Taking a doctorate while working
Doctoral study alongside full-time medical writing or editing requires time for coursework, research and a dissertation. Online delivery can make this combination possible, but the workload can rise sharply near assignment deadlines and a part-time degree can take many years.
Coursework, workload and duration
In 2013, Texas Tech University's Technical Communication and Rhetoric doctorate required 60 hours of graduate coursework, production of a dissertation and a successful defence. A medical writer studying there transferred 15 credits from an earlier master's degree, leaving 45 credits, or 15 classes, to complete. She found that students working full time could generally manage only one or two classes at a time, and planned to finish coursework in three years by taking one class in the long semesters and two in summer.
Her weekly work outside classes was approximately eight hours of reading and two of writing from the start to the middle of the semester. Near the end of a semester, a final project, typically a 5,000-word paper intended for scholarly publication, could increase researching and writing time to more than 30 hours a week.
A medical editor studying health communication at the University of Kentucky took one or two courses each semester and wrote her dissertation while working full time. She completed the doctorate in 2007 after eleven years.
Online classes and campus attendance
The Texas Tech programme described in 2013 held weekly classes by videoconference and required a two-week intensive seminar on campus each May. The campus seminar provided opportunities to meet faculty and fellow students, hear leading scholars and work on team projects using technologies such as eye-tracking.
A student in that programme considered online study capable of matching on-site rigour when reading, thinking, writing and discussion were the core activities. She distinguished disciplines requiring major equipment, supplies or hands-on learning, where she considered substantially similar online and on-site experiences impossible.
Before entering the programme, she took two courses under graduate temporary status, which allowed enrolment without programme affiliation. That route could suit students wishing to try coursework before applying or to take courses without pursuing a degree.
Tuition
Tuition varies with the institution and factors such as residency status. In 2013, a three-credit Texas Tech course cost approximately $1,300 for an in-state student and $2,350 for an out-of-state student.
Learning and professional value
Further study can support advancement within an existing career, a move into another discipline or continued learning for its own sake. A working medical writer with a biomedical science background sought doctoral study to gain a scholarly foundation in communications theory and strategy. She found that studying biomedical communication through rhetorical theory transformed her approach to writing.
The Texas Tech programme extended beyond biomedical communication, allowing her to learn from fellow students working in rhetoric, technical communication, new media, visual design, user experience, public discourse and cultural studies. The medical editor who completed her doctorate at Kentucky believed it had earned additional respect from clients and opened opportunities otherwise unavailable to her.