best books for phd entrance exam

Should you be reading for pleasure in graduate school?

Think you only have time to read text books in grad school? That’s what I thought too. You have more time than you think. Your future self will tell you so (trust me). The 5-15 hours and $8-$35 it will take you to read any of these books will pay itself back in time and earnings many-fold throughout your student life and in your first job offer after graduation. Invest in yourself and reap the benefits later.

Don’t set out to read all these books at once. Order 2-3 to start and read them in small doses. Take the day to think about the pages you just read and how they can apply to your life. After you see the changes manifest, come back and find a few other books to continue your journey to becoming your best self.

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Books to improve your academic writing skills and research output:

How to write a lot: a practical guide to productive academic writing by paul silvia.

This book won’t make you a better writer. It’ll make you a more prolific one. By focusing on good writing habits and drawing clear boundaries between writing time and personal time, you’ll start to turn the excruciating blank page process into a series of small measured successes.

The 2 nd edition includes new sections for advice on grant writing and fellowship proposals, making it a favorite book of many post-docs and new faculty. He also deconstructs every excuse you could ever make for not writing, relying on binge-writing and otherwise procrastinating.

If you follow the advice in this book you should expect benefits to your mental health and work-life balance because you won’t always “feel like you should be writing.” Try it!

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Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

A bestselling classic about the writing process, writer’s block and the internal obstacles in the writer’s mind. Not specifically about graduate school or academia but is included in this list because it is so highly recommended in the writing community.

The title refers to a short story from her childhood about writing a paper about birds. Like the “How to write a lot” book above, this one encourages a steady and consistent process taking small tasks one at a time. You won’t find a lot of advice about how to write well in this book.

This is written for anyone who struggles with anxiety, perfectionism and paralysis when staring at the blank page and blinking cursor. It’s more of an introspection to ease your nerves with a few exercises to help you get started.

Several Short Sentences About Writing by Verlyn Klinkenborg

A unique book that can help snap you out of typical academic writing mode “…thus the present findings elucidate a novel method for exploring the behavior and interactions of…”

Almost poetic. Almost rhythmic. Straight to the point. The author explains in free form the fallacies and illusions of forming sentences and getting them onto the page. This will force you to re-think your mental process resulting in better sentences and better papers.

The end of the book covers examples of common sentences and calls out the superfluous wording, re-writing it with only the essentials.

Ever had trouble fitting a personal statement into two pages or a proposal into six pages? This is the book for concise and punchy writing. When you can convey more information than your competition, you gain the edge.

Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis by Joan Bolker

If you’re lacking motivation, struggling to get started every day or are completely overwhelmed by the massive task at hand, give this book a look. It doesn’t offer any real advice on the details of a dissertation but instead aims to instill confidence in the reader. The author guides you through setting daily page goals, storing ideas and getting something…anything down on the page each day. Essentially a personal confidence coach for writing, applicable to more than just a dissertation.

The Scientist's Guide to Writing: How to Write More Easily and Effectively throughout Your Scientific Career by Stephen B. Heard

A little-known but well-reviewed book on how to improve your science writing. This one also discusses the writing process but with a focus on structuring the story of your paper to clearly convey your experiments, results and conclusions. He often takes a whimsical tone that makes it a fun read. The author breaks down the structure of a scientific paper and the functions of each part. He also dives into the details on submitting, revising and coauthoring scientific papers. This is perhaps the most detailed guide to scientific writing in this list and the advice is reinforced with specific examples.

If you’ve ever written a critical literature review, you probably identified a handful of authors whose papers were just more enjoyable to read. This book can help you become that author. This book also makes for a great gift for a grad student about to dive into first-author writing.

Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded by Joshua Schimel

Great technical writing tells a story. If you’re wondering how experiments and data can be framed as a story, then this book is a must-read for you. This is one of the best books for writing fellowship proposals, research proposals and research grants. Dr. Schimel comes from a biology background but his experience on major government funding agency panels has given him the insight to know what gets funded.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way the author breaks down classical story structure and relates it to the segments of a strong research proposal. Don’t skip the exercises; they are the most valuable part of this book. He’s exceptionally good at exploring these ideas at all levels, from the macro to the micro, and I came away with a much clearer picture of how to write a cohesive and multi-level proposal.

It’s an easy weekend read that you should approach with a highlighter a notepad ready. If this one book helps you land even one grant, it will be paying itself back roughly 1000-fold.

The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success by Lawrence Machi

I took a chance on this book before writing my literature review for qualifiers. We eventually published the review to a major journal in my field and it’s gained over 600 citations in the first 4 years! There’s definitely some great advice in here that helped guide me toward writing a well-received paper.

Starting your literature review is the hardest part. It feels like a daunting task without a clear path to success. This book helps break down each step in the process into achievable goals supplemented by strategies for efficiently and effectively approaching each one. The few hours spent reading this book will be paid back to you in saving time researching and writing later.  It will help save your sanity and reduce anxiety approaching your first literature review.

I recommend this book specifically for graduate students in their first two years of a Masters’ or PhD. It can easily be read in an afternoon but should be used as a reference throughout the process!

Books to more clearly convey your research data to the reader

These three books below by Edward R. Tufte completely revolutionized my approach to creating graphs, figures and tables in both journal articles and conference presentations. I attended one of his full-day seminar courses around the country where Dr. Tufte works through the failures of that status quo in data presentation and showed gorgeous and enlightening examples of how good it can be.

I strongly believe this book series is the key reason why some of my journal articles have been so highly cited. Authors tend to cite papers that clearly convey a point and are more likely to reproduce figures that can stand on their own without wordy descriptions. See for yourself the difference these can make in your research career!

Beautiful Evidence by Edward R. Tufte

This book highlights innovative examples of data visualization spanning hand-drawn 17 th century charts to computer-generated “big data” presentation that will open your mind to forms of data visualization outside of your standard color-coded X-Y plots. The author also details strategies for identifying cherry-picked data and being a keen observer fraudulent data presentation.

This book is also the best gift for graduate students and post-docs on this list, making for a perfect coffee table book after fully reading through it.

Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte

This book walks the reader through a huge range of first-class graphical data representations and shows how each is well-suited to presenting the data at hand. Dr. Tufte makes you think about how different data types are structured and how those structures can guide you to the best methods of presentation.

The data visualization here is often layered so that your first glance gets the main point across but a closer examination unveils rich multi-dimensional data by cleverly using colors, shapes, sizes and alignments of objects and axes. These are the skills that create an ultimate, self-supporting figure for a journal cover or a winning poster that will hang for years on the walls of your institution without needing you there to explain it.

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte

A timeless classic on data visualization that dives into the nitty gritty of optimizing your charts and figures. Tufte contrasts excellent charts with horrendous ones to point out bad habits that you may not know you have. He teaches you about efficient design and layout of plots, from the ratio of ink that makes up your data to how one should effectively use tick marks on the axes or box plots around your data groupings.

This book may at first seem outdated, but the principles inside do not change. If you want to truly master the art of effective data visualization, this book can’t be skipped over.

Books to increase your productivity and focus in grad school:

The miracle morning.

I’m not exaggerating when I say this book thoroughly changed my life. I reached a point where I was physically and mentally exhausted halfway through each work day and realized I was not cognitively performing at the level I needed to be successful. Within a few days of implementing this, I felt a noticeable change in my energy, mood and motivation each day at work. I only wish I had picked it up in graduate school. My research output probably would have doubled simply from the changes to my mood.

The premise is fairly simple. Hal Elrod was recovering from a near-fatal car accident that left him physically and mentally impaired. He took the six most popular morning routine practices (exercise, reading, journaling, visualization, affirmations and meditation) and started doing all of them every single morning before starting work or any other responsibilities. Over time, he refined the timing and intentions around each practice and started sharing it with friends. It eventually exploded by word-of-mouth and he decided to write this book to share the technique with the world.

Yes, you’ll have to wake up a little earlier. Ideally you set aside one hour to do all six practices but with practice you can get most of the beneficial effects in less than 15 minutes. The book isn’t completely necessary to implement this – you can read enough about it online. But by all accounts, you’ll have a much higher chance of follow-through if you purchase and read the book as I did.

I started the practice a few months ago and used my “reading” time to read this book a few pages per day. Starting each morning with this book was essential to helping me refine the other five following practices and approach them with intention for maximum benefit.

Most days I squeeze in all six practices. Some days it’s only four and on some weekends only one or two. The key is to keep trying and don’t miss on two days in a row. The extra time spent in the morning comes back to me in productivity and focus throughout the day.

I can’t recommend this book enough for anyone whose workday is self-driven and self-structured like a typical grad student research life. Read it sooner rather than later and witness the profound effects it can have on every aspect of your life!

The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future by Ryder Carroll

Have you heard of Bullet Journaling? It’s a method invented by Ryder Carroll to design your life and live intentionally that in a few short years has spawned a global movement and thriving community. It helps cut through the unnecessary “busy” tasks to focus on what matters. The technique can be done in any standard notebook but involves quite a bit of symbols and shorthand one must learn to truly gain the full benefit.

This book is the comprehensive how-to guide recently written by Ryder. For added effect, he includes how this method can help to de-clutter your life and bring you greater peace of mind. If you’re a “BuJo” newbie, this book will take you from novice to professional in a few weeks of practice.

