Dianne Conrad, PhD, is a long-time adult and distance educator, researcher, and writer. Her previous books include Assessment Strategies for Online Learning (2018) and Open(ing) Education: Theory and Practice (Brill, 2020).

• Preface1 Introduction: A Foundational Landscape of Academia and Online Doctoral Learning1 The Importance of Language2 My Own Relationship to Doctoral Studies and Online Learning3 A Broader Context4 Final Words2 Can I? Should I? Making the Big Commitment1 Is There a Case for NOT Entering a Doctoral Program?2 Some Anecdotal Observations from a Long-Time Academic and Lifelong Learner3 Who Engages in Online Doctoral Study?4 How Does an Online Degree Differ from a Face-to-Face Degree in These Respects?5 What the Learners Say6 What’s the Big Deal?7 Burning Questions Posed by Doctoral Students as They Consider Entering an Online Program8 Are You Ready for Online? A Case for Online Readiness9 Final Words3 Program Orientation and Residency: What and Why?1 Program Models and Their Relationship to Orientation2 The Cohort Model and Its Relationship to Orientation3 An Example of an On-site Orientation4 What an Orientation Can’t Do5 Final Words4 Learning Online in a Doctoral Program1 The Language of Distance Education (DE)2 A Short History of Distance Education3 Adult Education, Philosophy, and the Beauty of Online Learning4 Your Presentation of Yourself5 Synchronous Presentations6 Asynchronous Presentations7 Assessment of Online Presence8 Assessment of Learning Activities9 Final Words5 Your Dissertation: The Tour de Force1 The Nature of Research2 How Does the Online Doctoral Dissertation Differ from the Traditional Dissertation?3 Supervisors: Choosing Them, Co-existing, Liking, and Communicating with Them, Being Mentored4 Shop for Your Supervisor from the Get-Go5 Getting along with Your Supervisor6 Enjoying a Mentored Relationship with Your Supervisor7 Types of Supervisor Relationships: Good, Bad, and Ugly?8 When the Supervisory Relationship Breaks Down9 How to Start: Tackling the Dissertation10 The Long and Winding Road: Writing the Dissertation as an Online Learner11 Choosing and Using Your Research Sources12 The Supervisory Dissertation Committee13 Presenting and Defending Your Dissertation14 Publishing Your Dissertation: A New Adventure15 Final Words6 Stayin’ Alive: Your Emotional Health and Wellness1 The Hidden and Nuanced Stressors2 Staying Alive and Well3 Forming Community Online4 Helping Learners Help Themselves5 Helping Hands from Faculty and Administrative Personnel6 Things Online Teaching Faculty Can Do to Help7 Things Administrative Personnel Can Do to Help You8 Final Words7 Hoops, Gates, Joining the Club, and Then What?1 Academic Excellence2 Joining the Club3 Respect the Club4 And Then What to Do …8 From the Trenches: Students’ Reflections on Their Online Doctoral Programs1 Program Shape and Highlights2 Other Voices3 Final Words9 The Next Step: Finding Your Fit in Academe1 The Professoriate2 Focus on Teaching: The Teacher3 Focus on Administration: The Administrator4 Focus on Institutional Loyalty: The Soldier/Stalwart5 Focus on Collegial and Social Connection: The Networker6 Focus on Institutional Politics: The Politico7 Focus on Recognition: The Star8 Focus on Intellectual Productivity: The Dogged Scholar9 Final Thoughts10 “The World Is Too Much with Us”: COVID-19 Changes the Game1 Adjustment of Space and Place2 Adjustment to Social and Personal Anxiety3 Adjustment to Post-Pandemic Society4 The Path Forward: The Digital Scholar5 But Wait, There’s More6 Final Words11 Concluding Thoughts and Some Seasoned Advice1 What Next? Advice for the New Dr2 What Next? Advice for the New Academic HireReferencesIndex