phd for beginners

• Our Culture
• Open and FAIR Data
• Research projects
• Publications
• Cellular Genomics
• Decoding Biodiversity
• Delivering Sustainable Wheat
• Earlham Biofoundry
• Transformative Genomics
• Scientific Groups Our groups work at the forefront of life science, technology development, and innovation.
• High-Performance Sequencing Dedicated and efficient high-throughput genomics led by experts in sequencing and bioinformatics.
• Single-cell and Spatial Analysis Platforms to support single- or multi-cell analysis, from cell isolation, to library preparation, sequencing and analysis.
• Earlham Biofoundry Providing expertise in synthetic biology approaches and access to laboratory automation
• Tools and resources Explore our software and datasets which enable the bioscience community to do better science.
• Cloud Computing Infrastructure for Data-intensive Bioscience
• Web Hosting for Sites, Tools and Web Services
• Earlham Enterprises Ltd
• Events Calendar Browse through our upcoming and past events.
• About our training High-quality, specialist training and development for the research community.
• Year in industry Supporting undergraduate students to develop skills and experience for future career development.
• Internships and opportunities Opportunities for the next generation of scientists to develop their skills and knowledge in the life sciences.
• Immersive visitors A bespoke, structured training programme, engaging with the faculty, expertise and facilities at the Earlham Institute.
• News Catch up on our latest news and browse the press archive.
• Articles Explore our science and impact around the world through engaging stories.
• Impact Stories Find out how we are contributing to the major challenges of our time.
• Impact Through Policy Advocacy Engaging across the political spectrum to exchange knowledge and inform public policy.
• Public engagement and outreach Communicating our research to inspire and engage learning.
• Communications at EI We work across digital, multimedia, creative design and public relations to communicate our research.
• Our Vision and Mission
• Inclusivity, diversity, equality and accessibility
• Scientific Advisory Board
• Our Management Team
• Operations Division
• Careers overview
• Postgraduate Studies
• Group leaders
• Fellowships
• Life at Earlham Institute
• Living in Norfolk

10 things you need to know before starting a PhD degree

So you want to do a PhD degree, huh? Here we've got everything you need to know about getting started.

So you want to do a PhD degree, huh? Are you sure about that? It’s not going to be an easy decision, so I’ve put together a list of 10 things you need to know before starting a PhD degree. Oh, and don’t panic!

I have recently graduated from the University of Manchester with a PhD in Plant Sciences after four difficult, but enjoyable, years. During those four years, I often felt slightly lost – and there was more than one occasion on which I didn’t even want to imagine writing up my thesis in fear of delving into fits of panic.

On reflection, I realise that – to quote a colleague – commencing my PhD was like “jumping in the deep end with your eyes closed.” If only I’d known to take a deep breath.

1. Are you sure you want to do a PhD degree?

Let’s be under no false impressions, completing a PhD isn’t easy. There will be times when you feel like Wile E Coyote chasing after the Roadrunner – a little bit out of your depth a lot of the time. It’s four years of your life, so make sure it is what you really want to do.

If you want to pursue a career in science, a PhD isn’t always necessary.

It is possible to make great inroads into industry without a doctoral degree. That said, a PhD can also be a very useful qualification with many transferable skills to add to your CV.

By the time you’ll have finished, you can include essentials such as time management, organisational skills, prioritising workloads, attention to detail, writing skills, presenting to an audience – and most importantly – resilience, to name but a few.

2. Choose your project, and supervisor, wisely.

This is  very  important.

Time after time, our experienced scientists at EI, including Erik Van-Den-Bergh (and I agree) say, “ make sure you’re extremely passionate about exactly that subject. ” When I saw the PhD opening that I eventually was offered, I remember being demonstrably ecstatic about the project before I’d even started it.

I was always interested in calcium signalling and organised a meeting with my potential supervisor immediately, which (to quote Billy Connolly) I leapt into in a mood of gay abandon.

Not only does this help you to keep engaged with your project even through the painstakingly slow times, it also greatly enhances your ability to sell yourself in an interview. If you can show passion and enthusiasm about the project and the science then you’ll be that one step ahead of other candidates – which is all the more important now that many studentships are competitive.

You have to  be the best  out of many, often exceptional candidates.

