r/PhD is a subreddit with 273k members. The most common kinds of discussions are advice requests and pain & anger, and the community frequently discusses phd, looking for, struggling, research, and hard time, and they frequently recommend/review tablet, ai tools, and coding language.
The goal of this community is to support PhD seekers and holders globally, fostering a thoughtful space for shared experiences, challenges, and growth. We aim to create a space for those navigating the journey of a PhD, offering support and insight from those who have been through it
Popular Themes in r/PhD
#1
Advice Requests
: "1 year unemployment since PhD - do I go bite the bullet and go abroad?"
21 posts
#2
Pain & Anger
: "I now hate the field I got my PhD in, and feel worthless"
12 posts
#3
Solution Requests
: "I built a free, open-source tool that turns your ORCID into a formatted academic CV"
1 post
Popular Topics in r/PhD
#1
Phd
: "I can finally say I officially have a Phd offer"
126 posts
#2
Looking For
54 posts
#3
Struggling
38 posts
#4
Research
: "Do professors get full freedom of Research in their domain? Or there are fund or administrative constraints which they have to face constantly"
17 posts
#5
Hard Time
15 posts
#6
Worst
14 posts
#7
Advice
14 posts
#8
Frustrating
12 posts
#9
Supervisor
: "Is your Supervisor connected to you on LinkedIn?"
11 posts
#10
Job
10 posts
Products Discussed in r/PhD
Tablet
23 reviews
#1
Ipad
4.3★ from 4 reviews
#2
Samsung
5.0★ from 4 reviews
#3
Surface
4.0★ from 3 reviews
Ai Tools
17 reviews
#1
Afforai
5.0★ from 2 reviews
#2
Quillbot
4.0★ from 1 review
#3
Semantic Scholar
5.0★ from 1 review
Coding Language
12 reviews
#1
R
4.3★ from 6 reviews
#2
Python
4.4★ from 5 reviews
#3
Prism
5.0★ from 1 review
Flair Used in r/PhD
#1
Seeking advice-academic
: "Professor, who runs the PhD program, is mad that I’m not sharing funding opportunities with my cohort."
48 posts
#2
Seeking advice-personal
: "Leaving academia and grieving"
43 posts
#3
🐸 🎉FROG TIME🎉🐸
: "IT IS DONE, I am doctor"
21 posts
#4
Vent (NO ADVICE)
: "Today I found out a remote labmate had a live webcam pointed at our shared lab. I still can't believe this happened."
16 posts
#5
Big Decision Energy
: "What's a lesson you learned during your PhD that no supervisor, professor, or orientation session ever told you?"
15 posts
#6
Conference and Networking Talk
: "As a Phd student, what's the worst academic dishonesty moment you everwitnessed?"
9 posts
#7
Resource sharing
: "A Complete Compilation of 231 Direct PhD Programs in Non-English Speaking Countries"
8 posts
#8
Seeking advice-social
: "What are the most stereotypically nerd leisure activities that you do as a PhD?"
7 posts
#9
Memes
: "Here's your motivation for today!"
4 posts
#10
Getting Shit Done
: "a gift after recently finishing my PhD"
4 posts
Member Growth in r/PhD
Yearly
+66k members(32.1%)
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About
GummySearch helps people research Reddit communities by organizing activity, growth, themes, and post-level signals into one place.
This page gives a focused view of r/PhD, including current member size, discussion patterns, product reviews, and related communities to explore.
This data is synced periodically so insights stay current and useful for ongoing research.
Last updated: June 30, 2026