The technique can have a profound effect on productivity and design of your research tasks to cut through to results you really need. Research has so many moving parts from experiments to data analysis to writing and publishing that this method is incredibly well-suited to keep track of. You might want to pair the book with this symbol stencil and journal bookmark if you’re not already familiar with the technique.

Fun reads for any scientist or engineer:

Skunk works: a personal memoir of my years at lockheed by ben rich.

A popular and highly-rated classic about the top secret “Skunk Works” engineering projects at Lockheed Martin that helped win the Cold War, written by the head of the division for two decades. It covers the pinnacle of high-pressure, high-stakes ultra-secretive engineering projects and the technological game of chess that the USA was playing with the Soviet Union in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It includes anecdotes and testimonials from high-ranking government officials and pilots on revolutionary projects like the SR-71 Blackbird, F-116 Stealth Fighter and U-2 spy plane.

This book is an enjoyable and inspiring read for any grad student who has a true passion for problem solving and cutting-edge technology. The reader will also take away valuable lessons for managing technical projects and teams of scientists and engineers to achieve nearly impossible goals.

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The Martian by Andy Weir

This is our all-time favorite book that any scientist or engineer will enjoy reading. For such a technical book, it’s got an incredible plot yet isn’t overly dramatized (except a little at the end). No other fiction book has captured this much popularity while running through exact calculations, estimations and scientific principles just to keep someone alive. You’ll be rooting for Mark Watney and inspired by the idea that your technical knowledge could one day save your life.

Looking for gift ideas for a grad student or researcher?

We've further curated several collections of our own inventions depending on the type of researcher you're looking for. See these more niche collections below for more ideas!

9 Unique Gift Ideas for Scientists

Gifts for Professors and Grad School PIs

Unique Gifts for Graduate and PhD Students

Gifts for Chemists and Chemistry Students

Gifts for Scientists and Engineers

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Recommended Reading

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This list is aimed at graduate students, postdocs, and other PhDs who are actively looking for paid employment or exploring career options. It includes both practical resources, books that combine advice with inspiration, ones that hope to advocate for better systems while also breaking things down for job seekers, as well as memoirs and novels. The focus here is on books written for graduate students and PhDs, but I’ve also included what I think as key or otherwise useful texts with a much broader intended audience.

What’s not on this list? Books that focus almost exclusively on graduate school itself are generally omitted (exception: Berdahl and Malloy, for its framing of the whole thing as part of your career). There are great ones in this category, including Jessica McCrory Calarco’s A Field Guide to Grad School , Malika Grayson’s Hooded: A Black Girl’s Guide to the Ph.D. , Robert L. Peters’s Getting What You Came For and Adam Ruben’s Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to go to Grad School . See also Gavin Brown’s How to Get Your PhD: A Handbook for the Journey , which features an essay by me! Similarly, books that focus on academic careers (once you’ve got one) aren’t included (example: Timothy M. Sibbald and Victoria Handford, eds., The Academic Gateway ), nor are books that focus on navigating a career beyond the ivory tower. There are lots of books about academic writing and publishing, conducting and producing research, doing a dissertation, and related stuff. These aren’t included either.

Something missing? I occasionally update this list, so let me know what you think I should add or change.

Books for PhDs

This list is in alphabetical order by author’s last name. Some of these books are inexpensive; others are not. Most should be available via your university or local library, or even from your institution’s career services centre.

Fawzi Abou-Chahine, A Jobseeker’s Diary: Unlocking Employment Secrets (2021).

The short guide is directly aimed at PhDs, especially folks from STEM disciplines. Folks in the UK seeking roles in the private sector will certainly benefit from this book.

Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius, “ So What Are You Going to Do with That?” Finding Careers Outside Academia (3rd ed., 2014)

The best guide to figuring out your life post-PhD written by two humanities doctorates who’ve been there, done that. Includes many profiles of fellow (former) academics who’ve transitioned to careers beyond the tenure-track.

Loleen Berdahl and Jonathan Mallow, Work Your Career: Get What You Want from Your Social Sciences or Humanities PhD (2018).

I loved the authors’ emphasis on getting clear about what you want, and the advice to reflect at each stage of the graduate school process whether continuing on is the right one. It is refreshing to read a book on graduate school that neither presumes academia is the desired career outcome nor implies it ought to be. Instead, the authors encourage readers to keep their options open and rightly point out the benefits of varied work experience, training, and professionalism to careers within and beyond the Ivory Tower.

Natalia Bielczyk, What Is Out There for Me? The Landscape of Post-PhD Career Tracks (2nd ed., 2020).

A Europe-based computational scientist turned entrepreneur, Dr. Bielczyk offers an important perspective on PhD careers, one explicitly aimed at STEM folks. The book benefits from Bileczyk’s personal experiences, extensive research — including interviews with dozens of PhDs — and includes lots of specific advice and suggestions. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel and interact with her on social media.

Jenny Blake, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One (2017)

From the description: “ What’s next? is a question we all have to ask and answer more frequently in an economy where the average job tenure is only four years, roles change constantly even within that time, and smart, motivated people find themselves hitting professional plateaus. But how do you evaluate options and move forward without getting stuck?”

Richard N. Bolles with Katharine Brooks, What Color is Your Parachute? 2021 : Your Guide to a Lifetime of Meaningful Work and Career Success (50th anniv. ed, 2020)

If you read only one book on how to get a job and change careers, make it this one. Bolles has an idiosyncratic writing style but his advice is spot-on. Read my review of the 2019 version here .

The 2021 edition was thoroughly updated by Katharine Brooks, EdD, who is the author of You Majored in What? (below). Great choice! An excellent way to bring a classic up to date, and at a time when good advice and guidance is particularly needed.

William Bridges, Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes  (40th anniv. ed., 2019)

Think you’re taking too long figuring out what’s next? You aren’t! In the pre-modern world, the transition—a psychological process as opposed to simply a change—was understood as a crucial part of life; not so nowadays. But to successfully navigate a transition, an individual has to experience an end, go through a period of nothingness or neutrality, and finally make a new beginning. No part of the process can be skipped or sped through. There are no shortcuts. (Bridges can relate to being post-PhD or on the alt-ac track: He’s got an ivy league PhD and was an English professor until going through an important transition of his own.)

Katharine Brooks, You Majored in What? Designing Your Path from College to Career (updated, 2017)

Dr. Brooks is a long-time career educator who (as of 2020) directs the career center at Vanderbilt University. This book is aimed at a broader audience of students, but don’t let that dissuade you from checking it out. Starting from the assumption that there are plenty of useful clues in what you’ve done and who you are, and filled with great exercises to help you parse them out, the book will take you through the career exploration process and set you up for a successful job search that is based on a sound understanding of what you want to do and how to make a strong case to employers.

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-lived, Joyful Life (2016)

From the description: “In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.”

Christopher L. Caterine, Leaving Academia: A Practical Guide (2020)

Just published. Dr. Caterine is a classics PhD who transitioned into a career in strategic corporate communications. One thing that’s cool about this book is just that: He’s working in the private sector. Humanities PhDs are much less commonly found in the business world compared to academics with other backgrounds, and I think that’s a shame. Chris shows us it’s possible and how you can do it too. (But it’s fine if you’re looking elsewhere.)

Christopher Cornthwaite, Doctoring: Building a Life With a PhD (2020)

Dr. Cornthwaite is the Canadian religious studies PhD behind the blog and online community called Roostervane . He shares his story in hopes of inspiring those struggling to move forward with hope and strategies to build a career. Check out the online community too, useful for folks searching for non-academic positions as well as individuals launching side hustles or businesses as consultants of various kinds.

Leon F. Garcia Corona and Kathleen Wiens, eds., Voices of the Field: Pathways in Public Ethnomusicology (2021)

A friend of mine contributed a chapter to this. From the description: “These essays capture years of experience of fourteen scholars who have simultaneously navigated the worlds within and outside of academia, sharing valuable lessons often missing in ethnomusicological training. Power and organizational structures, marketing, content management and production are among the themes explored as an extension and re-evaluation of what constitutes the field of/in ethnomusicology. Many of the authors in this volume share how to successfully acquire funding for a project, while others illustrate how to navigate non-academic workplaces, and yet others share perspectives on reconciling business-like mindsets with humanistic goals.”

M.P. Fedunkiw, A Degree in Futility (2014)

I started to read this novel one day and just couldn’t stop until I finished. So many feelings! The main character defends her dissertation (history of science, U of T) at the beginning of the book, and the story ends a few years later. Fedunkiw has drawn on her own post-PhD experiences to write this wonderful book about a group of three friends navigating life, love, and work in and out of academia. Do read it.

Joseph Fruscione and Kelly J. Baker, eds., Succeeding Outside the Academy: Career Paths beyond the Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM (2018)

Edited volume of contributions, primarily from women in humanities and social science fields. From the description: “Their accounts afford readers a firsthand view of what it takes to transition from professor to professional. They also give plenty of practical advice, along with hard-won insights into what making a move beyond the academy might entail—emotionally, intellectually, and, not least, financially. Imparting what they wish they’d known during their PhDs, these writers aim to spare those who follow in their uncertain footsteps. Together their essays point the way out of the ‘tenure track or bust’ mindset and toward a world of different but no less rewarding possibilities.”

