[D] Remote PhD

Submitted by TheRealMrMatt t3_10ohc3f in MachineLearning

Hi all,

During the pandemic many software companies transitioned their workforce to "fully-remote" or "partially-remote"; therefore, I was wondering if any reputable institutions offer a remote CS PhD?

For context, I know of several individuals who have sorted out remote work with their PIs on a per-person basis (typically after the first 1-2 years of study), but I am not aware of any labs or programs that advertise remote study.

Thank you in advance for the responses.

Cheers,

Matt

7

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Sofi_LoFi t1_j6er3kh wrote

Not really, a PhD is a full time research commitment

2

cavoli31 t1_j6f3gt5 wrote

It really depends your advisor. I did my phd with the same advisor that i did my masters. We worked in person during the msc. In phd he had family stuff that he had go over atlantic. But i never had any communication problems. He was also on the topic so using slack and zoom we did fine.

My lab also has new phd students who worked remotely with my advisor. So i think remote work works if:

You are very self motivating and your advisor leaves you alone, Your advisor micro manages you and you dont care

It might not work otherway around.

Disclaimer: i always have seen myself as doer so i was happy to be guided heavily in the beginning of my phd. As i grew up, the number of weekly meetings decreased and became shoter and refined.

Edit: my lab studies cancer genomics. Its mostly a wet lab. But we had ML branch with my project.

7

gunshoes t1_j6f796o wrote

It's not really a thing. Also kinda defeats the purpose of a PhD (research within an intellectual community of scholars). There's just too many variables across program needs and university funding limitations for it to be worth developing. Also, for a good number of people, you develop remote opportunities during the course of your PhD. Like mine is effectively remote in practice but that's just because of my research focus.

37

MadScientist-1214 t1_j6fbt5k wrote

Yes, but that depends on your supervisor. I did my PhD completely remotely for half a year but I'm not at a top institute.

1

idsardi t1_j6fjmjl wrote

In addition to what others have said, many institutions have a "residency" requirement for the PhD, requiring at least one year of full-time on-campus study. Personally (and I am a department chair), I think that this all needs to be modernized, but I don't expect that to happen for several years yet, even though COVID. There are some online programs, but in terms of admissions you're competing against people who are happy to be on-campus, so whether you like it or not, the admissions committees are going to prefer those people over you.

4

PretendiFendi t1_j6goq91 wrote

No probably not. If you have money to travel and your work can be done at home, you could probably arrange to fly back and forth later in your phd. No one is going to know where you are.

I did an experimental PhD, and there was a guy in my group who had a baby with his phd student wife across the country. He flew back and forth without any of us knowing. He would typically do weeks of work in a single week by working literally 20 hours a day and then go stay with her for two weeks and fly back before his next meeting so no one knew. We all didn’t know bc he was co-advised, so we all thought when he wasn’t in our lab he was in the other.

What I’m saying is that as you get older and more independent you can get away with a lot, people don’t check how you’re doing your work.

1

Doriens1 t1_j6hkxl4 wrote

From my experience, I never saw a PhD program advertising remote work, but in practice, it heavily depends on the advisor and the research team.

I integrated two different teams (both from the same lab) during my PhD. I don't like remote work so much, so I basically came to the lab every day.

Regarding the first team, we were only two regulars coming to the lab, while all the other researchers were at home. However, almost everybody was there for the second team.

Now you might say that it was during the pandemic, but it remains true even today.

​

Usually, researchers are pretty open to discussion when you apply for PhD, so this is something you will have to discuss with them to know the habits of the team.

1

EsEsMinnowjohnson t1_j6hrhaq wrote

Yes for MS with a bunch of schools that are dedicated to building online platforms (eg Oregon State) but really hard to find online PhD programs. Looks like NDSU offers one in CS, if you’re not too picky about prestige (go bison!).

I’m currently in Oregon State’s MS in Environmental Sciences program doing research on remote sensing and tree physiology (obviously not CS, but a useful enough anecdote). Here are the main things on an online program of this nature:

  • you pretty much have to be self funded. Research and teaching assistantships aren’t unheard of but you’d likely be waiting a while (years) for an opportunity to open up.
  • some institutions offer a choice between coursework only or a full thesis/dissertation. The former is easier and often doesn’t require a major advisor. The latter always does.
  • one of the main reasons people are declined from the OSU program I’m in is their failure to secure a major advisor. This is probably true a lot of places. It’s hard to find faculty that are comfortable with taking on a remote student AND have data that already exist and can be processed remotely for a meaningful thesis. In my case my advisor has field sensors set up in a ponderosa pine stand and has 2 years of data that we’ll use to validate models based on existing Landsat data. That’s a great project because it requires no lab/field work or specialized equipment.

So far I’ve really enjoyed the OSU program, and I think we’ll continue to see a lot more of this in the future.

2

likenedthus t1_j6jy1mw wrote

You probably won’t find a good PhD program that is “advertised” as being online. There are just too many variables. That said, it’s absolutely possible to work something out with your advisors that is effectively remote, assuming that most of your courses can be taken remotely and your research doesn’t require tools/resources that you cannot access remotely.

I’m doing my PhD in cognitive science at an international university (I live in the states). Plenty of online coursework has been made available to me to meet those requirements. But I am 100% responsible for proposing and executing remote advisement/evaluation. I’m also required to visit the university at 1–2 times per year for 1–3 weeks per visit.

1

edunuke t1_j6k9zjc wrote

In the UK there are at least 3 types of PhDs: 1) PhD by thesis, 2) PhD by publication and 3) profesional PhD.

Options 2 and 3 may be compatible to what you want. It really depends on your advisor, the source of funding, and your motivation. There are many reasons to pursue a phD that doesn require an academic motivation and you are entitled to your own reasons. I've met people that have done PhDs while also having a Job but those are the exception rather than the norm and challenging to say the least.

1