phd without publication

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Do you need to have published papers to do a PhD?

• By Dr Harry Hothi
• March 20, 2021

It’s a natural question to ask when applying to a PhD program: “Do I need to already have publications before I apply?”. Simply put the answer is no, you do not need to have published papers to apply to a PhD. Having said that though, I do think there are clear advantages of having some publication experience in helping your application stand out from other candidates.

When entering into PhD research , you’re entering into an environment that’s built on a framework of disseminating new findings and making an original contribution to knowledge in your field. Key to this is the ability to write papers that stand up to peer-review and get published in the journals relevant to your research area. So, you can see why, as an applicant, being able to demonstrate real evidence of being able to do this through previously published papers is going to be a positive in your application and likely differentiate you from other candidates.

I want to be clear however that how often and how quickly an academic publishes can vary quite considerably depending on the particular research field in question. Generally speaking, STEM fields tend to publish more often than non-STEM areas. There’s variability within STEM too, with factors such as the time taken to complete experiments having an impact on the rate of output. Many PhD students do not publish at all while earning their degree (although I personally believe that at least going through the process of acquiring publications should be part of every PhD experience).

Being able to list publications on your CV and application to PhD programs is a good bonus to have as a student but few potential supervisors or universities would see this as an expectation, let alone a requirement of applying. What he or she will expect to see in you however is the ability to develop your skills to become a researcher who can publish. You should understand at least the broad concepts of what peer-review is and how one may approach the process of writing a paper for journal submission.

Beyond having published work, there are several other ways in which you could demonstrate your research acumen potential. These may include an examples of where you have presented the results of undergraduate or masters projects at internal or external conferences or gained direct experience of working within a research lab alongside PhD students.

If you are someone who’s be able to acquire several publications along a single research theme and are considering PhD programs, I’d recommend you also consider the option of a PhD by Publication , as well as the traditional degree route. Some universities offer this PhD by Publication option as a way of earning a PhD degree by combining your previous papers into a document that demonstrates how these have made a contribution to knowledge within a single research field. The potential drawbacks however compared to traditional PhD programs is that you’re likely to miss out on some of the PhD student experiences that come along with a traditional program.

To conclude, universities will not expect a potential PhD student to have published when they come to fill in the application to their program. You as the potential student should however make sure you emphasise in your application all the different times or ways in which you demonstrated your ability to think like a researcher. This may even include a letter of recommendation from your undergraduate or master’s project supervisor which may attest to your qualities as a suitable applicant.

Choosing a good PhD supervisor will be paramount to your success as a PhD student, but what qualities should you be looking for? Read our post to find out.

The unit of analysis refers to the main parameter that you’re investigating in your research project or study.

The term monotonic relationship is a statistical definition that is used to describe the link between two variables.

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A PhD by publication or how I got my doctorate and kept my sanity

Associate, Children's Policy Centre, Australian National University, Australian National University

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Doing a PhD is a difficult business. Long hours, personal stress, institutional pressure to complete on time – and all this for what?

Increasingly a PhD alone does not guarantee an academic career. We are expected to publish, teach and contribute to professional development. Oh and did I mention you have to publish, publish, publish?

However there is a way to publish and do a PhD - hopefully without perishing.

I recently completed my PhD by publication, which for me was a way of getting a doctorate while keeping my sanity.

What is a PhD by publication?

A PhD by Publication is just what it sounds like, instead of producing one large monograph, you produce a series of articles to be published in peer reviewed journals or as book chapters.

The normal format is four to five research papers bookended by a substantial introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. The thesis must still read as a cohesive whole and therefore despite the articles being stand alone pieces, they must also relate to each other.

The aim is that when they are read together they become more than just the sum of their parts.

It is a relatively new concept within the social sciences and humanities but has been around for a while in the hard sciences here in Australia. It is much more common in European Universities where it is often the standard approach for doctoral studies.

The advantages

There are many advantages to doing a PhD this way. One of the more self-evident ones is that it allows you to publish and finish a PhD – academically hitting two birds with one stone.

There are many pressures of doing a PhD that are taken away from publishing. PhD by publication focused my writing on achieving output and helped to avoid the trap of always pushing the publications to the side.

A PhD by publication also helps you to develop practical skills. Through my own process, I learnt how to write to journal editors, deal with rejection and pitch articles – all skills that are important for professional academic life.

This method also divides the PhD up into more manageable chunks – sometimes the hardest thing about a PhD is the enormity of the task it presents. But dividing it up into five discrete papers allowed me to see a way ahead making the PhD seem more achievable.

Last but not least, you can get both expert feedback and it can provide that “tick” factor. PhD students were usually high achieving undergraduate students used to receiving recognition and reward for their work. Entering the land of doctoral studies, you don’t get the pay off from your work until the end of many years and lack of recognition can be deeply un-motivating.

But each time something is published is a chance to celebrate and take a deep breath before moving on to the next portion.

The expert feedback you get during this process is also very helpful even it’s not always pleasant (see below). By the time your PhD goes to examiners it has already gone through a rigorous peer review process.

In times of PhD panic, it was comforting to think that my work can’t be that bad if someone had already agreed to publish it.

The disadvantages

Of course, though, there are some disadvantages to electing to do a PhD in this way.

Chief among them is the pressure to start publishing immediately. Publishing is hardly a quick process; it can sometimes take up to two years from submission to a journal long periods of fieldwork may not be compatible.

Therefore candidates taking this route need to start straight away. Aim to have your first paper finished within the first 6 months.

It’s also worth recognising that this is not a format for the faint hearted. Rejections from journals can be brutal. You need to be prepared to take this on the chin and send it out again.

That said, this is a skill you need to develop for academia. Being exposed to it early helped me develop a thick skin and be humble about my work.

With the benefit of feedback, there’s also the downside of extra work. You may often need to rewrite work for journal editors.

After all, editors have their own agenda and interests and in some respect you are writing for them and not for you. However this taught me to stand my ground with editors and defend things I wished to keep as well as framing things for different audiences.

Another thing to be wary of when considering a PhD by publication is that you need to understand that it’s not a professional Doctorate. A Professional Doctorate recognises contribution to a profession and usually doesn’t include the same level of original contribution or indeed a thesis.

PhD by publication is still examined to the same standards as a traditional PhD. However countering this assumption that it is not a “real” PhD is sometimes hard.

Finally, because you’re likely to be treading new ground in your institution, there’s not always a clear path before you.

I did my PhD in a department which was still sorting out its policy towards this format. As a consequence I needed the strong support of your supervisor and head of department to make this work (which I was lucky enough to have). You shouldn’t expect a clear set of instructions here; guidelines and policies seem to vary between departments, disciplines and universities.

The up shot

The biggest advantage is that I have come out of my doctoral studies not only with a PhD but with a healthy publication record. This I hope will assist me when taking the next step in my career.

For me, PhD with publication provided a framework, a way forward from which I could see the path to submission. It provided me with a way to get my doctorate without worrying about the process. It allowed me the opportunity to contribute to debates while developing my ideas.

If academia is to expect Australian candidates to now finish their PhD and publish, then it should promote and encourage alternative formats such as this. It can only be good for both PhD candidates and the profession at large.

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Do You Need Publications to Apply for a PhD Program?

The publication question comes up all the time when talking about grad school applications. It’s something that many applicants spent a lot of time worrying about. So, do you need to have publications on your CV when applying for PhD programs?

