In the world of postgraduate studies, there is a dominant narrative of struggle, and survival. PhDs and Masters' degrees are difficult - they demand that you struggle, often on your own, with ideas, theory, words, data, supervisors and so on. If you are not having a lonely and hard time, you are missing some vital … Continue reading It’s not less of a PhD if you didn’t survive it alone
Category: supervision
Managing a relationship with your supervisor/s
If you ask a cross-section of postgraduate students what one of the best (or worst) parts of doing their MA or PhD is, most of them will likely tell you something about their supervisor(s). A supervisor can make or break a postgraduate degree process, and I have to say I have heard too many terrible … Continue reading Managing a relationship with your supervisor/s
Setting up, maintaining, mending your support systems
A friend of mine asked me recently how I managed to finish a PhD in three and a bit years, with a full-time job and a full-time homelife. I found it quite hard to answer her, especially given that, in retrospect, my PhD doesn't seem all that difficult now (kind of like when you have … Continue reading Setting up, maintaining, mending your support systems
Getting the feedback you need
Feedback. It's a prickly issue for writers. We both want it and fear it. It makes us nervous, fearful, tired, annoyed, cheered - sometimes all of these things in one essay/paper/chapter. One of the most helpful things I learned during my PhD was how to ask for feedback - the feedback I needed. This post … Continue reading Getting the feedback you need
What happens when you know your study better than your supervisor does?
This is a tricky post for me to write - it feels risky in a way. I know my supervisor reads this blog, and I don't want to offend her in any way. But I'm going to take this risk (and I think she would probably agree) because this is an issue that I don't … Continue reading What happens when you know your study better than your supervisor does?