Patrick Gallagher and Ashleigh Gallagher, The Portable PhD: Taking Your Psychology Career Beyond Academia (2020)

From the description: “Each chapter in this book offers tips and key terms for navigating various kinds of employment, as well as simple action steps for communicating your talents to hiring managers. Your ability to conduct research, to understand statistics and perform data analysis, and to perform technical or scientific writing are all highly valuable skills, as are the insights into human nature you’ve gained from your psychology studies, and your ability to think innovatively and work cooperatively in a variety of contexts.”

David M. Giltner, Turning Science into Things People Need (2017)

From the description: “In this book, ten respected scientists who have built successful careers in industry reveal new insights into how they made the transition from research scientist to industrial scientist or successful entrepreneur, serving as a guide to other scientists seeking to pursue a similar path. From the student preparing to transition into work in industry, to the scientist who is already working for a company, this book will show you how to sell your strengths and lead confidently.”

Alyssa Harad, Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure, and an Unlikely Bride (2012).

An English PhDs lovely memoir of discovering the wonders of perfume and embracing who she really is. A story of how one intellectual got back in touch with her feelings, a crucial step on the road to post-PhD happiness and fulfillment. Read an excerpt over at the Chronicle .

Leanne M. Horinko, Jordan M. Reed, James M. Van Wyck, The Reimagined PhD: Navigating 21st Century Humanities Education (2021).

This text appeals to both individual PhDs and graduate students figuring out their own pathway forward and faculty members and other university staff working to improve programs and professional development offerings at their campuses. I’m glad to see it out! (I was at the 2016 conference that inspired this book.)

Hillary Hutchinson and Mary Beth Averill, Scaling the Ivory Tower: Your Academic Job Search Workbook (2019)

Two long-time academic coaches wrote this fantastic guide and workbook for the academic job market. They take you step-by-step through the process of understanding how hiring works — and how it works differently for specific types of positions and kinds of institutions, getting sorted for your search, where to find job ads and other crucial information, staying organized, creating all your materials, prepping for interviews, and other considerations. The book also takes a clear-eyed view of academia and it’s challenges for job seekers, both in the US and around the world. This book is an essential companion to your academic job search. Buying the e-book version? Download and print the worksheets here .

Natalie Jackson, ed., Non-Academic Careers for Quantitative Social Scientists: A Practical Guide to Maximizing Your Skills and Opportunitie s (2023).

If you’re at an institution, check to see if you have free access to this ebook via Springer.

Kaaren Janssen and Richard Sever, eds., Career Options for Biomedical Scientists (2014).

From the description: “This book plugs the gap by providing information about a wide variety of different careers that individuals with a PhD in the life sciences can pursue. Covering everything from science writing and grant administration to patent law and management consultancy, the book includes firsthand accounts of what the jobs are like, the skills required, and advice on how to get a foot in the door. It will be a valuable resource for all life scientists considering their career options and laboratory heads who want to give career advice to their students and postdocs.”

Karen Kelsky, The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. Into A Job (2015)

Dr. Kelsky is dedicated to telling the truth about the academic job market. This book expands on and collects in one place her huge archive of advice and information for PhDs — particularly those aiming for tenure-track positions at US universities. There is advice and resources for “leaving the cult” (part X), a section heading that gives you a sense of where she’s coming from! Academic is its own beast, and its idiosyncracies and unwritten, untold norms and rules belie claims of meritocracy. If you’re going to aim for a tenure-track position, make sure you know what you’re going into and how to increase your chances of success where positions are scarce.

Peggy Klaus, Brag: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It (2004)

In my experience, PhDs are excellent at not tooting their own horns, for lots of reasons, good and less-good. Here’s how you can talk about yourself appropriately in hopes of moving forward in your career. Great book.

Kathryn E. Linder, Kevin Kelly, and Thomas J. Tobin, Going Alt-Ac: A Guide to Alternative Academic Careers (2020).

If you’re doing or have a doctorate and want to be meaningfully employed in or around higher education, you must read this book – and do what it says. It’s full of clear, practical advice and example jobs where PhDs excel. I was impressed with the depth of knowledge and wide-ranging, thoughtful advice presented, useful for career explorers and seasoned professionals both (and everyone in between). It it’s been a while since you’ve taken a long, hard look at your professional situation, this book will help you revisit your goals and provide smart strategies to move your career forward in just the right way for you.

Kathleen Miller et al. (eds), Moving On: Essays on the Aftermath of Leaving Academia (2014)

Featuring an essay by your truly and many other contributions. By the women behind the now-defunct site How to Leave Academia.

Rachel Neff, Chasing Chickens: When Life after Higher Education Doesn’t Go the Way You Planned (2019)

From the description: “So, you have your PhD, the academic world’s your oyster, but teaching jobs, it turns out, are as rare as pearls. Take it from someone who’s been there: your disappointment, approached from a different angle, becomes opportunity. Marshaling hard-earned wisdom tempered with a gentle wit, Rachel Neff brings her own experiences to bear on the problems facing so many frustrated exiles from the groves of academe: how to turn ‘This wasn’t the plan!’ into ‘Why not?’”

M. R. Nelson, Navigating the Path to Industry: A Hiring Manager’s Advice for Academics Looking for a Job in Industry (2014)

Melanie Nelson’s useful guide is aimed at STEM PhDs who already know where they’re headed. She earned a PhD in the biosciences and has worked as a hiring manager in industry for over a decade.

Rebecca Peabody,  The Unruly PhD: Doubts, Detours, Departures, and Other Success Stories   (2014)

A collection of first-hand accounts and interviews with people who’ve travelled in, through, and beyond graduate school. Read my review here .

Katie Rose Guest Pryal, The Freelance Academic: Transform Your Creative Life and Career (2019).

Read this book! Katie Pryal provides helpful advice for getting started with the practical stuff, as well as grounding yourself in the reality of the gig economy. It’s particularly good for arts and humanities PhDs and similar academically-focused folks who think business isn’t for them. Take it from Dr. Pryal (and me): You can do this.

Tom Rath, StrengthsFinder 2.0: Discover Your CliftonStrengths (2017)

Take this one out of your local library to read the descriptions and learn about the concept of (work) strengths. If you want to take the assessment, you can purchase the book outright or do that on Gallup’s website . If you’re newer to the world of work beyond the academy, this book and the description of strengths will give you all kinds of useful words and phrases to use to understand what you enjoy, what you bring to a workplace, and effectively communicate all that to potential employers and professional colleagues. Embracing strengths will give you a positive, forward-looking way of approaching career building, and it can change your life for the better.

Katine L. Rogers, Putting the Humanities PhD to Work: Thriving in and beyond the Classroom (2020)

From the introduction: “This book invites readers to consider ways that humanities graduate training can open unexpected doors that lead to meaningful careers with significant public impact, while also suggesting that an expanded understanding of scholarly success can foster more equitable and inclusive systems in and around the academy.” Good. Do read this one if you’re currently a student or if your work has anything to do with advising students or creating and maintaining the graduate training ecosystem within and beyond institutions.

Martin E. P. Seligman, Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being (2011)

An update to his bestselling book Authentic Happiness (also worth reading), this introduced me to the concept of PERMA: that to flourish in life and work, you need to consider and evaluate how frequently you experience have positive emotions (P), feel engaged (E), have positive relationships (R), feel what you’re doing is meaningful (M), and have a sense of accomplishment (A). This isn’t about careers specifically, but it might help you reframe what counts as success in your work life, and that’s particularly crucial for career changers.

Melanie V. Sinche, Next Gen PhD: A Guide to Career Paths in Science (2016)

From the description: “Next Gen PhD provides a frank and up-to-date assessment of the current career landscape facing science PhDs. Nonfaculty careers once considered Plan B are now preferred by the majority of degree holders, says Melanie Sinche. An upper-level science degree is a prized asset in the eyes of many employers, and a majority of science PhDs build rewarding careers both inside and outside the university. A certified career counselor with extensive experience working with graduate students and postdocs, Sinche offers step-by-step guidance through the career development process: identifying personal strengths and interests, building work experience and effective networks, assembling job applications, and learning tactics for interviewing and negotiating—all the essentials for making a successful career transition.”

Don. J. Snyder, The Cliff Walk: A Memoir of a Job Lost and a Life Found (1998)

A marvelous memoir written by a former tenure-track professor at Colgate University who was suddenly let go. This is the story of his journey through unemployment. You will relate. What’s neat is to look up what he does now — but do read the book before you do! I quote from the book in this post .

Matteo Tardelli, Beyond Academia: Stories and Strategies for PhDs Making the Leap to Industry (2023)

This book takes readers through a 4-step process to reflect on what they want, explore job options, apply for roles, and conduct job interviews and negotiate offers. This is Dr. Tardelli’s second book for PhDs moving to non-academic careers; his first one is partly a memoir about his own journey: The Salmon Leap for PhDs (2020).

Anna Marie Trester, Bringing Linguistics to Work: A Story Listening, Story Finding, and Story Telling Approach to Your Career (2017)

My friend and colleagues Dr. Anna Marie Trester is the expert on careers for linguists, and more broadly is a great resource for thinking creatively and expansively about the value of your social sciences and humanities education to the wider world of work and career development. Check out her website for more offerings, CareerLinguist.com .

