Prepare for the doctoral degree as you work on your undergraduate degree. Doing well as an undergraduate is the key to being accepted into doctoral program. Complete a bachelor's degree in the relevant academic field. Supplement the degree with coursework or a minor concentration in a relevant field such as a foreign language. Maintain a high GPA during your undergraduate years. Study and take the GRE, or Graduate Record Exam, a requirement for attending most graduate schools in the United States.
Make a list of different doctoral programs that appeal to your interests. A few things should be considered when applying to a doctoral program, such as its academic reputation, the faculty, the number of dissertations produced each year, and the scholarships and teaching and research assistantships available for graduate students. In addition to academic criteria, take the location of the university into consideration.
Develop a time line for doctoral studies. A doctoral degree is completed in various steps that include coursework, passing preliminary examinations, and completing a dissertation. Developing a time line helps to organize your studies and keep everything on schedule. The first step is completing the coursework. Orient the coursework around your particular field of interests. This lays a good foundation for the dissertation.
Complete the preliminary steps necessary for the dissertation, including selecting a topic, choosing a mentor or chairperson, putting together a dissertation committee, and writing a dissertation proposal.
Set up a research and writing schedule for the dissertation. Writing a dissertation is the final step in completing a PhD and it is a step than many doctoral students fail to complete. The dissertation requires substantial research, problem solving, and experiments in certain fields. However, the research has to result in a written document. The trick is to begin writing as soon as possible. Completing a dissertation require diligently maintaining a writing schedule.