The short answer is no. Publications are not required to apply for a PhD. The longer answer is that the admissions committee wants to see that you have the potential to become an excellent researcher. While publications are one indication of this, they are not the only way to show that you have strong research skills. Presenting at undergraduate conferences, volunteering in a lab, winning research awards, or doing an industry internship also show your research aptitude. Additionally, your letters of recommendation can speak to your potential for research excellence or indicate if the research you’re involved in may lead to a publication eventually. If you are involved in research as an undergraduate or Master’s student that leads to a publication, think of it as a nice bonus rather than a need-to-have.

Having a publication on your CV (even if it’s in a different field) can help your application stand out when applying to a competitive program or make up for a weakness elsewhere in your application. You may notice that some current students in the program published during undergrad, but again, this doesn't make it an application requirement. 

Keep in mind that every field has its own publishing expectations. In the humanities, for example, publications are very rare even at the PhD level and many graduate from top PhD programs without publishing. Engineering is another field that has lower PhD publishing expectations that high output fields like biology. Some fields also have longer experiment times, so it’s understood that, while you may be doing high quality work, it will take longer for your findings to be published. 

Rather than worry about publications, focus instead on gaining solid research experience. Ask to volunteer in a lab. Find a job as a research assistant. Present at an undergraduate conference. Submit a paper to an undergraduate journal. These are equally valuable ways to build up the kind of research experience that makes you a promising applicant. 

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•       Resources       Publish or Perish: Graduate Students' Guide to Publishing

Publish or Perish: Graduate Students' Guide to Publishing

In addition to endless piles of reading, demanding expectations in the classroom, student teaching responsibilities, and the always-looming awareness that they need to research, write, and edit a high-quality dissertation before graduating, today’s Ph.D. students also commonly feel stress about another topic: publishing. As more prospective employers expect degree seekers to get their names in academic journals and conferences while still in school, many learners feel overwhelmed by the prospects of making the grade. The following guide answers some of their most pressing questions, provides guidance on the ins and outs of publishing while still in school, and offers expert advice from a professor who knows better than most what it takes to publish rather than perish.

Understanding Publishing in Graduate School

Getting published as a grad student can feel overwhelming at first, because there’s so much to learn about the process and expectations surrounding it. With a bit of research, however, students can familiarize themselves with the specific language surrounding publishing and make in-roads towards getting their first paper published.

What Does it Mean to Get Published?

Within the context of graduate school, publishing refers to getting essays, papers, and research findings published in one of the academic journals or related forms seen as a leader in the field. As jobs in academia continue to become more competitive, it isn’t enough for learners to simply do well in their coursework. The degree seeker who hopes to land an important post-doctoral fellowship or find a teaching position at a college or university must make themselves stand out in other ways.

When Should a Ph.D. Candidate Get Published?

Getting a paper published takes a lot of time and effort, and those students who wait until the final year or two of a doctoral program may fail to actually have any published materials by the time they graduate. According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Graduate Connections program , getting a paper published – especially if it’s your first – can take up to three years. In addition to the fact that most journals publish quarterly, the panel review process typically takes a significant amount of time and those submitting for the first or second time usually need to make a large number of edits and complete rewrites in order to reach a publishable standard.

How to Get Published

In order to get published, students submit their work to the journal or conference of their choosing. They frequently also provide a cover letter outlining their research interests. Most journals put out generic calls for submissions once or twice a year, while some may ask for papers addressing specific topics that have a much shorter turnaround time. Grad students may find it intimidating to go up against more seasoned academics, but another option revolves around partnering with their dissertation supervisor or another professor with whom they work closely with to co-author a paper. This not only helps ensure the validity of their findings, but alerts the academic world know that this other, more recognized faculty member believes in the research the student is doing.

Who Should Get Published?

Learners most anxious to get published are those who see their future careers in teaching and research. Because the world of academia is relatively small when divided into individual subjects, it’s important for students who want to break into these ambitious arenas to make a name for themselves early on and create a curriculum vitae that captures the attention of hiring committees.

Where Should Students Get Published?

When deciding which publications to pursue, students should consider the research aims of each and their likelihood of getting published. Newer journals tend to take more submissions as they are still working on building up their roster of contributors. While less venerated than other publications, getting printed in these can help build up name recognition and make it easier to break into the top-tier publications over time.

In terms of where work is published, the majority of students look to academic journals when sending out cover letters and examples of their work. But other options exist as well. Presenting papers at conferences is a popular avenue, as are chapters in books. The following sections takes a more in-depth look at how and where to publish.

Realities & Challenges of Getting Published

Getting published, especially while still in grad school, takes tenacity, focus, and a thick skin. Those who continue working on their craft, presenting at conferences, collaborating with others, and not taking no for an answer, however, frequently find success. Some of the challenges students may encounter include:

Lack of time

It’s no secret that doctoral students have busy schedules that seldom allow for outside – or sometimes, even related – interests to take up much of their days. Because publishing is not a degree requirement, carving out the time needed to research, write, and edit the type of paper required for publishing can feel impossible. With this in mind, student should look for ways to multitask. If presenting at a conference, think about how that paper could be transformed into a journal article.

Lack of confidence

Studies have shown that mental stress and illness frequently increase in grad school as students feel intense pressure to stand out from their peers. These feelings are often intensified when considering publishing, as learners are going up against academics and researchers who have been working in the field far longer than them. It’s important to remember that each of those renowned individuals had to start somewhere.

Lack of funding

Completing the research needed for a competitive paper doesn’t only take time – it requires money. Whether traveling to archives or printing all the necessary documentation, funding for outside research can be scarce while in school. Some programs provide competitive grants for research travel to help offset these costs.

Intense competition

As discussed earlier, competition for publishing is fierce. Academic journals and conferences only have space for so many authors and trying to get noticed can feel like a losing battle. In addition to seeking out newer publications and co-authoring with more notable figures, consider taking part in symposiums at the school you attend to get your foot in the door. While research on the average number of rejections is lacking, don’t feel discouraged if it takes a long time to be chosen for publication.

Finding the right publisher

While getting your name in print within an academic journal you greatly admire is the ultimate goal, it may take some years for it to come to fruition. One of the biggest mistakes students make is applying to ill-suited publications. Look for journals with editorial board members whose names you recognize. If a professor knows one of them, don’t be afraid to ask if they can help get your paper in front of them.

Adequately addressing feedback

Getting a paper published often requires intense editing and even completely restructuring and rewriting what you conceived in the initial abstract. If an academic journal shows interest in your essay but suggests rewrites, pay close attention to their requests and try to work with an advisor to ensure you meet all the stated requirements.

What do Graduate Students Publish?

Academic journals may receive the lion’s share of discussion in the publishing world, but graduate students can actually choose from numerous outlets and paths for getting their work to a larger audience. Students should review the options listed below and think about which format might showcase their work best.

Tips for Publishing

Despite the great amount of work required to publish, students who meet the challenges and persevere stand to position themselves favorably for future job opportunities. The following section addresses some of the most common questions about the process and alleviates general fears about how publishing (or not) reflects upon them.

How many papers should a Ph.D. student try to publish before graduating?

