--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Doctoral training is devoted almost…" description: "\"Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/derek-bok-13117_academic_doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-enti_50693.png" --- # Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning… ![“Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching than they do conducting experiments or writing books.” quote by Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/derek-bok-13117_academic_doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-enti_50693.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/derek-bok-13117_academic_doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-enti_50693.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/derek-bok-13117_academic_doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-enti_50693.png) > “Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching than they do conducting experiments or writing books.” [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Doctoral programs prioritize research skills, yet many Ph.D.s spend the bulk of their academic careers teaching rather than conducting original research. **In simple terms:** Ph.D. training misaligned with career realities Key Takeaway Teaching dominates academic life for many Ph.D.s Themes education career expectations academic labor research training workforce mismatch Mood reflective critical Type observation analysis When to use this quote - new faculty orientation - career counseling for Ph.D.s - university hiring committees Key Concepts doctoral education faculty responsibilities research vs teaching balance Practical Applications - redesign doctoral curricula - inform faculty development policies Questions to Reflect On - How can doctoral programs better prepare students for teaching roles? - What incentives could align research training with teaching responsibilities? A Different Perspective Some institutions value research output highly, making teaching a secondary but essential duty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Academic life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic-life/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [More time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more-time/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing a book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-a-book/) ## Related quotes > [Early in my doctoral training at Cornell University, I became immersed in the behavioral decision theory paradigm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-saad/early-in-my-doctoral-training-at-cornell-university-i-became-immersed/) [Gad Saad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-saad/) > [Learning research tells us that the time lag from experiment to feedback is critical ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/learning-research-tells-us-that-the-time-lag-from-experiment-to/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Maybe this is a second doctoral program: advanced learning about life, death, marriage, mothering, family, faith, patience, prayer. My degree will be 'Doctor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-g-hibbert-psy-d/maybe-this-is-a-second-doctoral-program-advanced-learning-about-life/) Christina G. Hibbert Psy.D > [“A doctor of professional studies is a doctoral degree for working professionals.It allows you to combine your professional work with study and obtain a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharosinstitute/a-doctor-of-professional-studies-is-a-doctoral-degree-for-working/) [Pharosinstitute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharosinstitute/) > [If it turns out that we're doing proper science from time to time, it just happens to be that that's the most efficient way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/if-it-turns-out-that-we-re-doing-proper-science-from-time-to-time-it/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [If I had taken a doctoral degree, it would have stifled any writing capacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-had-taken-a-doctoral-degree-it-would-have-stifled-any-writing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“doctoral candidate in the Department of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke University, joined this project in the Fall of 2007. Collaboration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-n-davidson/doctoral-candidate-in-the-department-of-art-art-history-and-visual/) [Cathy N. Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-n-davidson/) > [First you document your idea. You should be comprehensive, but that doesn't mean you have to produce a doctoral thesis length plan. Rather you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-anthony/first-you-document-your-idea-you-should-be-comprehensive-but-that/) [Scott D. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-d-anthony/) > [It would be suicide in the American academy to show too early an interest beyond your doctoral specialization: charges of everything from charlatanry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/it-would-be-suicide-in-the-american-academy-to-show-too-early-an/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [One of those disturbing tendencies in academic life is that there is a desire on the part of many in the name of open-mindedness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/one-of-those-disturbing-tendencies-in-academic-life-is-that-there-is/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [Hell! there ain't no rules around here! We are tryin' to accomplish somep'n!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/hell-there-ain-t-no-rules-around-here-we-are-tryin-to-accomplish/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm not sure that I've ever been drawn to the academic life as such. Theology has been a matter of survival for me. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-alison/i-m-not-sure-that-i-ve-ever-been-drawn-to-the-academic-life-as-such/) [James Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-alison/) > [In academic life, false ideas are merely false, and useless ones can be fun to play with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/in-academic-life-false-ideas-are-merely-false-and-useless-ones-can-be/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [ “It \[writing\] has enormous meta-cognitive implications. The power is this: That you cannot only think in ways that you could not possibly think if… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-searle/it-writing-has-enormous-meta-cognitive-implications-the-power-is-this/) John R. Searle > [“If you prefer an “academic life” as a retreat from reality, do not go into biology. This field is for a man or woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/if-you-prefer-an-academic-life-as-a-retreat-from-reality-do-not-go/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) ## More by Derek Bok > [I think it's sort of an outrage that companies should have to hire firms to teach the college graduates they employ how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/i-think-it-s-sort-of-an-outrage-that-companies-should-have-to-hire/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [As countries embrace mass higher education, the cost of maintaining universities increases dramatically relative to an elite system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/as-countries-embrace-mass-higher-education-the-cost-of-maintaining/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [“surveys show that over 90 percent of professors believe that their teaching is above average,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/surveys-show-that-over-90-percent-of-professors-believe-that-their/) [Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/) > [For some students, especially in the sciences, the knowledge gained in college may be directly relevant to graduate study. 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Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. 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