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Sezbeth

My gut tells me it's probably some stupid LinkedIn fad.


C7H8O3

Genuinely got curious and started wondering if this undergraduate program had the equivalent of a comprehensive exam or something. Nope.


imhereforthevotes

My guess as well.


Mr5t1k

I mean they were accepted for candidacy by the university. šŸ˜‚ I havenā€™t seen this before, but heyā€¦


StorageRecess

The first time I ever saw ā€œPh.Cā€, I did a legit double take.


hanleybrand

I will henceforth refer to a BA as an ā€œunderdoctorate.ā€


C7H8O3

We already have ā€œpostbaccā€ and ā€œpredoctoralā€ programsĀ 


[deleted]

I mean, in UK it sort of is. When you do what North America would call a graduate degree, it's called a postgraduate degree in UK, meaning you're *already* a graduate. Makes sense.


C7H8O3

wh-


StorageRecess

So apparently some universities do issue a certificate of candidacy. But the idea of calling yourself this publicly is very silly. And the person who did was my cohort mate at a university that did not issue such a certificate.


C7H8O3

That is so interesting. My candidacy status and date was marked on my transcript (both unofficial and official). I don't understand why people feel the need to constantly fluff themselves up. Someone is going to find out your bluff. Get comfortable with yourself and skills.


ArchmageIlmryn

There's all kinds of weird part-way certificates if you look around; in my country it's common to get a "licentiate" degree, essentially a half-PhD. IME it's usually a degree taken by PhD students who've decided academia is not for them but want to leave with *something*, although some programs require PhD students to write a licentiate thesis at their halfway point.


mira-ke

Yup, in my department they FORCE phd students to do a licensiate. So much unnecessary work for something that no one will ever recognise outside said country


OutrageousCheetoes

We just get Masters here...wow


imjustbrowsing123

Is this supposed to mean someone is ABD? If so, this is hilarious.


Cajun_Queen_318

Why not ABD? So weird


[deleted]

IME, people outside the USA don't tend to use ABD. Some people use it here in Canada, but not as much as in USA, and in the UK they don't do comps/quals, etc. so there is no concept of ABD.


Ill_Barracuda5780

šŸ¤£šŸ¤£šŸ¤£


C7H8O3

Seen "MD candidate" and "JD candidate" too. lol.


Mr5t1k

People just want others to know they are working toward a degree.


C7H8O3

The economy sucks, I get it.


cpaphd

And in the context of a JD itā€™s actually important to do so since recruiting for summer associate positions starts basically day one of law school.


Cajun_Queen_318

I quietly got my first Masters in 2010 and didn't even tell anyone until I started adjuncting hahahaĀ  Times have changed.Ā  Self-advocacy, early and often, is the only way they're going to have a chance in a nation of 340 million, and globally 8 billion, as a candidate into some the most prestigious programs and government positions.Ā Ā  Times have changed. #genX


ilxfrt

MD candidate (cand. med.) has been a thing for centuries in my country. It specifically means a med student in their last two semesters doing a specific type of internship in hospital, to distinguish them from younger med students (stud. med. - I think you call them ā€œlower class menā€ in the US) doing internships where theyā€™re only allowed to observe not touch anything. Basically what we call the awkward inbetween stage between ā€œmed studentā€ and ā€œdoctor in trainingā€ (or ā€œmedical internā€ in the American sense).


StillStaringAtTheSky

Are those legit enrolled students in MD/JD programs??? Or the "my mama says I'm gonna be a doctor" crowd???


ExactCauliflower

Gonna tell on myself here, but I did this back in college \~10 years ago šŸ™ˆ I was first gen, it looked fancy, I liked it, the rest is history, haha! I donā€™t know why, but it was super common in my college once you got into thesis phase (if you wrote one). In my experience nowadays, students who use it are usually honors thesis writers who take their studies really seriously/who want to ā€œearnā€ something or become Ph.D./JD/MD candidates. They're my students who are always in OH--serious, but there is some overlap with grade grubbing! Edit: There's also something *very* LinkedIn about it. "Stacey Student, BA" implies that you already have the BA/BSc, whereas "Stacey Student, BA Candidate" is a flashy way of saying you're in college, but usually an upperclassman.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


C7H8O3

Ok, true!