According to scholar-practitioner Dr. Deniece Dortch, no single answer exists. “There is no hard and fast rule as to the number of publications students should have prior to graduation,” she notes. “The reality is students in STEM disciplines and those who use quantitative methods are more likely to have publications prior to graduation because they often work in research teams and labs. This is not to say that qualitative scholars or those in other disciplines aren’t, but it’s a much more standardized practice in STEM for students to graduate with two or three publications. Personally, I had one sole-authored publication accepted prior to graduation, one first-authored piece, and one second-authored piece.”

How many journal articles is it possible to publish during a PhD?

“The answer varies and is determined by factors such as length of program, research team access, and faculty relationships,” says Dr. Dortch. “I’ve seen folks finish with as many as 10 publications, although this is extreme and doesn’t happen often.” She continues, “Imagine you are in a four-year program and you get your idea to write an article in year two. You submit that article in year three after getting approval, collecting data, analyzing it, and then writing your paper. Year three you submit that paper; it may be accepted in year four after months of revisions at the request of the editor. You finally have one published paper as you graduate.”

Are there PhD students who have no journal publications? Should they be worried about that?

“It depends on the type of employment the student is seeking upon graduation,” says Dr. Dortch, “Students applying to or wanting to work in institutions and organizations with the highest levels of research productivity who have no publications may want to consider post-doctoral positions so they have the time and space to work on increasing their publication record after graduation.” She continues, “Postdocs are a very common practice in many disciplines and are used as a way to gain additional training and expertise in research and teaching.”

Is it absolutely essential to have publications to apply for a PhD program?

In a word, no. Individuals working toward doctoral degrees have many reasons for doing so, not all of which require them to publish. Admissions panels also recognize that students focus their efforts on many different goals (e.g. jobs, internships, presenting at symposiums) throughout bachelor’s and master’s programs. As long as learners can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to scholarship, publishing is not an absolute requirement.

Does publish or perish begin before starting a PhD program?

It’s true that many students begin worrying about publishing before starting a Ph.D. program, but the reality is that they have ample time during and after completing a doctorate to make their mark on the world of scholarship. According to a recent article by Inside Higher Ed , some individuals in the academy now wonder if too much emphasis is being placed on grad students publishing. Learners unsure about this should speak to a trusted advisor or mentor to figure out when to focus on getting published.

What is the difference between a published article and a Ph.D. thesis?

While a Ph.D. thesis is required for satisfactory completion of a degree, a published article is not. A Ph.D. also takes a much longer form than a published article, averaging approximately 90,000 words. Academic journal entries, conversely, are usually between 4,000 and 7,000 words.

Should I first write my Ph.D. thesis or publish journal articles?

Though publishing at the doctoral level is increasingly seen as a requirement in the job market, it is not part of degree requirements. With this in mind, students should prioritize the research and writing of their thesis above all else. If they have the time and mental clarity needed to publish journal articles, this can be a secondary focus.

From the Expert

Dr. Deniece Dortch is a scholar-practitioner known for her commitment to diversity, social justice and activism. Dr. Dortch holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an Ed.M. in Higher & Postsecondary Education from Columbia University, an M.A. in Intercultural Service, Diversity Leadership & Management from the School for International Training and a B.A. in Spanish from Eastern Michigan University. Hailed a graduate school expert by NPR, she has published numerous articles on the experiences of historically underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students. She is the creator of the African American Doctoral Scholars Initiative at the University of Utah and currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Higher Education at The George Washington University .

Publishing as a student can feel intimidating. Why is this process important for learners to go through?

Long gone are the days of getting a good job by just having a solid dissertation or an award-winning thesis. Publishing your work while in school demonstrates a commitment to answering and understanding our world’s most complex problems. Further, institutions want to know that you have the capacity to publish. Now, publishing doesn’t mean you have to be first author or that you must publish sole-authored pieces only. Collaboration is also sufficient and often encouraged. The publishing process is intimidating for folks because it involves critique and, most often, rejection.

Receiving and giving critical feedback is part of the learning process and students should not shy away from it because it will only serve them well in the end as they learn to cope with disappointment and reward. But more importantly, there is no point spending months and years conducting research if you are just going to keep your findings to yourself. What you learn is meant to be shared.

What are some common mistakes these learners make when preparing their first papers?

Common mistakes that individuals make include not adhering to the guidelines outlined in the submission process. Examples of this can include ignoring formatting requirements (e.g. APA, MLA, etc.), going over the stated word count, inadequately proofreading, and not submitting a cover letter. This is probably the most important one.

What specific advice do you have for them in terms of finding the right outlet, preparing their work, and submitting to journals?

Students should have multiple individuals read over their work before submission. Writing is a process and even after it is submitted, it will need to be revised many more times before you will read it in print. It is part of the process. To find a good outlet for your work, pay attention to where other scholars are submitting their work. If you’re subject is aligned with theirs, you have a shot. Make a list of at least three outlets that fit your article. Also look out for special calls. A special call for submissions usually goes a lot faster than the regular submission process, so if you’re a student who is about to go on the job market, submit to those first. Also, the more competitive the academic, the longer the process, so keep that in mind. If you are rejected, just re-submit to the the next journal on your list.

In addition to publishing in journals, how else might a student go about getting recognition in their field while still in school?

Apply for all fellowships, grants, and awards that are specific to you and what you do. People in the academy love an award winner and they especially love people whose work has been recognized and/or funded by outside groups. A great way to increase a student’s visibility is to publish outside academic journals and publish in other media outlets. Also attend conferences in your field. Try to get on the program as a presenter or facilitator so that people in your field will start to know who you are and your research interests.

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Application requirements for all doctoral programs (phd).

All of our doctoral programs are designed to develop outstanding educational researchers who have a deep understanding of the scientific, practical and policy issues they study. All require full-time study, and we promise five years of full-time financial support for every student we admit. Our doctoral programs are small, typically ranging from about 25 to 35 new students a year. The small size of our doctoral cohorts creates big educational advantages for students: the classes are almost always small, students receive individualized attention from their advisors, and they have many opportunities to develop close collegial relationships with fellow students.

It is extremely important to demonstrate in your statement of purpose that your interests converge closely with the current research of faculty who work in the program to which you are applying. Other doctoral applicants will certainly do this, and if you don't, you will forfeit an important competitive advantage to them. 

If you wish to contact faculty, please read our Which Degree Which Program article, by Professor Eamonn Callan, which outlines the appropriate process for contacting faculty with whom you share research interests. 

• Program website:  Degrees and Programs/PhD
• Length of Program:  5 years (average length)
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The application fee is $125 , is non-refundable, and must be received by the application deadline.

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Stanford offers three types of application fee waivers for which GSE applicants may apply and be considered:

• GRE Fee Reduction Certificate-Based Waiver
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• School-Based Waiver

Please visit the Stanford Graduate Diversity website for instructions, deadlines, and the fee waiver application form.

Statement of Purpose

A Statement of Purpose is required. Your statement should be typed, single-spaced and should be between one to two pages . Describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program, your preparation for this field of study, and why our program is a good fit for you, your future career plans, and other aspects of your background as well as interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study. You may indicate potential faculty mentors as part of your study and research interests. Be sure to keep a copy for your records. What's a Good Statement of Purpose?

A resume or CV  is required of all applicants, depending on which document is most appropriate for your background. There is no page limit for resumes or CVs, though we typically see resumes of one page in length. Please upload your resume or CV in the online application.