However, as important as it is to be passionate about your project, make sure that the person who will be supervising you is worthy.

Does your potential supervisor have a prolific track record of publishing work? What is the community of scientists like in the lab you may be working in? Are there experienced post-doctoral scientists working in the lab? Who will your advisor be? Is your supervisor an expert in the field you are interested in? Is the work you will be doing ground-breaking and novel, or is it quite niche?

There is nothing more frustrating – and I know many PhD degree students with this problem – than having a supervisor who is rarely there to talk to, shows little interest in your work, and cannot help when you are struggling in the third year of your project and some guidance would be much appreciated.

Personally, and I was very lucky to have this, I think it’s incredibly useful to have two supervisors. My PhD degree was split between the University of Manchester and the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth. Between my supervisors, I had two people with expertise in different fields, who could give me some fantastic advice from different perspectives. This also meant that I had two people to check through my thesis chapters and provide useful comments on my drafts.

Make sure you are passionate about your subject before taking it to PhD level. And by passionate I mean  really  passionate.

For a start, you will most likely have to write a literature review in your first three months, which if done well will form the main bulk of your thesis introduction and will save you a lot of stress and strain when it comes to writing up.

At the end of your first year, you will have to write a continuation report, which is your proof that you deserve to carry on to the end of your three or four years. This doesn’t leave much time for lab work, which means time management is incredibly important. If you think you’ll be able to swan in at 11 and leave at 3, think again.

Fundamentally, never, ever rest on your laurels! As tempting as it may be to slack-off slightly in the second year of your four year PhD, don’t.

4. Be organised.

This is a no-brainer but still, it’s worth a mention. Take an hour on a Monday morning to come up with a list of short-term and long-term goals. You’ll probably have to present your work at regular lab meetings, so it’s always worth knowing what has to be done (lest you look a pillock in front of the lab when there’s nothing to show for your last two weeks.)

It’s always good to have a timeline of what will be done when. If you have a PCR, maybe you can squeeze in another experiment, read a few papers, start writing the introduction to your thesis, or even start collecting the data you already have into figures.

The more good use you make of your time, the easier it’ll be to finish your PhD in the long run. Plus, it’s lovely to sit back and look at actual graphs, rather than worry about having enough to put into a paper. Once you’ve typed up your data, you’ll realise you’ve done far more than you had anticipated and the next step forward will be entirely more apparent.

5. Embrace change – don’t get bogged down in the details.

Felix Shaw – one of our bioinformatics researchers at EI – put it best when he said, “ it felt like I was running into brick walls all the way through [my PhD]… you’d run into a brick wall, surmount it, only to run straight into another. ”

You’ll find that, often, experiments don’t work. What might seem like a great idea could turn out to be as bad as choosing to bat first on a fresh wicket on the first day of the third Ashes test at Edgbaston. (Yeah, we don't know what that means either - Ed).

Resilience is key while completing your PhD. Be open to change and embrace the chance to experiment in different ways. You might even end up with a thesis chapter including all of your failures, which at the very least is something interesting to discuss during your  viva voce .

6. Learn how to build, and use, your network.

As a PhD student, you are a complete novice in the world of science and most things in the lab will be – if not new to you – not exquisitely familiar. This matters not, if you take advantage of the people around you.

Firstly, there are lab technicians and research assistants, who have probably been using the technique you are learning for years and years. They are incredibly experienced at a number of techniques and are often very happy to help show you how things are done.

There are postdocs and other PhD students, too. Not only can they help you with day-to-day experiments, they can offer a unique perspective on how something is done and will probably have a handy back-catalogue of fancy new techniques to try.

There are also a bunch of PIs, not limited to your own, who are great to talk to. These people run labs of their own, have different ideas, and might even give you a job once you’ve completed your PhD.

Don’t limit yourself to the labs directly around you, however. There are a massive number of science conferences going on all around the world. Some of them, such as the Society of Biology Conference, take place every year at a similar time in different locations, attracting many of the leaders in their respective fields.

If you are terrified by the prospect of speaking at a full-blown science conference and having your work questioned by genuine skeptics, there are also many student-led conferences which will help you dangle your fresh toes in the murky waters of presenting your work.