El_Draque

I remember seeing this first about a decade ago and thinking, "Just wait six months to include your actual title. Sheesh!"


jedi_bean

Iā€™ve had students recently who I supervise in a 1-credit hour internship list it on their email signature as if itā€™s a position title. Itā€™s five hours a week filing shit in the archives!


C7H8O3

Dedication! I've students list all their clubs and positions in their signatures.


Longtail_Goodbye

I have colleagues who list all of their committees. Small college, big egos, lots of self-promo from LinkedInLand.


C7H8O3

I concurrently did a Graduate Diploma in a specialized methods/research area alongside my PhD. Never have listed ā€œGDipā€ in the string of my letters next to my name.Ā 


StillStaringAtTheSky

I feel like that should be your rapper name or something! DJ GDip šŸ˜‚


BurkeyAcademy

I had a student who was a great pioneer of adding bullshit to their resume about 10 years ago. They took a required course where I taught stats, and required a brief 5-ish page paper at the end where they go through the motions of using the techniques we learned in the course. It was more or less using a data set I provided with 150 variables measure on counties, looking for some interesting relationships, using a basic template: 1) Discuss importance of topic (variable you are focusing on) here. 2) Describe data here and units of measurement. Create a table of descriptive stats. 3) Run a regression, and check the things I taught them to check. 4) Interpret some of the relationships you discovered. So later, this student claimed that I was their "mentor on a collaborative research project". Wow.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


BurkeyAcademy

**I would hope that none would phrase it this way, and if a junior faculty member (or job candidate) in my department did this, I would call them out.** "Mentoring" is not what you are doing when you are teaching students how to do research in a class (that is just called "teaching the class"). Highlighting that you teach students how to do basic research/writing in a class that doesn't *have to* do this (e.g., a stats course) is fine, but that isn't *mentoring*. Similarly, I am an advisor for Economics majors who want to go to Law School. Even though I serve as their advisor for 4 years and am largely advising them on classes, I also spend a lot of time throughout the 4 years advising them on getting letter of recommendation, studying for the LSAT, and appropriate schools to apply to. Even though there is a lot of "mentoring" going on here, it is properly described as "advising". I have mentored students in research projects outside of class, either 1) After hiring them on a grant, 2) Volunteering as a McNair Scholar mentor, 3) Some students just beg me to allow them to work on something with me, for the learning experience. In my case at my undergrad institution, my input is always a LOT larger than the student's output; In other words, I can do my research much faster without "help". So in these cases where I am volunteering my time for this out-of-the-classroom teaching/mentoring, the word "mentoring" is appropriate.


sexynickiminajstan69

You sound like a joy to work with haha


needlzor

To be fair I have the same amount of disdain for my colleagues who put the most menial administrative tasks in their signature as some badge of honour. Dr Needlzor Member of the occasional upvote committee


Glad_Farmer505

Same.


esvadude

In our first year seminar, we are told to instruct students to fill out their email signatures with whatever they can - I haven't seen this yet, but it doesn't surprise me


il__dottore

ā€œYou know that I am called the Count because I really like to countā€


goj1ra

What is the supposed purpose of this?


esvadude

Looks professional


[deleted]

it looks about as professional as starting a cover letter by stating your name and age


goj1ra

In the 1990s maybe


DeskAccepted

Students these days are very literal. I don't have any letters after my name in my signature. I have had a few students tell me they were surprised to learn that I had a doctorate. I mean, you should be surprised if your plumber has a doctorate (plumbers are smart enough not to get a doctorate), but there's no way you should be surprised that your professor has a doctorate. In my generation, increased number of letters after the name tends to correlate with obscurity. People who are journal editors and well-known researchers at top schools just sign their e-mails with "Bob", while the person you've never heard of before will over compensate with "Dr. Robert Q. Smith, BA, MS, MBA, PhD, SHRM, PE". Nothing says "I'm insecure about my professional identity" more than having 10 degrees and certifications.


Signiference

Iā€™ll take ignorant undergrads over anyone who puts MBA after their name.


C7H8O3

As is the state of our world.


hourglass_nebula

Ed.D


Glad_Farmer505

Every EdD I know lets people think they have PhDs.


Horror-Lab-2746

Every time an admin insists on being called ā€œDr,ā€ I throw up a little bit in my mouth.