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation

Applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation . In the online application, you will be asked to identify your recommenders and their email addresses. Please notify your recommenders that they will receive an email prompt to submit their recommendation online. You can submit your request for letters of recommendation through the system without submitting the entire online application.  Stanford GSE only accepts online recommendations through the application system ; Stanford GSE cannot accept mailed, emailed or faxed recommendations.

Recommendations should be written by people who have supervised you in an academic, employment, or community service setting. We very strongly recommend that at least one of these letters be from a university professor familiar with your academic work. Your recommendations should directly address your suitability for admission to a graduate program at Stanford GSE.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all three letters of recommendation are submitted through the system by the application deadline , so please work closely with your recommenders to remind them of the deadline.

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Transcripts are required from every college and university you have attended for at least one academic year as a full-time student. When submitting your online application, transcripts should be uploaded to the application as a scanned copy or PDF ; this is sufficient for the application review process. Please refrain from sending a secured PDF/transcript with a digital signature as our system cannot upload these properly. The best way to ensure we receive an upload-able document is for you to print out the secured transcript, scan it, and upload the scanned copy (not to exceed 10MB) as a PDF. 

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• Psychology [Psy.D. / Ph.D.]

Can I get into a Ph.D. program without publications?

• Thread starter marcopolo0919
• Start date Feb 26, 2020

marcopolo0919

• Feb 26, 2020

cara susanna

Full member.

It probably depends on how research-focused the program is. I didn't have any publications and I got in, but I also applied to more balanced PhD clinical programs. I think I've read on this board, though, that it's uncommon for undergrads to have publications. Thing is you may be competing against people who did full time research jobs for 1-2 years.  

Do you have anything to lose except a few bucks in application fees and a little time if you apply now? It is the best way to find out.  

thebalmofhurtminds

Are your posters relevant to what you want to study? Are you first author? Any other products? I would also want to increase the GRE score quite a bit.  

AbnormalPsych

Board certified psychologist.

• Feb 27, 2020

Yes, you can.  

AcronymAllergy

Neuropsychologist.

Short answer: yes. Longer answer: yes, but it may depend (as cara susana mentioned) on how research-focused the programs are. If you apply broadly to programs that meet your interests/goals, and you do well on the GRE, I would say it's worth a shot to apply. Anecdotal: I had 2 years of research experience with 0 posters, presentations, or pubs. I ended up getting in somewhere. This was (*cough*more than*cough*) a few years ago, but I would imagine it still happens.  

Pubs not necessary, but they help (I had none). Other products such as presentations help. So many schools emphasize the fit, so you would need to communicate how your experiences and interests fit with what they offer.  

SportsNeuroPsych

In general, it is not a requirement but certainly would increase your chances if you did (I got into a program without any pubs). However, in the context of a strong GPA, GRE scores, interview skills, program match with your interests, and other examples of research involvement (posters, presentations, working in a lab, etc), you should be competitive.  

I had 2 when I was admitted. I spent a few years between UG and PhD working in a lab.  

Justanothergrad

Counseling psychologist.

marcopolo0919 said: I am a senior right now with 2 years of research experience. I presented at 2 conferences but I don't have any publications. I probably will graduate this May with a 3.6. took my first practice GRE and scored in the 150 range on the Verbal and Quantitative and I have a lot of time to study. I was thinking about applying to Ph.D. programs in school psychology and combined school psychology and clinical this fall but I am worried that because I won't have any publications by the time I apply I won't have a chance. Click to expand...

Seven_Costanza

I had just one in preparation as a 4th author and 3-4 posters when I applied and I got into a competitive clinical science program. Despite not having a pub, I still received 9 out of 13 interviews from mostly upper-tier programs. I didn't go to undergrad at a prestigious university at all but did have quality experience from labs at R01 universities, excellent letters of recommendations from my mentors, and decent (not excellent) GRE scores (I think 80th percentile in verbal and 74th% in quant). All this to say, that my background wasn't super typical of my peers, but I was still able to do it by working really hard and being deliberate in my choices. Make sure there is a good match between your research experience and the POI's work and be able to articulate how they can help you meet your goals and what you can uniquely contribute to them.  

psych.meout

• Feb 28, 2020

You need exactly 2 publications, 1 under review, 3 in prep, 2 international posters, and 3 national posters. It's like the Konami code (R.I.P.).  

While I was in grad school we had a dude apply and interview with our lab that already had 10+ publications. He wasn't a good fit in person so he got the axe. Pubs and posters aren't everything. But they certainly can be helpful. Do what you can to get good experience.  

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PhD without publications - impact on career?

Hi everyone! I am nearing the end of my PhD - hopefully finishing my writing soon. I will be dead broke by February - :) and I am consequently looking for a job. I've had the PhD experience from hell (still not sure I'll actually get the bloody PhD) - worst supervisor in the world, lack of funding...project did not work out well, spent 2 years correcting the mistakes of my predecessor... Anyway, I don't wanna go into this all, essentially I will graduate (if I survive my viva) without a publication. How do you guys regard this impacting on my career prospects? Lots of PostDocs out there seem to be requiring at least one paper... Damn!

Just realized that I should elaborate - I absolutely want to stay in science. Just wondering how to turn these nightmarish 3 years into something positive.

Hi Emily, first congratulations that you have come sofar and nearly have your PhD. That is a major achievement and something to be proud of. The issue of publications has come up on this forum several times. I think the general feeling is that the PhD is the first priority and that publications are not a must. Saying that if you have managed to publish your work this would be seen as a bonus, especially if you want to stay in the scientific / academic field. However I am not sure whether it is of any use to worry about this at this stage, as you probably have to concentrate on the final stage of your PdD / viva etc. Obviously it may be useful to look at your material to see whether you can make a publication out of it, although the process between writing, submission and actually seeing your work published is quite a long one.:-)

Be happy you're finishing your PhD! This is the most important thing. On the publications front, try writing something between submission and your viva. Also look at publishing your thesis (or a shortened version).

Hey Emily! I have been told that publications are absolutely vital for your career, at least in my subject, but lots of people wait until they have finished their PhD to publish, and there is research showing that publishing as you go along adds another four months to your PhD on average. Getting your PhD is clearly the priority, but maybe you could start to think about publishing papers from it after you have submitted it, then at least you might have something on the way by the time you are being interviewed for jobs etc and by the time you have your viva. Good luck! KB

Hi Emily, publications are definitley an advantage if you want to progress in research. I know a couple of people who waited until they finished their PhDs before they published and are now successfully pursuing careers in their respective fields.

Wow, quite a few replies already! Thanks. I am not sure what people mean by publishing the thesis? I wish I could afford to only think about writing up and the viva (as I have done in the past 2-3 months) any longer, but I need to find a job from next spring. Maybe publishing some of the work after will be an option, but I doubt it. My supervisor has no interest in the project, it had so many problems and lack of funding it is probably never going to be continued - I am essentially alone in this.

Hi emily, publishing the thesis is just making papers from your work in your thesis :-)

Oh, I see. Not much chance of that from my work...:-( Would you guys openly address this in application/interviews or gloss over it?

Hi Emily The bible on this forum, Joan Bolker's 'Writing Your Disseratation in 15 Minutes a Day' has a chapter on how to publish your thesis, maybe you should have a look? And I'd gloss over this in your applications - don't highlight what you lack and focus on the positives. Even saying that you're writing/submitting etc would help, I think. If you're finishing and going to pass, then your thesis must have original work which you could publish! Have faith in yourself and your work!

