Getting a doctorate is a noble pursuit, but what can you do with it? Turns out, almost anything. Come along for the ride as Crystal, Jason, and Kylie—three students pursuing doctoral degrees—travel across the country to talk to professionals using their doctorates in surprising ways. Professors are among those interviewed, but so are musicians, lawyers, and soccer coaches. Doctoral work isn’t limited to academia. From the classroom to the courtroom, hospitals, and beyond, doctoral recipients are making a real impact in the real world.

Degree of Impact

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We sought out people with doctoral degrees and found them in places you wouldn’t expect. Discover ordinary people doing extraordinary work—everywhere, in every way.

I didn't even know what a PhD was when I was younger, so I had no clue that this is where I would end up. >> Going back for my PhD is the hardest thing I've done, because I do have three children, and I do have a husband and I do work full time. >> Right now, I'm working on my PhD. When you get to the dissertation, that's where a lot of people start to drop off. You hear that little voice in the back of your head saying, no, you're not gonna make it, you're not gonna do it. >> So, this past summer, me and two other doctoral candidates traveled the country and interviewed different leaders who have all sorts of different doctoral degrees. >> In all different kinds of fields. >> They're doing amazing things in the world. >> So, we centered our interviews around three themes. First, you make a decision to, okay, I wanna go get this degree. >> And then, once you got into the program, how did you make it? How did you get through it? >> How did I survive the program? Because I can't tell you how many times I thought about dropping out. >> And then, once you finished your doctoral degree, what was next? >> What in the world are you gonna do with it? That's kind of the doctoral journey. >> Who I want to be in this world as someone who has a doctoral degree. In a lot of fields, the only reason to get a PhD is to become an academic professor. But a lot of the people that we interviewed were not academic professors. So, it was a really great opportunity to see how can you take this degree, and apply it and make a difference in this world. [MUSIC] 

Degree of Impact Trailer

A doctoral degree can help you think bigger, go farther—and contrary to popular belief, it’s accessible to people from any walk of life willing to work hard for a dream.

Doctoral Roadtrip

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STOPS & INTERVIEWS

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