Jennifer Brown Urban and Miriam R. Linver, eds., Building a Career Outside Academia: A Guide for Doctoral Students in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (2019)

From the description: “This career guide examines the rewarding opportunities that await social and behavioral science doctorates in nonacademic sectors, including government, consulting, think tanks, for-profit corporations, and nonprofit associations. Chapters offers tips for leveraging support from mentors, conducting job searches, marketing your degree and skill set, networking, and preparing for interviews. This expert guidance will help you decide what career is the best fit for you.”

Julia Miller Vick, Jennifer S. Furlong, and Rosanne Lurie, The Academic Job Search Handbook (5th ed., 2016)

Pick this one up for trustworthy job market advice and info — the first edition was published in 1992! — and the dozens of sample cover letters, CVs, and statements of various kinds. It covers an array of fields, from professionally-oriented doctorates to STEM and humanities. This book is a beast, and might be overwhelming. Tackle it bit by bit and keep it as a reference as you gear up for the job market, prepare and submit applications, and move along the hiring process toward negotiation and acceptance.

Susan Britton Whitcomb, Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer (4th ed., 2010)

This was the book I found most useful when I was researching how to write a good resume (as opposed to an academic CV).

Learn Dunia

10 Best Ph.D Books For Students In 2024 [For Ph.D Students]

Here in this post, we have mentioned everything you need to know about Ph.D. and some of the best Ph.D. books for everyone pursuing a Ph.D. or planning to pursue this degree.

The Doctor of Philosophy or Ph.D. is the most popular and most extensive research program in various fields like Science, Engineering, Mass Communication, Management, Commerce, Law, etc. It is considered the most common and prestigious degree that aims to offer good academic jobs. Moreover, a Ph.D. is an earned research degree offered in diverse specializations.

To graduate with a Ph.D. degree, the students need to contribute some effective and original output and ideas in their field of interest. At the end of the program, the students must submit a Ph.D. thesis or dissertation. Their research will help to analyze their knowledge in the specific subject.

Why Should You Pursue a Ph.D.?

Ph.D. full form is Doctor of Philosophy. It is one of the highest degrees in the education domain. Once you complete the degree, it will be considered a greater accomplishment in the field of study. Moreover, this degree helps to analyze the research and analytical skills of the student.

This degree trains the students to improve their methodology, analytical, and research skills. Here are a few things you must know before you start pursuing your Ph.D.:

• The total Ph.D. course duration is a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5 years.
• Students need to have a postgraduate degree before applying for a Ph.D. degree.
• Students applying for Ph.D. need to score at least 55% in their post-graduation program to apply for a Ph.D.
• Students with work experience in the same area of interest can also apply for a Ph.D.
• Students who have cleared national entrance examinations like CSIR-UGC-NET, GATE , UGC-NET, and more can also apply for a Ph.D.

Now that you have a little idea about Ph.D., you must have known that it is a prestigious degree that will open doors for significant career options. If you wish to choose a Ph.D. as your career path, we are here to help you. In this article, you will find the 10 best Ph.D. books available.

So let us get started.

10 Best Ph.D. Books For Students In 2024

Here in this section, we have listed the 10 best Ph.D. books for everyone who is pursuing a Ph.D. or wants to pursue this course.

1. How to Get a Ph.D.: A Handbook for Students and Their Supervisors

Author: Estelle Phillips, Derek Pugh Latest Edition: 16 August 2015 (6th Edition) Publisher: Open University Press

How to Get a Ph.D.: A Handbook for Students and their Supervisors is one of the best Ph.D. books that offers a practical and realistic approach to learning Ph.D. This book also offers extensive support and reassurance to the students and supervisors.

The newly updated 6th edition of the book includes:

• New content on how students pursuing a Ph.D. can use online forums, social media, various online survey tools, and other online technologies to make pursuing a Ph.D. easier.
• The 10th chapter explains some of the most common challenges you will face throughout your Ph.D. program. It includes some practical advice to help you deal with the pressure you will face while writing your thesis.
• The importance of avoiding plagiarism and avoiding poor academic practices. The authors also put light on all the problems faced by Ph.D. students.
• The book provides clear advice for Ph.D. students, including writing proposals, applying for funding, time management, writing an engaging Ph.D. thesis, and ways to ace your viva.

It is a “bible” for every Ph.D. student and supervisor looking for an extensive Ph.D. guide.

You can buy this book here .

2. PhD: An Uncommon Guide to Research, Writing & Ph.D. Life

Author: James Hayton Latest Edition: 1 January 2015 Publisher: Zaccheus Entertainment

Ph.D.: An Uncommon Guide to Research, Writing & Ph.D. Life by James Hayton offers a unique approach to solving the most common challenges faced while doing the Ph.D. research.

It offers solutions to problems like getting familiar with the literature in your field, developing research ideas, and improving your academic writing skills. Moreover, it helps to cope with the stress, managing publications and presentations, writing, submitting, and defending your thesis.

This apt guide offers practical tips that help you become a better professional in your chosen field. The authors have written this book in a very simplified and understandable way. Moreover, if you are the one who feels you are not doing fine in your Ph.D. journey, this book will help you get over the work and study anxiety.

3. The Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research (Open Up Study Skills)

Author: Marian Petre, Gordon Rugg Latest Edition: 16 March 2010 (2nd Edition) Publisher: Open University Press

The Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research by Marian Petre and Gordon Rugg is a bestselling Ph.D. book that focuses on the P.hD. research process that provides the readers with discussions and guidance on various aspects of the course which other books do not focus.

This book covers all the important topics including the real meaning of Ph.D., how to do one well, how to understand what your supervisor is really expecting when they say “good referencing” and “real research questions.” The book also focuses on designing, reporting, and defending your research. In this Ph.D. book, the author explains the complete Ph.D. process in detail.

The new edition of this Ph.D. study material includes:

• Research skills
• Critical thinking
• Different study models
• The root to research independence

This book is a must-read for anyone who is planning to pursue Ph.D. or is already pursuing one. This book explains solutions to the problem that many students wish someone answered.

4. How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing

Author: Paul J Silvia Latest Edition: 1 January 2007 (1st edition) Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)

How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing is a practical, light-hearted, and encouraging Ph.D. book. In this book, the author explains that writing does not have to be an innate skill or a special skill one person has but it is all about knowing the tips and tricks to write good content.

He explains this with the help of his own experiences in the field of psychology. The author also teaches how to overcome motivational roadblocks and become motivated to write without having to sacrifice your evening, vacations, and weekends.

Apart from the strategies to write effectively, the author offers advice on submitting, revising, re-submitting articles, ways to improve the quality of your content, and steps to publish your academic work.

5. Authoring a Ph.D.: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation

Author: Patrick Dunleavy Latest Edition: 28 April 2003 (1st Edition) Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

We all know that Authoring a Ph.D. is a very time-consuming and complex process. To author a thesis, you need to have a bunch of creative ideas, plan and organize these ideas, write based on the plan, upgrade your content, and finish it with good quality.

Patrick has written this book after supervising over 30 students and offers full-proof advice which helps the students to cope up with both the intellectual issues and practical difficulties of organizing their work.

This book is a highly-readable and time-saving guide for students specializing in humanities, education, social sciences, business studies, arts, law, health, and other related disciplines.

6. AP Calculus Premium, 2024-2025: 12 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice: With 12 Practice Tests

Authors: David Bock M.S., Dennis Donovan M.S., Shirley O. Hockett Ph.D. Latest Edition: 4 January 2022 (16th Edition) Publisher: Barron’s Educational Series

Barron’s AP Calculus Premium: 2024-2024 offers in-depth content review and online practice for the AB and BC examinations. Since this book is written by experienced educators, all the content is composed and reviewed by AP experts. The book offers tips, strategies, and some study advice for the examination day.

AP Calculus Premium includes:

• 12 full-length practice test papers: 6 AB practice tests, 6 BC practice tests.
• In-depth review that covers all units on the AP Calculus AB and BC Exams.
• Multiple Choice Questions after each chapter.
• Online timed test options
• Online detailed answer explanations and expert advice.

7. Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded

Author: Joshua Schimel Latest Edition: 12 March 2012 Publisher: OUP USA

Writing Science explains that successful science writing helps to tell a story. This is one of the Ph.D. books that explain how to write content more effectively. The author uses lessons from other genres of writing with those from the author’s experience as an author, editor, and reviewer.

The book shows scientists and students different ways to showcase their research more clearly and in a comprehensive way. It takes an integrated approach to discuss different aspects of successful science writing, the overall structure of the paper, every section paragraph, sentence, and words.

The book uses core arguments, then explains reasons why some of the stories are engaging than others. Then the author talks about the different elements of story structure. Writing science most focuses on the internal structure of the paper, explaining how to write clear and professional content that is very compelling to read.

The final section of this Ph.D. book deals with challenges like how to discuss research limitations and how to write effectively for the public.

8. A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

Author: Barbara Oakley Latest Edition: 31 July 2014 Publisher: TarcherPerigee

A Mind of Numbers is one of the Ph.D. books that offers various tools which will help you better in writing intimidating materials. Barbara Oakley, an engineering professor, knows the struggles we all face with maths.

Since she was also the one who flunked in maths during high school and during her graduation, she understood the need for a comprehensive maths guide that will help the Ph.D. students throughout.

In this book, the authors tell the secrets of learning effectively. The learning strategies mentioned in this book are not only for maths and science, in fact, it also applies to all the subjects that students might find difficult to learn.

9. Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student’s Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D.

Author: Robert L. Peter Latest Edition: 11 April 1997 Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Getting What You Came For by Robert Peters is one among the classic Ph.D. books that help students to answer some complex career questions like “is graduate school the right thing for you?”, “Should I get a master’s degree or a Ph.D.?”, “ways to choose the best school?”, and more.

Since this book has interviews with educational counselors, graduate students, and professions, it offers some real-life experiences and case studies that help the students to understand better.

It also teaches the students to not only survive but also thrive at a graduate school. This book also covers some instructions on applying to school and how to manage your finances. Moreover, this book also covers how to score good marks, manage academic politics, and write a high-quality thesis.

10. AP Statistics: With 6 Practice Tests (Barron’s Test Prep)

Author: Martin Sternstein Ph.D. Latest Edition: 4 August 2020 (11th Edition) Publisher: Barron’s Educational Series

Baron’s AP Statistics is all you need for preparing for the exam day. It includes all the in-depth content reviews and practice papers.

Since this book is written by experienced educators, all the content is written and reviewed by AP experts. The book offers tips, strategies, and some study advice for the examination day.

AP Statistics includes:

• 6 full-length practice test papers.
• In-depth review that covers all units of the subject.
• Online timed test options.

The Ph.D. is the most prestigious and extensive research program that offers specialization in different areas like mass communication, mathematics, management, law, commerce, engineering, and more.

To excel and graduate with good grades and to create the best thesis of all time, you need to have great study material which will guide you throughout the course. Here in this post, we have listed the 10 best Ph.D. books that will help you throughout the process of getting admissions to completing your thesis.

Happy Reading.

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From admission to dissertation. Tips on making the PhD journey happy, productive and successful

How to Prepare for a PhD Entrance Exam and Crack it | PET Preparation Tips |

Here are the excellent tips on how to prepare for Ph.D. entrance exam in your subject and crack Ph.D. entrance exam. For PET entrance preparation, Firstly, Know your syllabus and read more books. PhD entrance exam preparation and practice must be done with the help of previous PhD test question papers.

Follow these 12 rocking tips to crack your upcoming PhD entrance exam

• Apply for PhD National Eligibility Test
• Prepare the prescribed PhD entrance exam syllabus .
• Find the study material for PhD entrance exam.
• Select carefully best PhD entrance books for preparation.
• Get a perfect time-table to crack PhD entrance .
• Appear for PhD entrance mock tests online.
• Prepare PET previous question papers.
• Discuss your subject with friends.
• Follow skim and scan technique .
• Write a short summary of each chapter.
• Do a second and third revision.
• Revise PhD entrance exam syllabus until the exam day.

My 120 days schedule to Prepare for Ph.D. Entrance Exam

Do at least 3 revisions if you want to crack any type of PhD entrance examination. So here my calculation of studying for Ph.D. is 15+60+30+15=120 Days schedule. First 15 days you will read summaries of all the chapters. Second 60 days you will do the first revision. The other 30 days you will do the second revision and the last 15 days will be your final revision just when during the 16th day you will appear for PhD entrance exam.

Do you ever ask great people about their secret in getting good marks or the secret behind receiving that gold medal? Most of them tell that revision is the secret of the good marks that they get.

The more they revised the better they became. So taking their example, I want to tell you that you must revise all your 60-day timetable again for the second revision. This may not be too difficult to do.

It may not be for another 60 days but half of that for 30 days. So here we must know that 2 nd revision will become easier. So I am giving you 30 days for it. In a similar way, you must go for 3 rd revision too. This will be for 15 days again.

This is the exact schedule that you must follow to crack Ph.D. entrance exam without any single problem of losing your PhD admission.Revision of a subject is over all the secret and best study tip to crack any examination be it either PhD or any sort of other examinations. So be serious with revision schedules

Revision of a subject is over all the secret and best study tip to crack any examination be it either PhD or any sort of other examinations. So be serious with revision schedules

Here is my explanation for each point to get success in your preparation for Ph.D. entrance exam in English Literature.

PhD Entrance Syllabus point of view

Whenever you prepare for a PhD entrance test, the most important part that we neglect is not to follow the syllabus. This is because each university has its own framed syllabus.

You cannot study the same syllabus for every university. So it is very important to get not of the exact syllabus that is pertaining to the university that you have applied or if you are going to apply.

This is where you will start seeing success. If you start your beginning wrongly, then everything will go wrong. So the beginning is very important when it comes to any PhD entrance exam.

Once you are very well versed in the exact syllabus of the university. You are ready to set go on practicing some methodology that could be effective to crack the PhD entrance exam.

Many times we overlook the syllabus that we really want to prepare. We think that if we buy any book which is popular and studies, it is quite enough. It is not so.

When you think that way you will be in a bad situation. You will never realize how important the syllabus learning is. The whole secret on how to crack your PhD entrance exam lies in the way you learn it. You cannot simply make it differently to undertake the exam with your own preparation.

This will really put you off.  There is no shortcut unless you study according to the syllabus and get your PhD admission. This is the only suggested thought from my side. So do not waste your thinking about studying some private syllabus. This happens when you join in any coaching center.

They will prepare some special syllabus and give you. Many time coaching institutes do them wrong. They frame it according to the old syllabus and sometimes they may not update.

They may just think that the printing costs would become waste as there are old books still need to be sold to the students when they join the institute.  So take care not to follow the institute’s syllabus.

You must learn by heart the chapters

The next very important step while preparing for a PhD entrance exam is to learn and by heart the names of the chapters. This is very beneficial just because you must know them to reflect when you are free without a book. So I suggest you have at least some time to learn them by heart first.

Do not learn any other stuff unless you learn all the names of the chapters clearly and strongly. This makes a huge sense to know exactly what you are studying in the future.

Why learning by heart is so important is that it has to go into your long-term memory to again ponder over when you are without any book or when you get some free time. This way you will really foresee all that is coming in the chapter. I mean by the minute details.

The other benefit of learning by heart all the chapters is that when you get some question in the exam related to the chapter, you can simply remember exactly where the question has come from. This is the major advantage of learning all the names of your subject’s chapters.

If you cannot learn then it will become a problem in the future when you appear for the Ph.D. entrance exam. Learning all the names may not at all happen all at once in a day or two.

Take as many days as you can but not more than a week. You cannot waste your time more than a week. Just go ahead at least sit calmly and learn all the headings of the chapters and if possible learn also all the subheadings and their meanings. Learning subheadings is something advanced technique of how you use.

So make sure you do not really stress up yourself while learning by heart all the names of the chapter. It may be difficult for a few hours, but as you move, by the way, you will feel easier than previous to learn by heart.

Write a short summary of each chapter

A short summary is the best way o understand any chapter easily. If you can really understand the importance of short summary you can clearly come to the point what exactly that chapter wants to convey to you. Once you write your summary, it is up to you to read the summary a number of times.

Till your exam date, you must go on revising the summary. This is the best practice to crack PhD entrance exam. When you want to write the exam, summarize is one of the key concepts for anybody to get through. There are different types of summaries. Do not make so large summary.

Make it a simple one and make an interesting one to read. Many time I see students do not know how to make a good summary. Do not panic with summarizing.

As you write more summaries, you will automatically tune to the things. My other best suggestion is to read other’s summaries how they exactly look like. Once you read, you will know the method to write any summary.

So make it one for you. Each chapter must be summarized with elements and point that has been discussed. I have just told that it must be short on each chapter. Short in the sense, you must not skip the main points of the chapter at all. You must never skip the main gist of the chapter.

While doing a summary of a chapter you must take care of how practical are you doing it. This must be understood.

Set separate hours for studying each chapter

Do not read all the chapters at a time. You have to read them clearly one by one. Set some days to read one chapter and then follow the timetable.

Once you set some timetable for studying one each chapter in depth, do that without forgetting or getting lazy. If you do not feel interested to study that particular chapter, wait till you cultivate interest.

Try to get interested. But never jump to other chapters just because you are not interested in reading the designed chapter. If you do this way, you cannot really study well.

You will miss out some chapters at the end or you will just not learn about some chapters thoroughly. And there are possibilities that you may forget that too.

There are certain ways to study chapters separately. Now that already you know summaries very well, It becomes very easy to read all the chapters separately in detail. While reading your chapters separately, you must write some questions coming across the chapters,

Underline some important points which will help you for further study. If you do not understand any vocabulary, you must try to check a dictionary without postponing then and there itself. Never read chapters without understanding or become lazy to know the meanings of difficult words.

This is the best practice and you can crack your PhD entrance exam easily If you have enough depth of knowledge about the concepts of each chapter read in different days. Your timetable must be effective.

Plan the timetable for a number of days

Plan your timetable for 60 days and stick to those days without giving any room for procrastination. In the beginning, it may be difficult to follow the timetable that you have prepared.

But later on, you will get accustomed to doing it. Once you are in the well, you will have no problem what so ever in following the timetable. So make sure you get to note these points. I myself have made this type of timetable and I was really confident after some days about my Ph.D. entrance exam.

Your success lies in how good you have formulated your timetable rather than how much you studied. If you do not cover all the chapters in the number of days that your timetable has been designed, then what is the use of studying so much hard. You may get questions for other chapters too in the Ph.D. entrance exam.