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• Publishing During a PhD

Written by Ben Taylor

Getting published during your PhD can be an extremely rewarding experience, allowing you to gain a wider audience for your research along with some valuable experience of the peer review process. While not usually a strict PhD requirement, successfully submitting your work to an academic journal could help prepare you for postdoctoral opportunities or other early career roles.

This page will give you an introduction to the options for publication during a PhD, explaining how it works differently in the Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and STEM subjects.

On this page

Why should you publish during a phd.

Publishing articles and papers during your doctorate can be a great way to boost your academic CV and increase your profile. If you plan on building a career in academia or applying for postdoc positions, publishing numerous articles during a PhD could well set you apart from the competition.

It can also be an incredibly rewarding experience, knowing that the academic community considers your research to be worthy of publication and consideration by other scholars. Finally, publication is a great opportunity to engage with the academic community in your discipline and connect your work with other research in your field.

How many papers should you publish during a PhD?

There isn’t necessarily an average number of publications that you should aim for as a PhD student. In the UK it’s not a requirement for research students to be published while completing their PhD. However, in some countries – particularly North America and Asia – publishing may be a condition for finishing a PhD.

In STEM subjects based around laboratory work it’s more common for PhD students to find their research published as part of a collaborative effort with their supervisor and / or other colleagues within their research group. In AHSS, most articles are written by a sole author and the competitiveness of journals can make it relatively unusual for someone to be published during a PhD.

Can you publish in academic journals without a PhD?

Yes, you can publish in an academic journal if you don’t have a PhD. Your work will be subject to the same rigorous peer review standards as someone with a doctorate.

Publishing during an Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences PhD

While the nature of STEM research means that PhD students are more likely to find publication as a co-author or part of a collaborative team, AHSS scholars usually publish articles as the sole author , which can make publications harder to come by.

However, there are still plenty of ways you can gain publications as a AHSS student, each with their own advantages for your academic career. We’ve listed the main publishing routes below.

Peer-reviewed publication in a journal

Getting an article accepted by an academic journal is one of the most prestigious kinds of publication you can gain as a PhD student. This is because of the rigorous peer-review process , which involves two or more specialists taking a close look at your work and deciding whether it’s worthy for publication. Peer review is usually carried out ‘blind’ which means that you won’t know who your appointed reviewers are, and nor will they know who the author of the piece is. This ensures that all articles – including those by PhD students – are judged entirely according to their academic merits, not the profile of their author. The process can be a lengthy one though, sometimes taking several months.

If you are published in a peer-reviewed journal, it’s a sign of the relevance, authority and quality of your work, and you should be rightfully proud of yourself. It’s also something that you’ll be able to refer to on your academic CV when applying for postdoc opportunities and job positions.

Your supervisor will usually be able to advise you on whether your work is suitable for submission to an academic journal. Papers are normally in the region of 5,000 words, so it might involve reworking the draft of a dissertation chapter or even part of your Masters thesis.

Book chapter

Another publication option is to write a chapter for an edited book on your research specialism. Book chapters don’t normally go through as rigorous a peer review process as a journal article would (instead, selection is usually down to the volume editors), but still make an impressive addition to your CV.

Having a good academic networking can come in handy when it comes to be invited to submit to edited volumes. For example, if your supervisor or one of their contacts / colleagues has been asked to edit a collection of articles on an area that has crossover with your research specialism, they may ask you to contribute a chapter to the book. In general, it’s useful to keep your ear to the ground for potential opportunities that might come about as a result of your department’s publishing schedule.

Book review

In addition to original research articles, most academic journals also carry reviews of recent work in their field (such as monographs, edited collections and so on). Writing these book reviews might be one of the simplest ways to get published as a PhD student. If you get in touch with the reviews editor of an academic journal and introduce yourself / your research specialism, they may ask you to write a short (normally 1,000 words or so) review of a book that they’ve been sent by a publisher.

You’ll then be sent a copy of the book in question, some review guidelines and a deadline. It’s a good idea to read previous reviews in the journal to get a feel for the tone of voice and style. Although book reviews aren’t necessarily subject to the same peer review standards as an article, they can be a great way to understand what’s happening in your field and begin to get your name about as an academic. You’ll (normally) get to keep the book/s too, which is nice.

PhD by publication

Not to be confused with publishing during your PhD, a PhD by publication allows people to be recognised for a portfolio of previously published work. This means that a PhD can awarded to well-published authors without them having to write a new thesis. You can find out more in our full guide to the PhD by publication .

Publishing during a STEM PhD

If you’re studying a PhD in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM), it’s less likely that you’ll be published as a sole author of a paper.

Instead, you may be named as a co-author or multi-author of a publication, along with your supervisor or the laboratory team you’re working collaboratively within.

As is the case with AHSS academic journals, anything you submit to a STEM journal will be subject to a scrupulous peer review process in order to ensure its quality.

Publications depend on the nature of your research and whether you’re working with a new or existing dataset / methodology. If you’re devising something new, you can expect to take longer to get published. If you’re working within a larger laboratory, it’s more likely than you’ll be published as a multi-author on a particular research project. Working closely with your supervisor will often lead to a publication as a co-author .

Another publication route for STEM PhD students is via conference proceedings (AHSS students can also be published using this method). Conference proceedings form a record of what happened at an academic event, with details of the presented papers and research. If you present at an academic conference during your PhD, it’s worth bearing in mind that it can also present a great opportunity for publication in this way.

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• 31 May 2019

No paper, no PhD? India rethinks graduate student policy

• Gayathri Vaidyanathan

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PhD students in India will no longer be required to publish articles in academic journals before they are awarded their doctorates, if the country’s higher-education regulator adopts recommendations from a committee of researchers.

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PhD students publish without supervisors – how does it work?

In my field (experimental physics) the supervision of PhD students works roughly like that: freshmen come to the lab, they are given tasks, then they do experiments, discuss the results with their supervisors, do more experiments, discuss more, and then at some point they start writing papers about their results. There, of course, both PhD students and their supervisors are co-authors on papers, often together with other internal and/or external collaborators.

I've been working in a few countries, and the system was always more or less like that. I do understand why it is functioning this way: in a relatively complicated field of knowledge, a new PhD student is absolutely incapable of writing a paper which would stand up to the standards of the respective scientific community. So the student gets supervision as to which experiments are interesting to do and which not, how to do the experiments, how to analyze results, how to present them, etc. In return, the supervisor, at the very minimum, publishes a paper and gets the work done (and published), as it was described in the funding proposal from which this PhD student is paid. I mean, it is not usually referred to as a deal between a student and a supervisor, but if everything goes well it's a win-win for sure, and it's all pretty obvious, so I am not even sure whether I should have written it in so much detail.

However, surfing through Academia SE, I found a number of questions from PhD students about whether they should publish papers without their supervisors, and, surprisingly, a significant number of answers encouraging them to do so, in the spirit of: “It’s your PhD, how are you supposed to work independently if you can’t publish a paper on your own”. From this I conclude that there are at least some places where this is indeed how the system works, so PhD students publish papers without their supervisors as co-authors. And so, I wonder: How is this system supposed to work long-term? What would be the motivation for supervisors to actually accept and supervise students, if they don't even get a publication from this student's work? Supervision, if done properly, takes quite some time, so as a research scientist, I'd rather spend this time on my own work which will be published under my name, rather then help other people publish their papers.