One such conference, the Second Student Bioinformatics Symposium, which took place at Earlham Institute in October 2016, was a great place for candidates to share their projects with peers, who are often much more friendly than veteran researchers with 30 year careers to their name when it comes to the questions at the end of your talk.

Another great reason to attend conferences, of course, is the social-side too – make the most of this. You never know who you might meet and connect with over a few drinks once the talks are over and the party commences.

7. Keep your options open.

You should be aware that for every 200 PhD students,  only 7  will get a permanent academic post , so it’s  incredibly unlikely that you’ll become a Professor  – and even if you make PI, it probably won’t be until your mid-forties.

You may also, despite having commenced along the academic path, decide that actually, working in a lab environment isn’t for you. Most PhD graduates, eventually, will not pursue an academic career, but move on to a wide range of other vocations.

It might be that Science Communication is more up your street. This was certainly the case for me – and I made sure that I took part in as many public engagement events as possible while completing my PhD. Most Universities have an active public engagement profile, while organisations such as STEM can provide you with ample opportunities to interact with schools and the general public.

You might also consider entrepreneurship as a route away from academia, which might still allow you to use your expert scientific knowledge. There are a variety of competitions and workshops available to those with a business mind, a strong example being Biotechnology YES.

I, for example, took part in the Thought for Food Challenge, through which I have been able to attend events around the world and meet a vast array of like-minded individuals. Many of the participants from the challenge have gone on to set up successful businesses and have even found jobs as a result of the competition.

8. Balance.

Remember that you still have a life outside of your PhD degree – and that this can be one of the greatest opportunities to make amazing friends from around the world.

A science institute is usually home to the brightest students from a variety of countries and can provide a chance to experience a delightful range of different people and cultures. Don’t just stick to the people in your lab, go to events for postgraduate students and meet people from all over campus.

There are usually academic happy hours happening on Fridays after work where you can buy cheap beer, or some lucky institutions even have their own bar. At Norwich Research Park, we not only have the Rec Centre, along with bar, swimming pool, calcetto, samba classes, archery, and a range of other activities, but there are also biweekly “Postdoc pub clubs” which are very fun to join on a Tuesday evening.

Maintain your hobbies and keep up with friends outside of your PhD and you’ll probably find it’s not that gruelling a process after all.

Plus, the people you meet and become friends with might be able to help you out – or at least be able to offer a sympathetic shoulder.

9. Practical advice.

If, after reading all of this, you’re still going to march forth and claim your doctorhood, then this section should be rather useful.

Firstly, make sure your data is backed up. It’s amazing how many people don’t do this and you’d be bonkers not to. Keep your work saved on a shared drive, so that if your computer decides to spontaneously combust upon pressing the return key, you won’t have lost all of your precious work – or have to go through every one of your lab books and type it all up again.

Secondly, don’t leave your bag in the pub with your half-written thesis in it. I did this, the bag was fine, I was in a state of terror for at least half an hour before the kind person at Weatherspoons located said bag.

Thirdly, read. Read broadly, read anything and everything that’s closely related to your project – or completely unrelated. It’s sometimes amazing where you might find a stroke of inspiration, a new technique you hadn’t thought of … or even in idea of where you might like to go next.

Finally, ask questions – all of the time. No matter how stupid it might sound in your head, everyone’s probably been asked it before, and if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

You’ll probably look far less stupid if you just ask the person standing next to you how the gradient PCR function works on your thermal cycler rather than standing there randomly prodding buttons and looking flustered, anyway.

10. Savour the positives.

At the end of all of this, it has to be said that doing a PhD is absolutely brilliant. There’s no other time in your life that you’ll be this free to pursue your very own project and work almost completely independently. By the time you come to the end of your PhD, you will be the leading expert in the world on something. A real expert! Until the next PhD student comes along …

Related reading.

A PhD, is it worth it? Just ask our students

The realities of doing a PhD

My advice for PhD students? See what bites

COVID and my PhD: to lockdown and back

How does a PhD work and how to find the right one

Building the confidence to take on a PhD

PhD life, 10 things we learned in our first six months

What’s the third year of a PhD like? Tips for navigating your PhD

PhD by experience

• Scientific Groups
• High-Performance Sequencing
• Single-cell and Spatial Analysis
• Tools and resources
• Events Calendar
• About our training
• Year in industry
• Internships and opportunities
• Immersive visitors
• Impact Stories
• Impact Through Policy Advocacy
• Public engagement and outreach
• Communications at EI

The Savvy Scientist

Experiences of a London PhD student and beyond

PhD FAQs – A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Doctoral Study

Tempted to do a PhD but have lots of questions? Hopefully this collection of popular PhD FAQs will help you to tick a few off the list!

