's Guide to Earning a Ph.D. provides Black women with tips and resources on how to navigate and survive as a doctoral student at a predominantly white university or program. This book focuses primarily on the first two years of graduate school as years 1 and 2 are typically the most challenging. In this book, Black women will read personal stories related to mental health, the impostor syndrome, racial discrimination experiences, and much more. Lastly, this book was written to encourage more Black women to write about their experiences in their doctoral program for others who will come after them. We are all we've got.

Genres: Education

156 pages, Hardcover

Published September 11, 2020

Reviews

[Dom Dawnelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book after finding Nicole 's Instagram page. I am deeply considering applying to PhD programs and was curious about people's journey. On social media I saw a lot of "horror memes" about PhD programs that were not encouraging. Nicole 's book gives you the PhTea on being a black woman in academia. I appreciated her sharing great tips as well as challenges to expect. It was written in a way that made me feel like I was watching up with a mentor for brunch. I flew through the book in 3hours. Highly recommend.