I can foresee an answer that goes like, it is a sort of moral obligation of a scientist to "raise" PhD students, and he or she should not expect anything "in return", not even a publication. Although some people might indeed share this belief, it would be very naive to build the entire system on moral grounds, so I am sure there is something else.

Update. I would like to quote @AlexanderWoo: "Mathematics is weird is that standards for authorship usually differs in an advisor-student context than outside of one. There are definitely contributions that would merit coauthorship if one were not the advisor of the other author but does not if one is the advisor." Sounds bizarre but again, what do I know.

• publications
• supervision

• 11 I think it's more field- than place-dependent. There's an old poll on the meta site showing that the Academia.SE demographics is (or at least was) skewed towards CS and maths, where students publishing as solo authors is much more commonplace than in physics. And even in physics it seems more common in more theoretical groups than experimental ones. –  Anyon Commented May 1, 2021 at 20:24
• Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat . Please read this FAQ before posting another comment. We can only move comments to chat once. –  Massimo Ortolano Commented May 4, 2021 at 7:48

6 Answers 6

This is not meant as a complete answer, but as one of several observations. I may end up submitting several different answers to this question.

There is a big difference between math and physics in the way people become leaders in the field (though perhaps physics is gradually becoming more math-like in this). In physics, it seems to me that everyone agrees what the big important problems are, and one becomes a leader by solving (or making substantial progress) one of these problems. In math, there are some big problems one can become famous for solving, but most leading mathematicians get their status by convincing the community that the problems they can solve are important, not by solving problems that were considered important beforehand.

As a first approximation, every research mathematician is by default interested in their own problems and no one else's, and every time you convince someone else to be interested in your problem, you 'win'. Your advisees, if they become successful research mathematicians, are naturally people who will have some interest in your problems.

My general research area of algebraic combinatorics is a good example. Forty years ago it was a niche area in which only a handful of mathematicians worked. Now there is an algebraic combinatorialist in almost every sizable math department. Part of the reason for its growth is that mathematicians (for example Robert MacPherson) in other areas of mathematics respected this area and appreciated its contributions towards understanding (non-combinatorial) problems they were interested in, but in large part the growth has been because of Richard Stanley having had 60 successful PhD students, many of whom went on to have PhD students of their own. As a result, Professor Stanley is famous (for a mathematician) and has been invited to speak everywhere. (He is now retired and travels a lot less.)

For me, I can certainly say I would get a lot more credit, both from my university and from my research community, for having a student who went on to a research-oriented postdoc(*) and a tenure-track position with research as significant component than I would for another several papers.

(*) My small department graduates about two PhDs per year, with about one in some area of theoretical mathematics (as opposed to applied mathematics), and, in the memory of the faculty, has never had a PhD who went on to a research-oriented postdoc in theoretical mathematics.

• Thank you! very interesting comparison. When asking my question, I was indeed thinking about mathematics as a field where this should be more common. I do understand that when supervising a student, you might not be interested in a publication as much as in "creating" a new researcher with a similar mindset (i.e. having interest in your problems) because this would be sort of an investment in your future. Yet, this does not exclude co-authorship, so I suppose traditions in mathematics also play a role here. –  sleepy Commented May 1, 2021 at 20:53
• 3 most leading mathematicians get their status by convincing the community that the problems they can solve are important, not by solving problems that were considered important beforehand. – This is not so much different from other fields (including most of physics). The difference seems to be that finding some task that is important and arguing that it is is considered a major part of the creative work and happens in the papers. –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented May 2, 2021 at 10:48
• In biology, a paper doesn't make it into nature/science/cell unless it either solves an existing problem recognized to be important, or identifies a new problem, convinces people it is important AND solves.it. This second is more common because most easy ways to solve existing problems have been tried, but there are an almost infinite number of problems that could be interesting with easy solutions that have not yet been tried. –  Ian Sudbery Commented May 5, 2021 at 11:43

I published two single-author journal articles during my PhD in a field where a PhD student publishing without their supervisor is uncommon. So uncommon, in fact, that I can't think of any other examples in my subfield.

My case is probably unusual in that by a few years into my project, I was far more of an expert in the subject than my supervisor. My former supervisor is a bit of a generalist, so this is not unusual for them. At a certain point during my PhD I started disagreeing strongly with my supervisor about what to do, which is when I started working more independently.

I actually would have been offended if I were required to put my supervisor's name on either paper, as they had negligible intellectual contributions to the papers and were even harmful to them in my opinion. My supervisor made it quite clear that the work was my own, and even stated so during my defense. (They already had tenure so I don't think they needed their name on the papers, though this could be a factor in other cases.)

From my own experience I can say there are advantages and disadvantages to publishing without one's supervisor as a PhD student.

Some researchers will have greater respect for a student who has published independently. I've been pleasantly surprised to be treated as an authority on certain subjects during my PhD. I admit that those people might just be nice all around, but I didn't see most students getting that sort of treatment.

Unfortunately there are people who are suspicious of more independent students. One reviewer brought up the fact that I was a PhD student publishing without my supervisor in their review, as if such a thing were something to be suspicious of. They did not elaborate about what they found suspicious, but in my response I wrote that they are welcome to ask the editor to contact my supervisor if they believe I had not credited others sufficiently. I've also been warned to emphasize successful collaborative work on my CV and cover letters when applying to jobs, as some people will assume that I'm hard to get along with if I work independently too much.

I personally prefer to work more independently. I think the current research environment incentivizes collaboration far too much. I see a lot of groupthink / lowest commmon denominator type thinking in much of heavily collaborative work. Good ideas are avoided too often simply because they are unfamiliar to most people whose approval is needed. Good research often comes from unfamiliarity.

That's not to say that collaboration is often bad, just that it's too often bad. I fully agree that certain projects are impossible without collaboration. But given the choice, I'd bias my own work towards what an individual can handle, which I think is more than most believe.

• 4 +1 your penultimate paragraph is excellent food for thought, thank you. –  astronat supports the strike Commented May 2, 2021 at 6:11
• 3 I think what you wrote has a few valid points, but it misses the main point of my question: why would your supervisor hire you in the first place. I still suppose, guessing on your story, that they were hoping to publish with you in the beginning but due to strong disagreements you mention, the solution was found to let you publish alone and basically let it go. –  sleepy Commented May 2, 2021 at 12:55
• 2 @sleepy While I can't speak for my former supervisor, I do believe that they would have preferred that I published with them. With respect to my supervisor's motivation, I would guess that they view hiring as a numbers game; you can't "win" them all but if you have enough researchers, you will get enough wins. They probably shrugged my case off like they surely shrugged off previous students of theirs who quit, no fault of my supervisor. –  JEs9X Commented May 2, 2021 at 20:14

Experimental sciences are the exception. Research in them usually requires funding for materials and lab equipment, which limits the intellectual freedom a student can have.

I did my PhD somewhere between theoretical computer science and bioinformatics. Research was usually done in small informal groups, because there were no significant expenses apart from salaries and travel. Students were seen as junior colleagues. PhD students and their supervisors naturally published many papers together, as they were discussing their research daily. Later in their PhDs, students often had other collaborations that did not involve the supervisor.

One key feature of theoretical computer science is that the papers are "small". If you have a side project that yields promising results, you can often turn that into a single-author paper with a reasonable effort. I had two such papers during my PhD, which was uncommon but not that rare.

