Present for friend completing her PhD

[AsACloud]

Hi all. My lovely friend will soon finish her PhD, she’s had a lot to contend with whilst studying for this. I’d love to buy her a present to mark her completing this and I was wondering if anyone had purchased/received similar that they would recommend? I could obviously buy her flowers/champagne but ideally I’d love to buy something that was more specifically geared to the massive achievement that a PhD is.
Any suggestions welcome!

Hopeful bump 😁

A badge saying 'its doctor, actually...'?
I'd take her out

A nice pen with her name engraved with PhD

That's such a lovely thought! I'm sure she'll be delighted with whatever you choose, and absolutely delighted that you're celebrating her big achievement.

What is her PhD in ? Just wondering if there is potential for a gift with a link to her subject.
Jewellery, so a necklace or bracelet.

Depends on your budget. You could buy her robes for graduation so that they don't need to rent them (and that way they always have them). Buying is about £200 all in and renting is £80.

You could offer to get them a fancy bound edition of their thesis. Maybe about 50-60?

Some universities you can get graduation jewellery education.annotatedstudios.com/city/articles/the-official-graduation-collaboration-to-reimagine-the-university-ring/

What a thoughtful person you are 😊

Has she had her thesis properly bound?

The thing I most loved after completing mine was being taken out for posh afternoon tea. I would also have enjoyed anything with a joke about being a doctor. I would not personally have wanted an engraved pen or a piece of jewellery. The thesis itself is a hefty physical reminder of the work.

What's your budget? I went on Etsy and bought a lovely science-themed necklace for DD when she finished her masters. She absolutely loves it and wears it every day. But it was £160.

Sorry, didn’t think to say but the PhD is in Education. She works for a University. I’d love to take her out and will do but we live in different countries so I might not see her for a few months yet. The pen with her name and PhD is a lovely idea. I hadn’t thought about the thesis binding so will look into that. She’s not really into jewellery and is definitely not one to blow her own trumpet which is why I wanted to get her something to mark the achievement.

Budget I suppose is approx £100 because I will take her for a posh afternoon tea when I see her, as she would love that. She’s found the thesis a slog and not particularly enjoyed that bit so wondering, from anyone who has completed same, would you still like a bound version of your thesis if you don’t enjoy doing that bit 😅

What about a night away somewhere or a spa day to recharge. The memory would be nice.

A spa day after it’s all submitted would be definitely appreciated.

Someone bought me this after my viva!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1030299565/mg3240-miss-mrs-ms-dr-novelty-gift?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=miss+mrs+ms+dr+mug&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&content_source=84cfd42503e197bf4d0f6515f9ec6ec99763dbc8%253A1030299565&organic_search_click=1

I was given a soft toy of Doc from the seven dwarves 😁

A beautiful bracelet

Has she had her viva yet? If not I’d maybe send some flowers or a nice meal kit now, and wait until after the viva for a gift.

No viva yet so I will wait for that. Thanks for pointing it out as I hadn’t thought about same.

Just in case she is anxious about it, or she has corrections.

I would assume she’d get the thesis bound herself. Most people will get at least one for a library and one for themselves. I got four done, I think. And definitely wait until after the viva!

My favourite gift was a lovely Emma Bridgewater mug personalised with "Dr MyName".

We bought a friend a thermo cup thing with Dr nickname on the side, along with the obligatory booze and some other edibles. The thermal cup was an in joke, but also the idea was for her to use whilst lecturing. We were there when she opened other gifts; they were overwhelmingly booze - seemed like such a missed opportunity for any number of ‘Dr’ stuff - water bottle, mug, key ring… They might be a bit naff, but a new title is a novelty at first, and the only time you can play around with it a bit! Also, deffo not the type of thing you can buy yourself!!!

Present indicative often have lots of lovely, quirky things on there by subject / topic. I often get gifts from there for academic friends.

I wouldn't get anything with Dr on it until she's had her viva and it's all official (for me would have felt like tempting fate!). I would have preferred presents like jewellery etc after too.
I just wanted to collapse after submitting mine so anything like a spa day would have been welcome, or maybe a book and chocolates/nice tea (so she can read something that is not related to her PhD!)

Just a quick reply to say thanks so much for all the responses, I’ve a few ideas to look at now. Definitely going to get something with Dr on it as I know she’ll play this down herself.