How to stay productive and motivated during your PhD
In these resources, we discuss the emotional challenges of doing a PhD, and offer tips to help you stay engaged and motivated.
Leaving Academia After A PhD
Congratulations, Doctor; academic work is NOT your only option. If you’ve just completed your PhD, the grass may be greener outside the university gates. In this post, we offer advice and guidance for those thinking of leaving academic after a PhD. The Dream of a...
Common PhD Viva Questions (To Help You Prepare For Yours)
There are some common PhD viva questions that come up again and again in PhD oral exams. Learn what they are in this insider guide.
How Decision Fatigue Impacts Your PhD
Every day you are tasked with many choices, but making decisions saps your energy. Learn how to beat decision fatigue as a PhD student.
10 Reading Strategies for PhD Students To Improve Long-Term Accessibility of Information
We read hundreds of articles and books for our PhDs, but do we keep all the information? Learn which strategies benefit long-term memory.
Tips for working from home during your PhD
Remote learning is here to stay and you can get to the top without ever stepping on campus. Learn tips for working from home during your PhD.
Working With a Not-So-Great PhD Supervisor
The first year of supervised training for PhD students is extremely daunting. But what if you have a not-so-great PhD supervisor?
With age comes wisdom – how to succeed as a mature PhD student
LIfe as a mature PhD student can throw up challenges. Here we offer our advice on how mature students can thrive on the PhD journey.
How to prepare for PhD supervision meetings
Supervision and doctoral committee meetings are a necessary part of your PhD journey. To make the most of these meetings, there are a few important things to remember.
How to deal with unexpected PhD supervisor feedback
Devastated by unexpected constructive feedback? Take time to rage against the feedback then look after yourself and start again. Supervisors only give you feedback to help you pass your PhD, hard though it is to hear.
How to Stop Procrastinating and Complete Your PhD Thesis: 10 Strategies to Consider
“I’ll do it tomorrow…..” Stop saying and start doing with these strategies on how to stop procrastinating your PhD thesis.
80 things I wish I knew when I was doing my PhD
Often, the difference between unnecessary worry and successfully muddling through is having someone on your side who can tell you that what you’re feeling is normal and reassure you with good, practical advice that speaks to the core of you. That is the goal of this article.
Impressing the Examiners: How to Prepare for Your PhD Viva
Completing your PhD thesis is a huge moment, but there’s still another hurdle to clear. Read on to learn how to prepare for your PhD viva.
What to do if you lack motivation in your PhD
Motivation is elusive. Some days you have it and others you don’t. Well, having fluctuations in your motivation is normal and to be expected. If you took ten PhD students, how many do you think would say they’re highly motivated all the time? Not many, I imagine.
10 Things You Can Prioritise If You’re A Self-Isolating PhD Student
Whilst being based from home and self-isolating will undoubtedly have a big impact on how you work, it doesn’t mean your PhD comes to a stop. There are other things you can work on once you re-prioritise your workload and shift your projects around.
What you should know if you are self-isolating during your PhD
This post has been published in direct response to recent calls by governments around the world to encourage more people to work from home. We wanted to create a resource that talked specifically to PhD students in order to advise them on steps they could take to ease the transition to home-working. Towards the end of these guidelines are specifically tips for those who currently teach as part of their PhD workload.
5 Things New PhD Students Should Know
Noting can ever fully prepare you for the intellectual, physical and emotional assault that comes with doing a PhD. Everyone does a PhD for very personal reasons, and everyone finds them challenging in unique and varied ways. What for one person may seem like a death-blow may to others be nothing more than a minor inconvenience. However, in this post I want to discuss the six things that every new PhD student should know. They’re things that I learnt the hard way during my PhD, and which I’ve seen time and time again in my career as an academic, PhD thesis proofreader and PhD coach.
What makes a good PhD supervisor? Top tips for managing the student-supervisor relationship.
We explain what makes a good PhD supervisor, what they should and shouldn’t be doing, and how to make the most of your supervision meetings.
39 PhD Mindfulness Exercises To De-Stress Your PhD
Research has shown how mindfulness exercises can be important in lowering PhD stress. Here we present 39 mindfulness exercises to help you towards a successful submission.
Five tips to improve your PhD thesis
Regardless of what stage of the writing process you are at, there are five overarching tips you need to keep in mind if you want to improve your PhD thesis.
How to deal with post-viva PhD thesis corrections
We like to think that the viva is the end of the doctoral process; the final step in the long journey to a PhD. But, for most, it isn’t the final hurdle. The outcome of the viva in most cases is another three to sixth months work to deal with corrections.
People like me will never do things like that: PhD imposter syndrome and academic anxiety
To those who think they’re not good enough I say two things. First, good enough for what? To be an academic? Well, you are one. You’re a trainee. Second, you’re not good enough yet. There’s a big distinction.
Writing your PhD begins with writing fieldnotes
For anyone writing ethnography – or doing any participant observation at all – writing a thesis begins in earnest in the field, with notes: an absolute heap of them.
7 Ways To Beat PhD Writer’s Block
Then the deadline grows shorter. You start to worry, “I’m so far behind. Can I ever catch up? I’m a good student. So why haven’t I been more productive?”
A Handy PhD Submission Checklist
Your work isn’t finished when you’ve written your thesis and had it proofread. There is still a surprising amount of administrative work to do before you are ready to submit. Don’t underestimate the amount of time it will take to turn your finished text into a final, bound copy.
Explore Other PhD Knowledge Base Collections
Eight collections of free resources to help you along the PhD journey
Mastering your theory and literature review chapters
How to structure and write every chapter of the PhD
How to stay motivated and productive
Techniques to improve your writing and fluency
Advice on maintaining good mental health
Resources designed for non-native English speakers
Explore our back-catalogue of motivational advice
Each week we send out a short, motivational email to over 4,000 students. Here you can sign up and access the archive.