Now I work in bioinformatics, where the focus is on "bigger" papers that require more effort. Students still have plenty of intellectual freedom, but even the side projects are so big that coauthors keep accumulating and eventually the supervisor gets involved too.

Many of my friends in social sciences and humanities were independent researchers from day 1 of their PhD. They did not have as much supervisors as mentors, who were much less involved in their research than what is common in STEM fields. I guess that's the nature of the fields. While STEM students spend most of their undergraduate and master's degrees studying an established body of knowledge, students in social sciences and humanities spend more time learning how to do research.

Research involving extensive field work probably has other mechanisms in play, but I'm not familiar with such fields.

• 2 +1 for social scientists spend longer learning how to do research. I often feel that in my field (also bioinformatics/computational biology, but the more applied side), students arrive relatively underdeveloped as researchers and have only 4 years to get a PhD. –  Ian Sudbery Commented May 2, 2021 at 12:51

I think you have fallen victim to a false dichotomy:

I published one single-author paper during my PhD and one afterwards on a project that already started during my PhD, both in a field where this is unusual (though not an experimental one). However before doing so, I also published five papers with my PhD advisor, three as a first author. These papers went exactly as you describe: The research was outlined by the principal investigators of my research project (including my PhD supervisor), thoroughly supervised, and they contributed strongly to the writing process. That’s how I learnt how to perform and publish research of my own.

My single-author papers differed from the collaborative papers as they originated from my own ideas (both times recognising a lack of methods). My supervisor supported me working on these projects, and these contributed to the overarching research project that paid my salary. My supervisor wasn’t an author of these papers as he couldn’t contribute to them – most of them was executing the original idea. Also, thanks to my previous collaborative publishing experience, I could handle the writing process on my own as well. (Of course, I made use of internal peer review both by my supervisor and other colleagues.)

Performing and publishing a small research project¹ this way is something that I think every PhD student on the verge of graduation should be able to do. After all, that’s what a PhD ideally certifies: the ability to independently perform research. However, this doesn’t mean that all graduating PhD students should work like this all of the time or even most of the time. It does not suffice that the PhD student is capable of publishing a single-author paper, but you they also need to have an idea that works, can be realised within a sufficiently short time, does not require extra resources and does not digress too much from what they are paid for. Still, we probably see fewer such papers than we should on account of supervisors forcing themselves on papers, students prematurely adding them to avoid conflict or not knowing any better.

Finally, mind that there are also differences between fields of what makes for (ethical) authorship. To quote a comment by Alexander Woo :

An advisor might say "try this method" or "maybe this paper I've only looked at the abstract of might be relevant" or "what you suggest can't work because of this result in this paper which you should read", none of which quite counts as working with the student on the problem but is more than "here is your problem".

Depending on the field, these kind of contributions (posing the problem, choosing and refuting methods) are the main creative work, whereas the execution is mere legwork. By contrast, in some subfields of mathematics, only performing a proof and similar seems to be considered worthy of authorship. Something similar applies to the writing process: For example, in most fields context embedding, motivation, arguing for relevance are crucial parts of a paper and properly writing those requires some skill that can arguably be only learnt on the job, i.e., in collaboration with the supervisor. By contrast, there are subfields of mathematics where papers are almost completely devoid of these parts, but consist almost exclusively of definitions, theorems, and proofs.

¹ Mind that this already excludes fields, in which small research projects are not a thing and every project requires several people.

• True, an experienced PhD student close to graduation sometimes might be capable of performing their own research and publishing alone. I should have mentioned that my question is not exactly about those cases. However, even there I am not quite sure why you said "My supervisor [...] couldn’t contribute to them"; was it completely different field outside of their expertise, or maybe they simply did not want to? –  sleepy Commented May 2, 2021 at 13:01
• 1 @sleepy: I should have mentioned that my question is not exactly about those cases. – And what do you conclude from that? If people cannot publish on their own anyway, …, well, they can’t. — was it completely different field outside of their expertise, or maybe they simply did not want to? – As I said, after conception, the rest was execution, and there was no point in them (instead of me) doing that. There simply was no good opportunity for them to help me. –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented May 2, 2021 at 13:25
• 3 Mathematics is weird is that standards for authorship usually differs in an advisor-student context than outside of one. There are definitely contributions that would merit coauthorship if one were not the advisor of the other author but does not if one is the advisor. –  Alexander Woo Commented May 2, 2021 at 15:45
• @AlexanderWoo: While this certainly happens, I think the claim that standards for authorships usually differ between these situations, is too general. I think that it depends a lot on the people involved, and also on the country where the PhD is done. –  Jochen Glueck Commented May 3, 2021 at 0:21

If I understand correctly, the OP's question is mainly:

"Why would a researcher support PhD students without the benefit of writing papers with them?" (Where "support" can mean a number of things, such as hiring and supervising students in the first place, "allowing" them to publish on their own, encouraging them to publish on their own, and so on.)

Disclaimer: As mentioned in a comment, I am not completely sure whether I interpret the focus of the OP's question correctly, so let me specify that this answer refers to the presumed question that I marked in bold above.

A lot of important things have already been mentioned in other answers and comments (in particular, the dependency on the field), but I think in order to specifically answer the question, it is important to point out the following observation:

The question is based on the premise that the only primary goal of a researcher is to maximize their paper output (where "paper output" is probably a - somewhat individual - function of both qualitiy and quanitity, and in some fields also of the position within the list of authors).

However, this premise is incorrect.

The actions of human beings (rumour has it that even some scientists are human beings...) depend on various intrensic and extrinsic motivations and - most importantly - on the very complex mixture and interplay between the both.

Here is a non-comprehensive lists of goals that, say, a professor at a research university might (or sometimes might not) seek to achieve (in arbitrary order):

Make for a living, i.e., earn sufficient (what ever this means) money and/or retain a high amount of job security.

Gain and retain social esteem (including self-esteem, esteem by their family and friends, by colleagues and collaborators, their students, their university, their wider scientific community, sometimes even by complete strangers, and so on).

Enhance scientific progress in their specific subfield(s).

Promote their subfield(s) and, in particular, those parts/theories within their subfield(s) that they are particularly fond of (for instance, because they think a theory is particularly important, or because they consider it "their" theory, "their baby", "their legacy", or whatever.)

Make a contribution to solving problems that human societies are facing.

Have fun during their work.

Develop and study exciting ideas.

Collaborate with other people (most humans like social interactions, at least to a certain extent, on collaborations are one kind of social interaction).

Retain sufficient spare time to spend with their family, their hobbies, etc.

Behave what they consider ethical.

Co-authoring papers is not an end on itself; instead, it can be seen as one of several means that are instrumental to pursue some of the goals listed above (and probably also further goals). In fact, they are certainly a rather important mean, but there are also other things that can - and should - be done in order to achieve goals such as the ones listed above.

One of these further means is supervising PhD students, even if the supervision does not result in additional papers on the supervisors CV.

So to actually answer the question, let me discuss by a few examples how supervising students can help to achieve the goals mentioned above:

(The order is, again, irrelevant; I enumerate the points merely to facilitate later reference in case that some users wish to comment.)

(1) An important part of "making for a living" is to get a permanent position first (for instance, in the US this is what it typically means to "get tenure").

