How to Help Your Spouse Finish a Ph.D. Degree

A doctorate holds the promise of higher pay and greater professional satisfaction. To help your spouse finish a Ph.D. degree, offer to take on household tasks to free up time for concentrated study. Stay tuned into your spouse's needs by keeping the lines of communication open.

• Spend more time with the kids and household responsibilities. Help your spouse finish a Ph.D. degree by demonstrating that the children are in good hands. Plan activities for them, and take over household responsibilities like cooking, grocery shopping, laundry and ironing. A couple of hours of free time each day will allow your spouse to read coursework materials, conduct dissertation research at the library or meet with classmates to discuss core concepts.


• Show genuine interest in your spouse's academic pursuits. Demonstrate your support by asking questions about the Ph.D. program's requirements, challenges and exciting aspects. Talking through these elements may help your spouse manage stress and process next steps.


• Offer help for logistical aspects of research projects. Doctoral students must write a dissertation that generally requires research. Although the core of the research must be done by the student, you can assist with organizational tasks.


• Edit written work. Offer to read through essays and other written work to check for typos, grammatical errors, organization, clarity or other writing issues.


• Ask your spouse how you can help. Each Ph.D. student has different needs. Demonstrate your care and concern by checking in daily or weekly. Show that you are willing to help out. Sometimes that's all a person needs to stay on task.