Engineering a holistic support system for Ph.D. students
Because the path to a doctoral degree can be arduous, the NYU Tandon School of Engineering has created the PhD Hub — a combined digital and physical front door and support network to help its doctoral students excel.
The doctoral degree represents the pinnacle of academic success.
As the highest degree a university can award, a Ph.D. can open the doors wide to academia, government service and private industry. Those who hold a Ph.D. can teach the next generation, conduct world-changing research, lead organizations and make a profound impact on the world. But the road to a Ph.D. can be long and lonely. The intense commitment and sacrifice required to earn one can strain a doctoral student’s health, finances and relationships.
To better support its doctoral students, New York University Tandon School of Engineering launched the PhD Hub in 2022. This one-stop shop offers relevant, comprehensive and holistic academic, professional and social experiences designed to meet the needs of Ph.D. candidates and help them excel at NYU Tandon and beyond.
“When doctoral students come to NYU Tandon, they have already accomplished a lot in their academic careers,” said Vikram Kapila, Ph.D., a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the inaugural director of the PhD Hub. “The PhD Hub allows us to enhance their overall Ph.D. experience so they will bloom and grow into independent scientists and engineers.”
PhD Hub Holiday Party December 2022. Photo Credit: Siri Pothuri, Qiyan Ba
PhD Hub Holiday Party December 2022. Photo Credit: Siri Pothuri, Qiyan Ba
The genesis
Several years ago, Kapila and other NYU Tandon faculty created formal support mechanisms to guide newly hired assistant professors through the highly competitive application process for National Science Foundation CAREER grants and other early-career faculty awards. Their support paid off: NYU’s newest faculty members began winning more grants.
Because assistant professors responded so well to mentoring, Kapila and other engineering professors figured doctoral students might benefit from extra assistance as well. Kapila knew that other institutions had helped their students with NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program applications. Rather than putting the onus on Ph.D. students to seek help from the university and outside organizations, Kapila and several colleagues gave them writing instruction, led workshops and provided broader and more coordinated application support.
After more NYU Tandon graduate students began winning these prestigious fellowships, Kapila and his colleagues looked to do even more to support the school’s nearly 500 doctoral candidates, 80% of whom are international students. Under the leadership of Dean Jelena Kovačević, NYU Tandon in 2022 centralized its academic and professional development resources in a new PhD Hub located alongside other student life and student services offices.
The NYU Tandon PhD hub is overseen and run by Vikram Kapila, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Hub’s Director as well as Jamie Lloyd, the NYU Tandon PhD Hub Manager. Photo credit: NYU Tandon
The NYU Tandon PhD hub is overseen and run by Vikram Kapila, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Hub’s Director as well as Jamie Lloyd, the NYU Tandon PhD Hub Manager. Photo credit: NYU Tandon
Intentionally creating a holistic support system
Today, the PhD Hub acts as a digital and real-world nerve center for academic, administrative, professional, social and financial well-being. It supports NYU Tandon’s doctoral students from admission to graduation, coordinating everything from new-student orientation to the doctoral hooding ceremony at commencement. In between, the PhD Hub offers an entire suite of experiences to help doctoral students thrive during their time at NYU and develop durable skills they’ll use throughout their careers.
A writing course instructs students on the specialized techniques of producing journal articles and doctoral dissertations. (Ph.D. students also have access to a dedicated writing consultant.) Special topics courses help students write for the academic job market and apply for grants and fellowships. Sessions with local actors help them improve their presentation skills and boost their confidence.
The PhD Hub also offers workshops on numerous topics, including leadership and teamwork, digital literacy and high-performance computing, mentoring and the dissertation process, professional ethics, financial literacy and mental health. It organizes social outings and has set up online social media communities to connect doctoral students.
“It’s not just academic coursework,” said Jamie Lloyd, the PhD Hub’s assistant director. “It’s everything else that a Ph.D. student needs — social support, emotional support, help with financial issues, interacting with PhD mentors, building community, reducing isolation and creating an interconnected community.”
Kapila added: “It’s all necessary because we don’t want the strength of the Ph.D. student sapped by these other challenges.”
PhD Hub Hooding Ceremony Spring 2023. Photo Credits: Siri Pothuri
PhD Hub Hooding Ceremony Spring 2023. Photo Credits: Siri Pothuri
What’s ahead
The PhD Hub is constantly evolving. Change has become more urgent since NYU recently announced a $1 billion commitment to NYU Tandon that will attract more faculty — and more doctoral students.
A comprehensive mentoring initiative is being developed for both NYU Tandon students and faculty. A Ph.D. student’s most impactful relationship is with their faculty mentor, so this initiative will establish expectations that will help both professors and students better navigate their time together.
Starting this spring, the PhD Hub will begin conducting annual exit interviews with graduating doctoral students to gain data and feedback on what worked, what’s missing and what should be improved.
The PhD Hub represents a culture change at NYU Tandon. Like all significant changes, it will take time.
“Across the board in higher education, there’s new emphasis on students being able to advocate for themselves,” Lloyd said. “We want a culture where Ph.D. students have ownership over their time at Tandon and have a richer and even more positive experience.”
A blueprint for others
For institutions looking to build their own comprehensive Ph.D. student support program, here are three things to keep in mind:
1. Dedicate time and resources.
NYU Tandon’s PhD Hub didn’t spring into existence. Rather, it emerged over several years from ongoing faculty and staff efforts to support doctoral students. Even today, the PhD Hub continues to evolve.
Because coordinating an effective student support system requires more time than a faculty director can devote to it, the PhD Hub has a full-time staff of two — Lloyd and a financial aid analyst — and two graduate assistants.
Lloyd, who has worked with doctoral candidates for the past 22 years, handles the PhD Hub’s day-to-day operations. Among her duties are creating programming, overseeing assessment and being, as she put it, “the first face that students see in the Hub.”
Having a dedicated financial aid analyst has been invaluable. Funding for Ph.D. students often flows from multiple sources, and the financial aid analyst helps them resolve these funding challenges.
“Something like the PhD Hub takes time to seed,” Lloyd said. “The intention can be there, but It takes time to strategically think through the challenges for these student populations and the solutions and to put the human capital and financial resources behind it to make sure it’s successful.”
2. Create feedback mechanisms.
PhD Hub programming has emerged largely from faculty and staff initiatives, surveys and focus groups. But Ph.D. students have their own ideas — and PhD Hub staff members are listening.
A recent student outing to a rock-climbing gym and a mixer with doctoral students from other NYU departments were both suggested by NYU Tandon students. It’s clear that NYU Tandon doctoral students want to build networks with other doctoral students outside the lab.
“They recognize they have skin in the game,” Lloyd said. “It’s not just us imposing stuff on them. It’s a two-way street.”
3. Recognize that doctoral students are human beings first and act accordingly.
Ph.D. candidates are more than just students and research assistants, Kapila said. They have personal and professional aspirations inside and outside the lab — and they need support to reach their goals.
“When you connect with students at a human level, that’s a much more fulfilling experience for both parties than simply being thought of as a cog in the wheel,” Kapila said. “Doctoral students are there to learn those tools to become independent scientists and engineers. That’s why the PhD Hub is there — to support them beyond just academics and research and help them grow into a whole human being.”
PhD Hub Fall Research Reset. Photo Credit: Siri Pothuri, Aditya Garyali
PhD Hub Fall Research Reset. Photo Credit: Siri Pothuri, Aditya Garyali
This content is sponsored and provided by NYU Tandon School of Engineering. The editorial team at Inside Higher Ed had no role in its creation.
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