In order to get such a position, co-authoring many papers is certainly helpful (at least at the paper's quality does not significantly suffer from their numbers), but hiring committees, tenure committees, etc., will also expect other things, for instance, experience in the supervision of PhD students. So supervising PhD students can mean a considerable benefit for the superviser, even of the latter does not co-author any (or not many) papers of the students.

For people who already have permanent positions, the pressure is probably a bit less; but still it is in many cases considered as part of their job to supervise PhD students. If they don't do this, this might (or might not, depending on the circumstances) cause them considerable problems with their employer (i.e., their university).

(2) Supervising PhD students will often earn people social esteem from several sources: for instance, from the PhD students themselves (at least if the supervisor does a decent job), from their department, from other colleagues. Depending on the culture of the scientific field, the country, the university and even the department, the amount of esteem that a supervisor earns might even be considerably higher of their PhD students are perceived as working quite independently.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you often claim co-authorship for contributions which are usually not considered sufficient for co-authorship within your field, precisely the opposite thing is likely to happen: You might earn contempt instead of esteem.

(3) An excellent PhD student will obviously be an asset for scientific progress, so if the supervisor has an execellent PhD student, they can befinit scientific progress by supporting this student. Giving excellent students the opportunity to work independently can benefit these students in various ways (and might hurt them in others, of course - it certainly depends on the situation and the people involved).

(4) If a PhD student specialises in the same (or a closely related) theory as their supervisor, then it will likely help to promote this theory if the student successfully pursues an academic career after their PhD. In many (though not all) cases, such a career will be supported if the student has evidence of their ability to work indepently - and papers authored by the student alone are sometimes (often?) considered as such evidence. Similary, papers that the student wrote with other collaborators, but not with their supervisor as a co-author, have a good to chance to be interpreted in the sense that "the student's ability to do research is not ultimately tied to their supervisor", which can also benefit their career opportunities.

(5) In order to help solving society's problems by means of scientific research, it is a reasonable course of action to choose those PhD candidates who are most likely to do an excellent job and make good contributions, rather than to choose those who are most likely to co-author papers with you.

Also, leaving people a good amount of freedom and giving them the opportunity to work more independently, will often increase the probability for good new ideas and innovation.

(6) People are more likely to like their work if there's a good climate at their lab. Professors who prevent students from publishing papers on their own even if the students were perfectly up to it, are not likely to have a positive impact that climate. Professors who force their name onto articles to which they haven't contributed at all, are also unlikely to have a positive impact on that climate (at least be this particular action; of course, they might still impact the climate positively by other things they do).

So if a professor is does such things too often, there's a non-negligible chance that this turns (or at least takes part in turning) their own lab into a place where they wouldn't like to work and where their students wouldn't like to work, either. The first of those consequence clearly has a direct negative impact on the professor's well being, while the second can have negative impacts on some others of the proefessor's possible goals discussed here (for instance, to enhance scientific knowledge, since dissatisfied students are less likely to do good work).

(7) Developing exciting ideas is more likely if you work with people who are able to think and work independently. But there is certainly a positive correlation between people's ability to think and work indepedently and their desire to actually do think and work indepdently. So I you like to work with students in order to develop exciting ideas, you're often better off if you supervise students you are able to think and work independently - but this will sometimes (often?) have the consequence, that those students will also expect the possibility to work independently to a certain extent.

(8) If you like collaborating with other people, then you do, of course, have an incentive to... well, collaborate with other people. This particular incentive is independent of the question whether this collaboration also yields an additional paper on your CV. (But surely, in many cases the prospect to get an additional paper on your CV might be another and additional incentive for a collaboration.)

Whether a collaboration will probably result in a paper with you as co-author, depends, of course, on many things. If you supervise a PhD student, then your contribution might sometimes (though certainly not always) be of a kind which does not automatically warrant you co-authorship in some (!) scientific fields.

(9) If you have a lot of things to do (as professors typically have), and would still like to reserve non-zero spare time, then it is reasonable to delegate a certain amount of work. For instance, if you feel that a PhD student is up to doing a certain project mostly on their own, and that they will probably benefit from doing so, then you might choose to indeed let them do it mostly on their own.

This will (again, often, though probably not always) reduce you're committment in terms of working hours you put into the project, since giving guidance and feedback is less time consuming than making more detailed contributions to the project. On the other hand, this might result in a paper for which you don't have a good claim to be a co-author.

(10) Many (not all, obviously) people prefer to keep a clean conscience - so they try not to engage in actions which they consider unethical. Some people (their percentage is certainly field dependent) do consider it unethical to write their name on a paper they contributed (almost) nothing to.

Please note that this is just a sample list (which is light years from being comprehensive); I wrote it in order to demonstrate two things:

Researcher do have many incentives to supervise students, even if this doesn't always yield a new paper for the supervisor.

In some situations, insisting on co-authorship might even be counterproductive to some (or many) of the professor's goals.

Final remarks.

Please also keep in mind that, while many people have a considerable interest in performing very well on their jobs and many people put a very large amount of work into achieving this, most of them have little interest in over-optimising their performance at the upper end ot the scale.

For instance, assume you are an accomplished researcher and tenured professor, with a lot of experience and many achievements; you write many high-quality papers, are liked by your scientific community, do really enjoy your job, and like to work with your students. Then there is only very little incentive to insist on yet one more paper on your CV.

Say, you're in such a situation and you're facing a "borderline case" of a project by one of your students, where one could well argue for or against your co-authorship, and both decisions would be unlikely to have any considerable negative impacts on anyone: in such a situation, why would you really care whether you're going to have this paper on your CV or not?

One more word on field dependence: What has, as far as I can see, not been emphasised in this discussion so so far, is that fields do also have different conventions on how to order the authors of a paper. For instance, in pure math, authors are almost exclusively ordered alphabetically. In more applied fields, on the other hand, authors are typically ordered to indicate how much they contributed to the paper.

In a field where authors are ordered by contributions, there's a natural option to include authors who contributed significantly less to the paper than other authors. In a field where authors are ordered alphabetically, though, the minimal contribution in order to be recognised as a co-author will naturally be higher.

• Thank you for your long and detailed response. I disagree with you on many points you mentioned, but nonetheless appreciate the effort. For example, I do believe that proper supervision of PhD students involves making creative and intellectual contributions to their work, which naturally results in co-authorship of the papers. Anyway, an interesting point about alphabetical co-authorship and higher threshold of contributions. –  sleepy Commented May 3, 2021 at 22:26

I published several papers as a PhD student.

• some were together with 500 other authors, this should ring a bell to you if you are in particle physics. I value these papers the least (note that this is a personal approach: people who work in high energy physics often do not have other ways to publish as they are part of a collaboration and it is not that easy to build an accelerator and detector in your barn)
• some were together with a smaller team, where everyone contributed something. A great way to learn how to collaborate across diverse teams.
• some were with my advisor because we discussed topics together and his input was valuable
• some were by myself. Out of these, I wanted to publish two that were from "me and my supervisor" but my supervisor told me "your idea is too valuable to be diluted with me as a co-author. I have all the publications I need, you do not" . He was truly a role model for me (in other aspects of Academia as well)

So every kind is possible.

Now, academia being what it is (or was, 20+ years ago) - I know some people who could not publish by themselves because their supervisor insisted on being added to each publication. They were not competitive enough to send the publication anyway (and get into a conflict), so some of the publications were by "author, author and leeches". You must take that political aspect into your publication strategy (very, very much unfortunately)

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