SMS PhD Chats are a new initiative by the Society to cater exclusively to our student members. We will use these sessions to provide an opportunity for student members to get tips and advice on academic life (during and post-PhD) from faculty experts in a conversational setting. Each 90-minute long Chat will focus on a specific topic of relevance to PhD students and will feature a panel of senior faculty offering their perspectives and suggestions in response to students' questions. Each session will start with a set of prepared questions and then open the discussion up for a live Q&A with the faculty panel. PhD Chats will be held throughout the year, with each chat focusing on a different topic related to PhD life. Live participation in PhD Chats is available to Student Members of SMS.
December 6, 2021 from 9:00am - 10:30am EST (UTC -5)
Following extensive discussions of job market issues, the SMS PhD Chat series now pivots to an earlier stage of your PhD career: Planning Your Dissertation. In this session, we'll cover such questions as what makes for a good dissertation topic, how to choose an advisor, whether data or theory comes first (answer: both!), and what are the pros and cons of different dissertation formats (3-essay, integrated, etc). The session will feature guest panelists Anita McGahan (University of Toronto) and Phanish Puranam (INSEAD) as well as your regular hosts Samina Karim (Northeastern University) and Aseem Kaul (University of Minnesota). If you're at or still approaching the stage in your PhD career where you're trying to figure out what to do for your dissertation, this one's for you!
August 25, 2021 from 9:00am - 10:30am EDT
As we head into a new season of recruiting, the third SMS PhD Chat will focus on 'Job Talks and Visits', with panelists sharing their perspectives on what makes for a strong job visit, whether in person or online. We'll cover such questions as what makes for a good job talk, what to say (and not say) during a one-on-one meeting, and other tips on how to make the best impression you can when you do get the opportunity for a recruiting visit. The session will feature guest panelists Marie Louise Mors (Copenhagen Business School) and Chris Rider (University of Michigan) as well as your regular hosts Samina Karim (Northeastern University) and Aseem Kaul (University of Minnesota). If you attended our earlier session on preparing for the job market, you're not going to want to miss this one; and if you didn't make it for that, but are planning to be on the job market this year, you may want to check this out as well!
June 30, 2021 at 9:00am - 10:30am EDT
The second in our PhD chat series (now expanded to be 90 minutes long) will focus on the topic of 'Preparing to be on the Job Market', with panelists sharing a faculty perspective on what they look for when evaluating job applicants. We'll cover such questions as how to decide if you're ready to go on the market, what a good job market package looks like, getting the job market paper ready, and anything else you'd like to know so you can put your best foot forward as you start to look for a job. The session will feature guest panelists Michelle Rogan (Imperial) and David Zhu (Arizona State) as well your regular hosts Samina Karim (Northeastern) and Aseem Kaul (Minnesota). If you're considering being on the job market this coming year, this is one PhD chat session you won't want to miss!
May 6, 2021 at 11:00am EDT
This session is an opportunity for student members to get tips and advice on PhD life from faculty experts in an informal conversational setting. The hour-long PhD Chat will focus on 'Transitioning out of your PhD', and will cover topics like finishing your dissertation, turning your dissertation into journal submissions, moving to a new institution, preparing for faculty life, etc. The session will be hosted by Aseem Kaul and Samina Karim, with special guests Denisa Mindruta and Zeke Hernandez. While this Chat’s topic is most relevant to students in their final year of their PhD who are joining faculty positions during the summer, the session is open to all PhD students.