That is why I tell you to take more interest in framing the timetable clearly. This will take you towards the road of cracking your Ph.D. entrance examination.

While preparing your timetable you must make sure to relax in some days. Like, for example, make Sunday free from the timetable or any other day that you feel comfortable to relax your mind.

All other days you can study hard according to the given schedule. This way of doing will refresh your mind and you can easily remember what you study on all the other weekdays.

Take Ph.D. mock entrance tests

If you have some money to pay online for mock exams conducted by some experts, then you can go for it. But do it 10 before your Ph.D. entrance test.

I say it is not required for the entrance exam. But it is all an option from your end. This will only extend our 120-hour plan to somewhat more hours. If you do not have money to attend mock exams online, then it is well and good. It is not a big problem what so ever.

There is a process of attending Ph.D. mock entrance test. Do not just go and pay blindly online. Just make some research about quality mock tests that are currently relevant and not age-old mock test with the old syllabus. Some online service will screw your money down from your pocket and they give you cheaper services.

So once you find a good site that serves with genuine mock tests online, Pay them the fees and join the group and take the regular test for some 10 days. Here there is a problem that after subscribing to the service, we are not determined to take those tests. In another case, you may attend just one mock test and keep silent for lack of your interest.

Do not do this way. This will waste your money. Unless you are serious with Ph.D. mock tests only, you try this methodology of studying.

Otherwise, it is always better for go with my suggested 120-hour schedule to crack the Ph.D. entrance test. Mock tests are really useful if you utilize them the proper way.

Practice previous papers of different PhD tests

One of the biggest mistakes that any Ph.D. aspirant can do is not going through the previous papers of PhD entrance test from a particular university that you are attending to.

Never do this. Unless you are sure about what type of questions are the giving in the exam, you cannot plan your 120 hours timetable effectively. So it is very important to gather all the PhD previous papers list and get through them with proper answers.

Learn the important question and include them to study in your 60 days normal study. I recommend collecting papers from the last 3 years.

Do not study older than 3 years. Usually, examiners will not give questions from too old question papers. Another secret I am giving out freely is that just stay away last years question paper.

For example, you are attending an exam in 2022, never study question paper that has been given in 2021. Nobody wants to give last years question paper exactly this year.

This is the right way. So leave out studying previous years question paper and practice the other last 3 years from then that you have left. This we call a smarter study which will help so much to crack your Ph.D. entrance test. Do not study supplementary question papers too.

Try to study regular exam previous papers to know exactly what are the important questions that are repeatedly given in the exam and that there is a chance to get in the upcoming exam of yours.

Give a break after a week of preparation

This is something psychological while preparing for your entrance exam. When you give some long after studying some chapter and revising, you will come to know whether you have sent all the information to your long-term memory or short-term memory.

Either are you able to recollect the information after a long time or you are forgetting such read information after a certain period of time? When you give a break for a week,   you must be in a position to remember what you have studied. You must be able to answer questions clearly.

There is no meaning to study casually for that day’s satisfaction. You must send all information to long-term memory by revision again and again and testing your brain after some break.

Usually, I say this just because there are enough chances to forget because of tension during your PhD entrance exam. I have seen many PhD students saying me that they have forgotten what they have studied during the PhD entrance exam. So here tension plays its role.

So studying must be a serious task as long as you are able to remember during certain circumstances. I suggest you give a break for a week or even for a month to test your memory strongly.

This way of practicing your brain or training your memory will lead to a good chance of success in your entrance exam. Follow through all these techniques and think about doing and implementing them strongly. Be a doer rather than satisfied.

Follow certain PhD entrance tips

These are the tips that I am giving out from my success cracking a PhD entrance exam. But there are a lot more outside in some books or somewhere out there in the library about how to study effectively.

You can use all those resources and follow one regime without mixing up and getting confused well. In the end, you will give up. So follow the one-time table strongly that you are convinced.

The amount of effort that you put to crack this Ph.D. depends on how well you organize your studies. So not wasting much of your time. Start today itself doing things better to crack your Ph.D. entrance exam. Once you do them you will remain confident even in your oral interview.

This all happens with your steady determination about achieving something. This is to get admission in the university you desire and not the university that offers you admission for the sake of money. So think cleverly before feeling to appear for any Ph.D. entrance examination.

Prepare with all the techniques and smarter way of preparation will pay you much better than what you think to be. I am very confident that if you follow all that I have just told you in this article, you will win for sure.

You will stand first among all the Ph.D. aspirants. Admission is 100% guaranteed. Today itself you go out and collect some books that are important to study for the Ph.D. entrance exam and start studying them. I recommend studying research topic in details.

Sometimes universities ask you to write something about the topic you have chosen in a few lines. You must be ready for any type of question to answer in your Ph.D. entrance examination.

Never leave any questions blank in your Ph.D. entrance examination just because you do not know them. Attempt every question even though they are not up to the mark. Examiner will award you marks even for the garbage stuff.

So attempt fully all the questions and use all the exam time given to you. Do not leave your exam hall beforehand without the time getting over.

Use all the time until the end. This is another mistake that I have found with Ph.D. aspirants. They leave the exam hall within 30 minutes. This is not fair. If the exam time is 1-hour use that hour to write something good stuff or revise for some spelling mistakes.

Books for PhD entrance exam in English Literature

There are many books on Amazon. Once can easily look into one good book on English literature and prepare for PhD entrance exam.

PhD entrance exam question papers English literature

How to prepare for phd entrance exam in management.

Firstly you must try to understand what are the important chapters in management that more questions will be coming in every exam. For this, you must collect previous papers of PhD entrance exam in management subjects and try to observe them deeply. Here you will come to know which questions are important and which are not. This way you can understand which to include for your studies and which to exclude that are unimportant. For preparation books: check on amazon. You will get so many PET books for cracking PhD entrance exam.

PhD entrance exam question papers for psychology

These are the real time questions given in PhD entrance for Psychology subject

Syllabus for PhD entrance exam in English literature

The syllabus for English literature covers most of the periods. Below is the original syllabus that is almost common to every exam.

PhD examination previous question papers

Here is the site that can give previous questions for PhD exam.

Syam Prasad Reddy T

Hello, My name is Syam, Asst. Professor of English and Mentor for Ph.D. students worldwide. I have worked years to give you these amazing tips to complete your Ph.D. successfully. Having put a lot of efforts means to make your Ph.D. journey easier. Thank you for visiting my Ph.D. blog.

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5 must-reads for doctoral students

January 11, 2016

The decision to pursue a doctoral degree can be exciting and scary at the same time.

Good preparation will ease the path to writing a great dissertation. Reading some expert guide books will expand your knowledge and pave the way for the rigorous work ahead.

Capella University faculty, doctoral students, and alumni recommend these five books for doctoral students in any discipline.

1. How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading  by Mortimer J. Adler

“One book fundamental to my doctoral education that my mentor had my entire cohort read, and which I still recommend to this day, is  How To Read a Book , which discusses different reading practices and different strategies for processing and retaining information from a variety of texts.” – Michael Franklin, PhD, Senior Dissertation Advisor, Capella School of Public Service and Education.

Originally published in 1940, and with half a million copies in print,  How to Read a Book  is the most successful guide to reading comprehension and a Capella favorite. The book introduces the various levels of reading and how to achieve them—including elementary reading, systematic skimming, inspectional reading, and speed-reading.

Adler also includes instructions on different techniques that work best for reading particular genres, such as practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy, and social science works.

2. Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish  by John D. Cone, PhD and Sharon L. Foster, PhD

This book discusses the practical, logistical, and emotional stages of research and writing. The authors encourage students to dive deeper into defining topics, selecting faculty advisers, scheduling time to accommodate the project, and conducting research.

In clear language, the authors offer their advice, answer questions, and break down the overwhelming task of long-form writing into a series of steps.

3. Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day  by Joan Balker

This book is recommended for its tips on compartmentalizing a large project into actionable items, which can be helpful when working on a project as mammoth as a dissertation. Balker connects with the failure and frustration of writing (as she failed her first attempt at her doctorate), and gives encouragement to students who encounter the fear of a blank page.

She reminds dissertation writers that there are many people who face the same writing struggles and offers strong, practical advice to every graduate student.  Writing Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day  can be applied to any stage of the writing process.

4. From Topic to Defense: Writing a Quality Social Science Dissertation in 18 Months or Less  by Ayn Embar-Seddon O’Reilly, Michael K Golebiewski, and Ellen Peterson Mink

As the authors of this book state, “Earning a doctorate degree requires commitment, perseverance, and personal sacrifice—placing some things in our lives on hold. It is, by no means, easy—and there really is nothing that can make it ‘easy.’”

This book provides support for the most common stumbling blocks students encounter on their road to finishing a dissertation. With a focus on a quick turnaround time for dissertations, this book also outlines the importance of preparation and is a good fit for any graduate student looking for support and guidance during his or her dissertation process.

From Topic to Defense  can be used to prepare for the challenges of starting a doctoral program with helpful tools for time management, structure, and diagnostics.

5. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings—and Life  by Laura Vanderkam

According to author and time management expert Laura Vanderkam, mornings are key to taking control of schedules, and if used wisely, can be the foundation for habits that allow for happier, more productive lives.

This practical guide will inspire doctoral students to rethink morning routines and jump-start the day before it’s even begun. Vanderkam draws on real-life anecdotes and research to show how the early hours of the day are so important.