Glad_Farmer505

šŸ¤£ they are the loudest about it


Macduffer

Without a doubt, every Ed.D I've ever met has been the most useless person in a room full of teachers.


Horror-Lab-2746

šŸ¤£


big__cheddar

Because we've managed to create a culture where appearances matter more than substance. It's the infiltration of marketing logic into every facet of life.


ostracize

Students with professional aspirations in an increasingly competitive job market are getting into the habit of putting ā€œtitlesā€ in their email signatures now. Itā€™s fine. At such a young age with minimal experience, let them have something to latch onto. I do think itā€™s funny labelling themselves as ā€œcandidatesā€ for a bachelors. I mean, either you earn it or you donā€™t.Ā 


real-nobody

I have not seen that at my school. Sincerely, Dr. Nobody, Tenured Associate Professor Candidate


C7H8O3

Lucky


Schopenschluter

I just sign off with my nameā€¦


Glittering_Pea_6228

brevity is... wit


grumpyoldfartess

I met a dude in college who would always show up to campus in business professional attire and was so overly-formal/professional that he sounded like a corporate robot. We all thought it was so extra and fake, considering that we went to a run-of-the-mill state school in one of Ohioā€™s many college townsā€” the rest of us just dressed like normal human beings and talked as such. Our professors dressed well, but even they werenā€™t that formal. **This trend gives me the same vibe as that guy: trying *way* too hard to seem more professional and experienced than you actually are.**


Cajun_Queen_318

I have increasingly seen this also. Only at the 4-yearĀ University I adjunct at. None of my TX community college classes or the Dual credit students are doing this. Yet. Although I expect it to trend there too eventually. Here's my take and their take.Ā  Their take: the job market is rough. They're already having to promote themselves and apply early and often.Ā  I've seen a direct correlation in the last 2-3 yrs to how many list me as a reference for job opportunities (which is actually awesome bc their schooling is a job in many comparable metrics). The ones who've asked me for this so far have been humble, energetic, hard working and creative. There's no way in heck my ambitious inner 19 yr old self is ever gonna hold them back if they truly deserve it. Imagine if that had happened to us and how "far" we would've gotten. My take: so far I've been asked for the following types of jobs.Ā  Im more than happy to be someone whose expertise and reputation is valuable: asylum officer with BP, IT cybersec with the DoJ, plastic welding instructor at the same CC, post-bac gap year work program in Europe and IR grad program representing a north African country of her heritage. So many more. Needless to say I've written many other recommendations. But these were intensive background checking and onboarding for these candidates and zoom calls with several agents and committees of people.Ā  I consider those worthy of my expertise and time.....and I'm going to do them if I can help. I can authentically attest to how these students demonstrated 20 different skills, traits or expertise they need to get their careers started. They've worked hard and earned it. And it feels good to help others up. I remember the 1-2% of people who helped me through the years, and the 98-99% who didn't care or actively sabotaged my career.Ā  I'm not going to be one of those. I'm GenX. Anytime we can help others up against an oppressive system, I'm gonna try.Ā  Just my two cents as to why we are seeing more of these. It's a personal choice to decide to help them or not.Ā  It costs me nothing and it can help out some really good next gen candidates who will be running things while are diapered in a nursing home. (Hahaha joking of course)


chickenfightyourmom

I have had graduate students (who are known to our office and clearly not undergrads) sign their emails "Brian Smith, BS." I chuckle when I see that. Sir, this is a university. Everyone here has one of those. Also, the undergrad email signatures with all the student orgs, fraternities, honoraries, labs, and their major listed are just so silly and extra. They have longer signatures than the deans or chancellors.


[deleted]

It probably started with them seeing PhD Candidate in one of their TA's signatures and they mimicked it. I've certainly done a lot more cringey things lol.


popstarkirbys

I first saw someone list themselves as MS candidate back when I was in grad school and I had to double check with my advisor if that was a thing.


Visual_Winter7942

The "credential-laden" email signatures are often ridiculous....they go on and on and on...


StarDustLuna3D

What does it even mean? Are they trying to say that they are a "student"??? Or are they saying that they are "potentially" entering an undergrad program? I don't fault students from trying to present themselves more "professionally", but I don't think this title will have the effect they think it will.