Note – If you’re already sure that you want to do a PhD, and are looking for guidance on the applications process, check out my post on How to apply for a PhD which includes advice from successful PhD applicants. My post-PhD reflections on the things I regretted from my own PhD may be useful for you too, you can find that post here .

Let’s start with the absolute basics of PhDs!

What does PhD stand for?

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy. Doctor of Philosophy ? No matter which subject area your PhD is in you’ll become a Doctor of Philosophy because philosophy derives from Greek to mean “Love of wisdom” which make a bit more sense.

What is a PhD?

A PhD is a type of research degree classified as a doctorate. You get a PhD by doing original research into a topic, typically for at least three years.

There are loads of other types of doctorate and a PhD is simply the most common. EngD is another which is relatively common for industry-funded engineering students here in the UK.

PhD & DPhil what’s the difference?

There is no real difference between a PhD and DPhil, they’re both Doctor of Philosophy qualifications. A small number of historic institutions in the UK such as Oxford and York offer DPhils but the degree itself is equivalent.

How common are PhDs amongst the population?

Approximately 1% of the working population (25-64 years old) have a PhD. This varies a lot by country:

Can you call yourself Doctor with a PhD?

Yes you can. Though to avoid confusion with medical doctors, rarely will PhD-holders use the “Dr” title outside of their workplace.

Sometimes PhD-holders will add the abbreviation PhD after their name if they want to make it clear they are a non-medical doctor, for example “Jeff Clark PhD”.

What have I done about my title since getting my PhD? Nothing so far!

Why do a PhD?

Unlike a lot of other degrees, most PhD students get paid to study . Read more in the finances section below.

There are lots of potential reasons to want to do a PhD. The PhD students from our monthly PhD Profiles series said the following:

Sara found research the most enjoyable part of her undergraduate degree and a PhD was a way to carry on with research.

Ornob wants to pursue a career in evolutionary biology so began with a PhD in the field.

Vivienne has aspirations to be a professor so a PhD is a job requirement to progress in academia.

Jeff (me!) had an interest in the field and enjoyed research. I wrote a whole post with a deep dive on why I decided to do a PhD here .

Floor had enjoyed research during her Masters and didn’t think that she wanted a career in industry, so decided to do a PhD.

It’s important to mention that you don’t need to have a desire to stay in academia to do a PhD. In fact, even if you do want to go into academia afterwards, it’s probably good to know early on just how competitive it can be. Many people sadly cannot make a career out of academia long term.

Enjoy the subject matter and want to spend a few years researching it? That is reason enough to do a PhD. I’ve also now written a whole post about the benefits of having a PhD .

Applying for a PhD

Do you need a masters degree to do a phd.

No you don’t necessarily need a Masters degree to do a PhD as long as you can demonstrate you’d be suitable for a PhD without it.

For a more in-depth answer see the separate post here :

Can You Get a PhD Without a Master’s?

If you don’t have a Masters, I’d recommend checking out Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) which offer combined Masters + PhD courses. We have discussed CDTs with a graduate in Floor’s post here .

What grades do you need to do a PhD?

Entry requirements for PhDs can vary. In regards to the UK system usually you’d generally be expected to have at least a 2:1 from your undergraduate degree, plus some research experience.

My experience : I (narrowly) got first class honours in my undergrad (MEng) which certainly does help. But if you can demonstrate aptitude in research you usually don’t need a 1:1. It would be expected for you to have done well in any research projects. If you can get your name on a publication then even better!

The easiest way to find out what is expected is to check the PhD advert for entry requirements. For details on applying for a PhD, including how to find PhD adverts, check out my guide here :

How to apply for a PhD

I work in industry, can I come back and do a PhD?

Absolutely! I worked for almost four years between finishing my first degree and starting my PhD.