Pursuing a doctoral degree is a big decision and long journey, but it also can be an exciting and positive experience. Learn more about Capella’s  online doctoral programs .

What's it like to be a doctoral student?

Learn more about the experience, explore each step of the journey, and read stories from students who have successfully earned their doctorate. 

Explore The Doctoral Journey >>

You may also like

Can I transfer credits into a doctoral program?

January 8, 2020

What are the steps in writing a dissertation?

December 11, 2019

The difference between a dissertation and doctoral capstone

November 25, 2019

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Top PhD Entrance Exams

• Updated on  
• Apr 25, 2023

Whether one belongs to Science , Commerce or Humanities field, a PhD can be pursued in an array of fields and specialised domains. Usually, students interested in academics sign up for a doctoral program to acquire the knowledge and skills required to excel in their respective areas of study. While study abroad PhD pathways exempt students from appearing in entrance exams to pursue their chosen course, universities in India have specified several tests as one of the prime requirements to apply for a doctoral degree. Thus, PhD entrance exams hold great importance for the students willing to take on this road. Read this article to know about the leading entrance exams for PhD and some helpful tips to ace them with flying colours! 

This Blog Includes:

Ph.d. admissions: quick updates, ph.d. specializations , ugc net exam, csir-ugc net exam, tifr gs exam, list of universities in india offering phd, how to apply for phd course in india, phd entrance exams for studying abroad, [bonus] pursuing phd abroad , phd scholarships for indian students in india & abroad, syllabus for phd entrance exams, job prospects after phd.

Must Read: All You Need to Know About PhD in Physics [2021]

Also Read: Part Time Ph.D.: Admissions & Best Ph.D. Programs

Before moving on to the top Ph.D. entrance exams, let’s first take a look at the plethora of specializations that fall under the domain of this degree. The following table elucidates some of the popular Ph.D. courses that are commonly pursued by graduates. 

• Police Administration
• Biotechnology
• Public Administration
• Renewable Energy
• Political Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Electronics
• Physical Education
• Total Quality Management
• Cosmetology
• Rural Development
• Sustainable Development
• Women Studies
• Social Work
• Technology Policy
• Agriculture
• Sports Science
• Home Science
• Mass Communication
• Labour and Social Welfare
• Linguistics
• Management Studies
• Hospitality Management
• Library Science
• Nanotechnology
• Biochemistry
• Horticulture
• Bioinformatics
• Fashion Technology
• Business Administration
• Disaster Management
• Human Rights
• Entrepreneurship

List of Top PhD Entrance Exams

Whether you are opting for a PhD in IIT , IIM , or any other higher education institution in the country, there is generally a specified entrance exam that one needs to qualify. To help you understand some of these tests, below we have elaborated the top PhD entrance exams that you must know about:

• UGC Net Exam
• CSIR-UGC NET exam
• Joint Graduate Entrance Examination for Biology and Interdisciplinary Life Sciences (JGEEBILS)
• DBT JRF Biotech  Entrance Test
• TIFR Graduate School Admission Entrance Test
• ICMR JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
• NIMHANS PG/PG Diploma/Superspeciality/PhD online entrance test
• JNU PhD Entrance
• NIPER PhD Entrance Exam
• University of Hyderabad PhD Entrance Exam
• GTU PhD Entrance Exam
• NBRC PhD Entrance Exam
• BITS PhD Entrance Examination
• AIIMS PhD Entrance Exam
• IISC PhD Entrance Exam
• NDRI PhD entrance exam
• Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar University Lucknow – PhD Admissions Test
• Guru Jambheshwar University GJUST – PhD Entrance Test
• BARC PhD Admission Test
• Combined Vidyavaridhi (PhD) Entrance Test – (CVVET)
• ISM Dhanbad PhD Admission Test 
• Indian Veterinary Research Institute Bareilly PhD Admission Test
• BINC Bioinformatics National Certification BINC  Examination
• RMAT Aligarh Muslim University R-MAT – PhD Entrance Exam
• Symbiosis PhD Entrance Exam
• Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi – PhD Admission Test
• Jamia Hamdard New Delhi PhD Admission Test
• Kurukshetra University PhD Entrance Exam
• PhD Entrance Exam of NMIMS University Mumbai
• DU PhD Entrance Exam
• IGNOU PhD Entrance Exam
• Pondicherry University Entrance Exam
• University of Pune PhD in Management Entrance Exam
• Symbiosis University Ph.D entrance examination

Must Read: How to get a Complete PhD Funding?

Many Indian universities ask candidates for their UGC NET scores in order to apply for PhD degrees. University Grant Commission (UGC) NET Exam is the national level exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) twice a year (in the month of June and December). It is one of the major PhD entrance exams and aims to determine the eligibility of aspirants for the posts of Assistant Professor only or Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) or both.

The UGC NET syllabus table below shows the Exam Pattern of Paper 1 and Paper 2:

Another important mention in our list of PhD entrance exams is CSIR-UGC NET, i.e. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test. Commonly referred to as CSIR NET, it is a national exam conducted by NTA twice a year (in the month of June and December) to choose candidates for awarding JRF and determining their eligibility for appointment of lecturers in Indian universities and colleges. Further, those wanting to apply for the fellowship need to register for a PhD course at a recognised institution while one needs to have attained a doctoral degree in order to apply for the lecturership through this exam. CSIR-UGC NET Exam is conducted for the following subjects:

• Chemical Sciences
• Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean and Planetary Sciences
• Life Sciences
• Mathematical Sciences
• Physical Sciences 

The question paper segments for this PhD entrance exam into 3 sections, i.e. Section A (considered common section and questions are related to General Aptitude, Graphical Analysis, Logical Reasoning , and Numerical ability), Section B (questions are for Engineering Sciences, questions from Mathematics and Engineering Aptitude included as well) and Section C (high stature questions which evaluate the candidate’s knowledge of scientific concepts and their application). 

Located in Mumbai, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is a deemed university which offers various PhD and various integrated programmes. Featuring amongst the popular PhD entrance exams, the TIFR GS (Graduate School) test is organised for the institute’s offered postgraduate programs in several specialisations in Science. The integrated M.Sc-PhD course offered by TIFR includes an array of specialisations such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics as well as research-oriented programs in the field of Computer science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. 

TIFR GS Exam Pattern for Mathematics

TIFR GS exam pattern for Mathematics is divided into two parts. The total duration of the exam is 3 hours (1.5 hours each per section). Negative marking is there for each wrong answer in both sections.

TIFR GS Exam Pattern for Physics and Chemistry

TIFR GS exam pattern for Physics and Chemistry is not prescribed by TIFR. As per the availability of information from the official website, both subjects will contain MCQs which students need to complete in 3 hours. Negative Marking is there for each wrong answer in both subjects.

TIFR GS Exam Pattern for Computer and System Sciences

TIFR GS Exam pattern for Computer and System Sciences will contain MCQs and students have to complete the exam in 3 hours. The paper will be divided into 3 parts

Among these three sections, students have the choice of doing only one. Negative Marking is there.

Searching for PhD entrance exams? Don’t forget to check out PhD After MBA !

Know About the Commonwealth Scholarship- UG, PG, PhD

There are various universities in India where students can apply for a PhD and take PhD entrance exams. These institutes provide a variety of research degrees. Each university in India has a set number of seats available. Some of these universities make their selections based on PhD entrance exams, interviews, and research proposals.

• The PhD application process is offered in both online and offline formats in India.
• To apply to a university, applicants must obtain or download the application form and prospectus for their individual courses by writing to the institution or obtaining the same online from the university’s official website.
• For some universities, the PhD application forms must be delivered to the university’s official address before the deadline, together with the relevant documentation.
• When it comes to the fee structure for a PhD programme, the average or tentative course fee is between INR 20,000 and INR 90,000 every year (varies from course to course and university to university).

There are two main entrance exams that all candidates have to give in order to get admission to top universities in the world- IELTS and GRE. Here are some common requirements that PhD candidates have to fulfil in order to admission-

• Research Proposal
• English Language Tests like IELTS and TOEFL
• GRE- Graduate Record Exam

Other than the top PhD entrance exams, we have compiled a list of our major blogs on pursuing PhD abroad that you must check out:

•   Maulana Azad National fellowship  
• Prime Minister Fellowship for Doctoral Research
• Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
• Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund Scholarships
• Physical Research Laboratory Junior Research Fellowship
• Google PhD Scholarships
• ICHR Junior Research Fellowships (JRF)
• Raman-Charpak Fellowship
• MEXT Scholarship
• ICSSR Doctoral Research Fellowship

Know More About PhD Scholarships in UK for Indian Students

PhD is offered a wide range of courses from Engineering to Natural Sciences to Fine Arts. Most Indian and foreign entrance exams have two papers- one for General Studies and Research and the other is subject specific. The subject-specific papers can either be objective or subject in nature depending upon the exam and conducting authority. Here are the syllabus and topics covered in the general studies and research paper for all PhD entrance exam-

• General Knowledge
• Research Methodology
• English Comprehension
• Quantitative Aptitude
• Maths 
• Environmental Studies 
• Teaching Aptitude
• Communication Skills

Following the completion of a PhD, one should assess his or her potential and look for positions that match his or her specific talents and expertise. Following a PhD, candidates may pursue one of the following careers:

• Editor & Critic
• Human Services Worker
• Independent Consultant
• Philosophical Journalist
• Industrial R&D Lab professionals
• Senior Research Scientist
• Lecturer & Professor
• Author & Writer

The model PhD Entrance Test Pattern is divided into two parts: Part A comprises of study questions in numerical ability, language skills, and logical thinking. Part B consists of technical questions about the subjects.

