Colorado Technical University

How long is the average PhD program with a "non-masters" pre-requisite?

I am looking at a doctoral program in nutrition. My goal is to work in research. I have worked in healthcare as a certified and liscenced occupational therapist with a hand therapy certification and I am looking to make a career change. My undergraduate degree is in Occupational Therapy from a state medical school.

Public Comments

1. Allowing for wild variations most PhD programs are 4 years in length. Then you write your Dissertation. Of course if you spend 2 years getting a MS or MA then the PhD will /can be shorter if you can find a program that acknowledges your Masters work. But it may be cut to only 3 years. Good luck to you. PS Usually doctoral programs prefer 4 year grads to masters (at least in my experience).
2. PhD programs usually take between four and seven years. Science PhDs usually take less time, and those in the arts usually take longer. A typical PhD program will have two to three years of classes. There is usually a written exam at the end of the second year and an oral exam at the end of the third. After the oral exam -- you just have a dissertation to complete. Mine took two years to write (I started it at the beginning of my third year). Most schools have a dissertation defence. Berkeley (where I got my degreee) is the only top school that I know of where you don't have a formal defense.
3. Well, it depends on a lot of different variables. If you have your stuff together, get a great dissertation advisor, get a proposal together during your first 2 years, and get a good data set in a reasonable amount of time, then 4 years is do-able, or even less. However, my experience is 5-6 yrs. is typical. My advice to you is do your homework - research the faculty at various departments, find someone who is researching something interesting to you and more importantly, someone who is getting funded. My PhD is in nutrition and it took me 8 yrs!!! but that was a horror story.