A PhD is more similar to a job than any other point in your education, so if you’ve spent time in a structured role it can provide you with a good work ethic. If your time in industry adds relevant skills and experience to your application, even better!

I’ve met loads of people older than me who are pursuing PhDs. If it’s your dream, it’s never too late to start a PhD!

What is the social life of a PhD student like?

Let me get this out the way first: PhD students should be able to have a life outside of the lab! If a PhD student has no time away from research I would personally suggest that they were doing things wrong.

Even if you really enjoy your project, it is good for your mental health to have a social life!

No matter the size of your research group there are often departmental and university-wide events. Plus, besides everyone you may meet through your research and department, PhD students can still join societies and sports clubs through the students’ union. I spent one of my birthdays during my PhD on the beach in Morocco with the surf club, don’t let being a PhD student put your off getting involved!

Check out the full post I’ve written: Do PhD Students Have a Social Life? Sharing My Experiences Making Friends and Avoiding PhD Loneliness

If you do go on to do a PhD, make sure to make the most of all the opportunities ! Your time as a PhD student is fantastic for personal growth.

How much holiday do PhD students get?

Sadly unlike undergraduates, PhD students don’t follow fixed semesters. This means no more three month long summer holiday, sorry!

However most departments recommend PhD students take 7-8 weeks of holiday a year , which is more than practically any job outside of academia.

I kept track of all the time off I took during my PhD and you can find the details here , including a month by month breakdown:

Do PhD Students Get Holidays? Sharing How Much Annual Leave I Take

Getting a PhD

How much work is a phd.

For a month I tracked how many hours I was working and what I was working on, so you can see a breakdown of my calendar here . I found I was working for roughly 40 hours a week. Now that I’ve recently finished my PhD, I’d say that that amount of hours was pretty representative of the whole PhD.

How Much Work is a PhD?

I do of course know some people who worked much longer hours, but most PhD students were on a similar schedule to me. Working roughly 9-5 on weekdays. Treat it like a job and you’ll be fine. PhD students don’t need to be slaving away long hours.

I managed to be strict with my time, largely avoiding work late nights or going in at the weekends. One of the main perks of doing a PhD is that you have autonomy and can be flexible with when you work. As long as you get the work done, any reasonable supervisor won’t mind when you’re there.

Yes I’ve heard stories of PhD students having to clock in and out with an expectation that they spend a certain number of hours in the office. I personally think this is stupid and doesn’t build trust. Try to speak to current PhD students from the group when choosing a supervisor .

How is a PhD assessed?

What you submit at the end of your research varies between universities and countries. Sometimes it’s a thesis and other times it can be a bunch of published papers. In all situations you give some kind of presentation and answer questions about your work.

In the UK you usually submit a thesis in preparation for a viva voce . The viva is an oral exam where you discuss your research with several academics and at least one will be an expert in your field. My viva wasn’t as scary as I thought it might be, but nonetheless it was five hours ( FIVE HOURS! ) long. At the end of your viva you’ll get told the outcome of your PhD with any changes to be made to your thesis.

There is often no requirement , to publish your work in journals during a PhD in the UK but it does help.

In other countries you may have to publish a certain number to pass your PhD and effectively these can be submitted instead of the thesis. This approach makes much more sense to me.

How long does it take to get a PhD?

In the UK, typically between three and four years to complete your research and submit the thesis. It can then take a few months for the exam (viva voce) to take place and then for any corrections to the thesis to be made.

Nosey about my PhD? For me personally, I started the PhD on 1st October 2016, submitted my thesis on 17th February 2020, had the viva on 25th March, submitted my minor corrections on 30th March and had the email to say it was officiated on 1st April 2020. Yep, April Fool’s Day…

When you realise your degree certificate will forever say your PhD was awarded on April Fools Day! #academiclife @imperialcollege pic.twitter.com/hKsGFyuc0x — Jeff Clark (@savvy_scientist) April 14, 2020

We cover all the stages of a PhD here, including putting the length of a PhD in the perspective of a whole career:

How Long Does It Take To Get A PhD?

Are PhDs really difficult?

No, well not how you might think.

You don’t need to be a genius, but you do have to be smart with how you work. Here I go into how a PhD is pretty different to all the prior years spent in education:

How Hard is a PhD?

