PhD journeys are notoriously challenging — from navigating applications and choosing advisors to surviving the grind of research, writing, and job hunting. What if there was a single, well-organized place where the hard-won wisdom of legendary academics and contemporary researchers lives, curated by a community of peers? The awesome-phd-advice GitHub repository does exactly that.
What awesome-phd-advice offers
This repository is a curated “awesome list” focusing entirely on PhD advice. It doesn’t contain code, tooling, or data — its value is in the careful collection of hundreds of links to articles, guides, and resources relevant to PhD students at various stages.
Maintained by Paul Liang from Carnegie Mellon University, the repo organizes its content into two broad categories: advice for prospective PhD students and guidance for those already enrolled. The first section covers topics like how to approach PhD applications, writing statements of purpose, selecting advisors, and understanding the admissions process. The second section dives into survival strategies for current students, including research methodologies, academic writing and reviewing, presentation tips, and navigating the academic job market.
The curated links are drawn from a mix of classic figures in academia such as Richard Hamming and Randy Pausch, alongside modern machine learning researchers like Andrej Karpathy and Tim Dettmers. This blend gives the repository both historical perspective and contemporary relevance.
Additionally, the repo aggregates other similar collections maintained by prestigious institutions like Stanford, Columbia, and the University of Washington. It also provides access to databases of example statements of purpose and fellowship applications — practical tools for anyone applying to PhD programs or academic funding.
why this curated list stands out
What distinguishes awesome-phd-advice is its pure focus on curation as a community service. It’s not about software or metrics; the README itself is the product. The value compounds over time as contributors add new resources and refine the organization.
From a technical standpoint, the repo is a single Markdown document structured for easy navigation. This simplicity is a tradeoff: there’s no dynamic interface or search engine, but the low barrier to contribution and version control via GitHub issues and pull requests foster a lively, evolving collection.
The maintenance by an active researcher ensures the content stays relevant and practical rather than theoretical or outdated. This is important because academic advice can often be scattered, siloed, or buried in personal blogs. Having a centralized, vetted resource saves new PhD students hours of searching and reading.
Because it’s a crowdsourced list, quality control relies on community moderation. This means the repository may occasionally contain subjective opinions or less-tested advice, but the open nature invites discussion and updates. For PhD students who know the pain of navigating academic waters, this tradeoff is more than acceptable.
explore the project
The repository’s README is the main entry point. It’s a single Markdown file, well-organized with headings and subheadings that let you quickly jump to topics of interest.
To get started, skim the sections for prospective or current students depending on your stage. Each entry includes a brief description and a direct link to the original resource — be it a blog post, academic article, or institutional guide.
Look out for sections with collections of example statements of purpose or fellowship applications. These are particularly useful when preparing your own application materials, providing real-world samples that can inspire or inform your writing.
Because the project lives on GitHub, you can contribute by suggesting new links or updates via pull requests. This collaborative aspect keeps the repository fresh and responsive to new trends or discoveries in academic life.
verdict
awesome-phd-advice isn’t a software project — it’s a knowledge hub built for and by the academic community. It’s an essential bookmark for anyone involved in PhD studies, whether you’re just applying or deep in the trenches of research.
Its strengths lie in the breadth and relevance of curated content, the trustworthiness that comes from community vetting, and the simplicity of its structure that invites contributions without barriers.
Limitations are clear: no automation, no interactive features, no metrics tracking. But for a resource centered on human wisdom and experience, this minimalism is a feature, not a bug.
If you’re a PhD student or advisor, or even someone considering doctoral studies, this repository can save you time and frustration by pointing you to the best advice in one place. It’s a practical, no-nonsense collection that earns its 2,000+ stars by serving a real need in academia.
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→ GitHub Repo: pliang279/awesome-phd-advice ⭐ 2,091