Yes, you can pursue a PhD without having to pass the NET or JRF if you pass the written tests and interviews at the various institutions or institutes.

A small proportion of students earn their PhDs in two years, while a small percentage of outstanding students accomplish it in 12 months. It’s difficult to stress how unusual and impressive this is, but it’s always possible. The key to a fast-track PhD is to develop a solid academic CV before you begin.

No, there is no age limit for seeking a PhD in general.

In an official Notice from MHRD dated 27 August 2018, the applicants from SC/ST/OBC (Speaking from Non-Creamy layers)/University category shall be permitted to relax by a 5 percent mark (from 50 percent to 45 percent).

Two components are included in the PhD entrance test pattern: Part A: Research issues in numerical capacity, linguistic skills and logical thinking are generally addressed. Part B: Technical issues linked to disciplines are discussed.

No, it does not. Your 12th class is important if you wish to take UG entrance examinations, certain colleges require admission tests. Although admittance is based on class 12 iare your post graduationn several universities. The issues in your PhD admissions are your postgraduation. In the postgraduate period, the qualifying standards for Phd have been 50%.

Cracking any of the above-mentioned PhD entrance exams can turn out to be a difficult task for many. An alternative option to these tests is to apply for a doctoral degree abroad which can further provide you with international exposure into your chosen field of interest. Reach out to our Leverage Edu experts and we’ll help you in finding a suitable course and university as per your preferences and aspirations. Not only for this, but our head coaches will also assist you in drafting a perfect application that can get you successfully shortlisted. Follow us on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn .

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Thank you for such a wonderful article

Hi, Thanks for your feedback!

i want to know more about PhD after MBA. and I’m interested to Ph.D. in Human resource

Here are some articles that will help you navigate this field- https://leverageedu.com/blog/doing-a-phd-after-mba/ https://leverageedu.com/blog/courses-after-mba-in-human-resources/

Very Thankful for providing good Information.

Hey Somani,

Please sign up for our newsletter to get updates on our fresh blogs and exciting quizzes on studying abroad and education!

Thank you for such a amazing article. I want to do phd in chemistry. So please provide me more information about exam pattern and books. Once again thank you soo much.. looking forward to hear from you more about my concern.

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can anyone suggest best book for research methodology for phd statistics entrance exam?

Are you sure you want to delete your answer?

Hi Anjali ! you can use these books for Phd entrance exam :

1) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches by John W. Creswell and J. David Creswell

2)Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation by Sharan B. Merriam

3) Research Justice by Andrew J Jolivette

4) Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner′s Guide to Doing a Research Project by Uwe Flick

5) Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods: An Investigative Approach by Mark Balnaves & Peter Caput

Hope this will help you.

Thank you so Much.

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ICAR Booklist for AIEEA

Indian Council of Agricultural Research or ICAR is the apex managing, guiding, and coordinating agricultural education and research authority. It delegated the National Testing Agency to conduct the ICAR All India Entrance Exam entrance examinations.

Thus, it shortlists eligible candidates for ICAR AIEEA and ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF for undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctorate level admissions. NTA holds these examinations once every year and has already declared the final answer keys for 2021.

Therefore, aspirants must be prepared for the upcoming 2022 entrance with the following ICAR books. Aspirants must check out the detailed ICAR AIEEA Syllabus carefully and accordingly start off with their preparation to ace the examination and score the required cut off marks.

ICAR Exam Books List

Candidates who are looking for the best books for the preparation of ICAR can have a look at the list below:

• “Handbook of Agriculture” (Revised 6 th Edition)

This is one of the most famous books for ICAR preparation. It comprises a broad niche of current scientific developments of Indian agriculture, continuing national level research efforts and ideas to frame future agriculture. It contains updated information on Land utilisation, Soil and Water, Field and fodder crops. Additionally, it has new topics like Agrobiodiversity, Biotechnology, Resource conservation technologies, Intellectual Property Rights etc.

• ICAR Syllabi (B.Sc Agriculture)

It is also another famous book by Dr Rajeev Bairathi and R.K. Gupta. It has 12 previous years solved question papers to make aspirants accustomed to the exam pattern. It also has detailed explanatory solutions and answers for more than 4,000 questions, as well as the latest practice and study material.

• NTA-ICAR: AIEEA-UG Entrance Exam Guide

This book by R. Gupta has specialised practice and study material along with solved papers. These question papers follow the exam pattern to make candidates familiar with it. Also, the detailed explanations for these questions help build a better understanding.

• Ready Reckoner for ICAR-AIEEA (UG)

Another ICAR entrance exam book by R.K. Sharma and U. D. Chavan is framed according to the latest syllabi. It comprises study material from all AIEEA subjects such as Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. Therefore, this book is an optimum choice to prepare for this entrance examination.

• B.sc. Agriculture Entrance Exams 2022 (Arihant)

Arihant designed this book that comprises over 2500 multiple-choice questions that cover Mathematics, Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and mental ability. This book specialises in the 2022 entrance exam and thus, has solved previous years papers from 2019 to 2021. In addition, it comes with 3 practice sets according to the latest syllabus to prepare candidates for the exam pattern.

• General Agriculture for ICAR

It is another one of the popular ICAR books by the Jain Brothers. It covers the general agriculture syllabus thoroughly for M.Sc. and PhD entrance exams. Therefore, it consists of more than 3800 solved questions for ICAR, PhD, JRF, ARS and SRF exams.

• BSc Agriculture Entrance Exam

This book by Dr Lalita Gaur comprises memory-based objective type questions from previous years papers. Among these questions, 910 are from Physics, 984 from Chemistry, 900 from Agriculture and 1050 from Biology. It also has the 2014 MP-PAT and the 2015 BHU-UET question papers.

• BSc Agriculture for ICAR AIEEA (UG)

This book by Dr Lalita Gaur has tons of multiple-choice type questions on Biology, Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. In addition, it comprises several previous years questions that can prepare aspirants for the exam pattern.

So, these are all the essential ICAR books that can help aspirants in their preparation strategies. Most say that thorough preparation for NEET is enough to clear the ICAR entrance examination. However, these books can give them a comprehensive idea of the exam pattern and syllabi to amp up their preparation.

Also, refer to the following links to learn more about the All India Entrance Examination for Admission in UG, PG and PhD level programs:

For the best preparation strategy for competitive exams candidates can visit the linked article and get detailed study material and preparation tips to excel in the examination.

Furthermore, to get the latest govt exam updates, study material and preparation tips, visit BYJU’S.

Frequently Asked Questions on ICAR AIEEA Books

Can aspirants get icar books pdf online.

Some ICAR books may be available online in their PDF version for the aspirants depending on the publications.

Does Arihant have a book for ICAR-AIEEA entrance examination preparation?

Yes, Arihant has published a book, B.sc. Agriculture Entrance Exams 2022 for ICAR-AIEEA aspirants.

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Forensics Digest

All about Forensics

Best Books for NFSU Entrance Exam 2024

For any exam you need to first analyze the syllabus and exam pattern of that exam , and gradually as you go on with preparation you will eventually know what suits you.

National Forensic Science University (NFSU) recently released admission notification for various courses for the year 2024 and since then we have been flooded by your messages regarding how to prepare, which book to refer and what is the best strategy to crack the entrance exam.

Before we tell you which are the best books to crack NFSU Entrance Exam 2024, here are some of the tips we think would help you all.

• Memorize from  NCERT book itself.  Our students have told us since last few years questions are framed from the lines of NCERT.
• Find one book which suits you , and  complete it cover to cover.
• Practice Mock Tests as many as you can.

Best books to crack NFSU Entrance Exam 2021

• Physics – Here is a list of books you can buy , if you want to prepare Physics ( 11 and 12th ) from scratch.

If you are confident with your concepts of Physics, we suggest you go through NCERT only.

Physics Questions in NFSU will be easy , provided you have brushed your basics and have given ample of mock / practice tests as these test will give you confidence and help you in managing your time.

2.  Chemistry

• Always stick to NCERT as 70% questions in chemistry are directly from NCERT. In case Chemistry is your weak area , buy this book and brush up your basics.

3.  Biology

• In Biology , it goes without saying that NCERT is everything. Still if NCERT is something you find difficult to understand, buy any of the book mentioned below.

4 . Forensic Science

Whether it be to learn the history of forensic science or the different specialisations under it, the  crime scene investigation  process or the existing criminal laws, here are some of the best general forensic science books for beginners to equip you with adequate knowledge on the subject ( and also to get those extra points for your exams).

If you have already studied forensic science in graduation, your notes are more than sufficient. But if you are someone you has no exposure to it, we suggest you buy any of these book for entrance exam.

I hope these books will help you in cracking NFSU Entrance Exam and in future too. Like they say, Investing In Books Is Never a Waste of Money.

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October 24, 2021 at 2:01 pm

Centers will be provided or we have to appear frm home itself?

October 24, 2021 at 2:18 pm

Information regarding centers will be intimated to you in due time.

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