What is a PhD?

In 2018, when I finished my Master's degree, I believed that I had reached the end of my academic journey and had no desire to continue. However, as time went on, I became more curious and was intrigued by the idea of pursuing a PhD.

Life is cyclical, and Creator makes no mistakes.

In 2014, I met nimis Dr. Belinda Daniels. Her passion and enthusiasm for language revitalization was admirable. I signed up to volunteer as a CILLDI Intern and she was the instructor I would be assisting that summer. Later, we would write together about our experiences as mothers raising our children in the language. Her as a learner and myself as a speaker, together, our publication "nēhiyawētān kīkinahk: Let’s Speak Cree at Home" would become a valuable resource for others who wanted to raise their children as speakers of Cree.

Back at FNUniv in 2019, I began as a sessional instructor and then lecturer a year later. I dedicated myself to learning about my Cree language by taking classes from Dr. Arok Wolvengrey and Solomon Ratt. They were my mentors for over two years, helping me refine my skills in SRO and understand the complexities of our Cree grammar. I unofficially completed my minor in Cree a couple of years later. Unofficial because I could not be awarded the minor since I worked for the Indigenous Languages and Linguistics unit.

Anyway, it wasn't long before I discovered that without a doctorate degree, I wouldn't be able to advance beyond the position of lecturer. This realization sparked my interest in pursuing doctoral programs. I didn't want to miss out on opportunities due to lacking the level of education typically required by universities.

I started consulting friends who were in the process of obtaining or had already earned their doctoral degrees. During a podcast episode on pikiskwewin.ca, I interviewed some colleagues to discuss their reasons for pursuing a Ph.D. I wanted to know if I could make a difference and how I could make a difference if I chose to pursue this path.

A PhD is a "Doctor of Philosophy". A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD or DPhil; Latin: philosophiae doctor or doctor in philosophia)[1] is a terminal degree, that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. (wiki). Definitely not the doctor you would call if you were having a health crisis.

I began looking for programs and applied first at UH Hilo, but was not accepted. I was disappointed, but I did not give up. Following that, I applied to UVIC and was accepted, with nimis becoming my supervisor. Life came full circle and here I am learning from some of the leading professors about language revitalization. I am learning to be an expert in this field and my research focus is on the intergenerational transmission of Indigenous languages in the home.

A few people have asked me about how to get into a program, and I can share the following information:

1) Do a bit of digging on which university offers programming in your interest area.

2) Write articles or do some publishing beforehand. Better yet, write a thesis in your master's program. Universities look at your ability to write and argue when considering your application.

3) Then apply. If rejected, think of it as being redirected ;)

4) Once you have been accepted, the journey begins.

5) From what I have learned, there are several milestones.

a) Coursework (1-2 years)

b) Comprehensive Exams x 2 or x 3 (depends on your program). You have an ample amount of time to read, read and read before you are required to write about 20 pages to each question asked by your committee. This process can take up to two semesters or 1 year and then you oracy if you are not asked to rewrite.

c) Research Proposal

d) Ethics

e) Research

f) Dissertation. Writing roughly five chapters on your research.

g) Celebrate

I am currently on b. Reading to prepare for my comprehensive exams. I am truly enjoying this part. There is a lot to learn, and it is all exciting. However, I worry about how to keep track of all my readings. I have some hard copies of articles and books and some electronic articles. I use Mendeley and have created a reading template where I summarize, analyze, record important quotes and themes to explore further.