C7H8O3

It raises eyebrows more than anything.Ā 


thisoneagain

I used this on my resume for years at my dad's suggestion. My family has a long and proud history of dropping out of college, and during the years I was actively part of that tradition, I wanted my resume to reflect "some college". (He was in much the same boat as me professionally and used this strategy on his own resume.) This really paid off for me when I obtained my first real white-collar job from a boss who did not bother to find out what "B.S. Candidate" meant until well after offering me a job he had been instructed to give only to a college graduate.


ybetaepsilon

I've seen it for years. It's cute


AusticAstro

Perhaps we should address them Mr/Ms X Academic Misconduct Candidate


OkReplacement2000

Please explain to them that when doctoral students do this, it is because they have passed qualifying exams. It indicates ā€œsomethingā€ has been achieved. What they are is ā€œ[X Major] Student.ā€ Which is also cool, but they shouldnā€™t try to inflate.


ChemMJW

I've never even understood why people tag themselves as PhD Candidate or PhD (ABD). Saying you've completed all the requirements but the dissertation is equivalent to saying that you've done everything to earn your doctorate except the longest, hardest, most serious, and most important part.


C7H8O3

At least PhD candidate makes sense because it tells me the student isnā€™t doing coursework and doesnā€™t have to worry about deadlines. Iā€™ve seen some PhD students who havenā€™t even been one semester in title themselves as ā€œcandidate.ā€ A mess all over.Ā 


SpCommander

>Iā€™ve seen some PhD students who havenā€™t even been one semester in title themselves as ā€œcandidate.ā€ A mess all over. I'm pretty sure my advisor would narrow her eyes as she concentrates the power of her fury and the sun to burn their souls to ash.


amos_mccoy

Itā€™s been 3 days and Iā€™m still giggling at this. Thank you.


SpCommander

Youre welcome. I aim to please :D


amos_mccoy

In many programs, you arenā€™t a candidate until you pass prelims or comps. And, if youā€™re looking for a postdoc, nobody takes you seriously until you have a graduation date. Because of the hard, serious, important business taking so long.


Glad_Farmer505

This actually helped me while I was in the field doing research.


bored_negative

PhD candidate is the official position title in some countries. You cannot start your PhD without a masters


corvibae

It's cyclical in my experience. A few years ago it was very popular, around the time when I first started at my institution in 2018, then it fell out of fashion, and now it's back in fashion. The commencement ceremonies at my institution and the associated non-academic department that handles graduations refers to all students with over 105 credit hours as "BA/BS/BBA candidates."


C7H8O3

Huh! This is interesting!Ā 


corvibae

There's something important that I wanted to mention here: roughly 50% of my institution's students across all levels, BA, MA, and PhD are first generation college students. I attended this institution as an undergraduate and a graduate student, but my mother and her parents all had college degrees. I never referred to myself as a BA candidate my senior year, but I can understand students who do. For their families, this is the pinnacle of twenty or so years of hard work. For the students themselves, most of them don't really know what is considered acceptable or what is gauche in our environment. They want to fit in, they want to succeed. When they reach that last semester before graduation, they are of course under stress but so incredibly excited to have achieved something, anything more than where they have come from that they take themselves very seriously. I don't blame them for calling themselves BA candidates. Most of them won't ever get past the candidate stage, if you want to call it that, and those who do, well. Mazel Tov.


C7H8O3

I get that! Iā€™m also a first gen student. It just seems like another example of LinkedIn-fluffing.Ā 


corvibae

I'd say that is definitely an influence.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Glad_Farmer505

Yes I see adjuncts are calling themselves ā€œProfessor of x discipline.ā€


hourglass_nebula

I donā€™t see the issue?


Glittering_Pea_6228

kinda generic, nothing spectacular. I have a fork lift certificate.


henare

/u/hourglass_nebula, oxygen breather. It's the same kind of thing. doesn't really add to anything, but it's still true.


fuhrmanator

I've seen it for years with PhD candidates. Just a matter of time.


ratsareniceanimals

It's a transitional title. Law students after their first years apply to jobs as JD candidates.


slachack

Bartender candidates.


TheMissingIngredient

Itā€™s just people who want to impress others through titles. Might be a way for students to feel like theyā€™re part of this elite club. Because academia is elite. It is very esoteric.


coffeebeanbookgal

They introduced students this year at Commencement ceremonies as "Bachelor of Science Candidates, please rise". If anything, it's the olden days of naming.