Solipsism, more or less

The New York Times has an article today on the average time it takes students to earn a Ph.D (8.2 years, unless you're in education, in which case, don't ask), and some efforts universities are taking to shorten that time period (more frequent meetings with advisers, encouraging students to not think of their dissertation as a magnum opus, and student writing groups to ease isolation).

I have two initial impressions:

1. This article would have been much better if it had been in The Chronicle of Higher Education


2. Hey! They quoted Greg Nicholson from MSU! (15th paragraph)

Just in case any of you were worried, I'm in an MA program, not a Ph.D program. Although it will still probably take me at least 2.5 years to finish, since I'm also working a full-time job. And not teaching, which is nice for me, but I'm a touch concerned about how that might affect future employability or grad school applications.