Check out my new post covering academic challenges and failures relating to my own PhD: Overcoming Academic Challenges and Failure During a PhD

Money-Related Questions

How much does a phd cost.

If you have funding, which is explained below, all your fees are paid for by the funding source. If you are looking to self-fund, then you’ll have to pay bench-fees/tuition fees, which are usually approximately £4,000 a year for home students in the UK.

Fees vary massively depending on both the country the PhD work takes place in and where you’re from. For example, I believe Australian universities charge around $100,000 in fees to overseas PhD students. Of course ideally you have funding which covers both this and pays a stipend!

Do PhD students pay taxes?

In the UK, PhD students do not pay income tax, national insurance, council tax and student loan repayments. This means that if you can secure funding, even though you may earn less than friends in typical jobs, you get to keep all your earnings!

Do PhD students get paid?

Most PhDs, at least in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) get a stipend: basically a tax-free salary.

How much do PhD students get paid?

At the time of writing, most PhD students in the UK get around £16,000 a year . Doesn’t sound like a lot, but:

• As mentioned above, you don’t pay income tax, national insurance, council tax or make any student loan repayments. My most popular post is this one , comparing the income of PhD students vs grad jobs and the difference really isn’t that big. Plus it’s only for 3 to 3.5 years!
• You’re getting paid to learn science, working on something you’re really interested in. It’s amazing.
• You have a lot more freedom than practically any “proper job”.
• You’re getting paid, to be a student…

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid?

In summary, PhD stipends are really not that different to grad starting salaries. Please don’t be put off from a PhD simply because for a few years you might be earning a bit less than if you were working in another job.

Depending on what you want to do with your career, having a CV may lead to higher salaries. What is 3 years of lower wages out of a 40+ year career? The answer: nothing!

Where do I find PhD funding?

Getting funding will likely be the biggest hurdle for you to secure a PhD. I have a post here detailing the different types of funding and how you can find a project with funding attached.

How to Find PhD Funding in the UK

Can you self-fund a PhD?

Yes you can self-fund a PhD, and some students are in a position to do so. Just be careful that you account for university fees and not just your living costs.

Are you allowed to have another job at the same time?

Most universities encourage you to get involved with work within your department as a graduate teaching assistant (GTA). Some countries even insist that you work a certain number of hours as part of a contract for your monthly stipend.

Working as a GTA you might be invigilating exams, helping in tutorials, marking coursework etc and at Imperial you usually earn around £15-£26 an hour.

If you’re looking to work a full time job in tandem with your PhD (and doing the PhD full time), it is best checking your university’s policy. Some may have regulations against you working over a certain number of hours which could impede you from concentrating on the PhD.

There are extra ways to make money on the side which I address here :

How to Earn Money Online for Students

Can you get a mortgage as a PhD student?

Since I did my PhD in London I didn’t even consider buying somewhere during my PhD. I’m not interested in being tied into a massive mortgage for 25 years to buy a shoebox!

If I’d accepted my PhD offer for a CDT at Leeds I certainly would have tried to buy somewhere with my partner. I found this page useful when doing research. Buying a property with a partner who has a normal job would definitely make the mortgage application a whole lot more successful.

Will a PhD help your career?

This depends on what you want to do with your career. Some example scenarios:

• Staying in academia – a PhD is usually required
• Certain technical jobs in industry – a PhD may be required or a big bonus
• Non-technical jobs – a bonus

I do not imagine any scenarios where having a PhD is worse than not having one. It is true though that for certain careers there may be other things you could do which would be a better use of your time, for example gaining more direct work experience.

If you want to do a PhD that shouldn’t stop you though, and considering the length of your career taking a few years out for a PhD is inconsequential.

Whichever career path you fancy taking, if you are at all interested in doing a PhD I think you should at least apply.

PhDs in London

Can someone afford to live in london as a phd student.

Yes! I lived in London for my PhD and actually was able to save money every single month while taking many holidays and not living in a tent.

I have a few posts sharing my experiences living in London which you may find useful:

For a month last year I tracked all my expenses to get an idea of my costs living in London as a student, you can find it here .

Sharing my monthly living expenses as a student in London: September 2019

Related to reducing costs, I learned to cycle in London and loved it. It saved me about £100 a month too!

Learning to cycle in London: my first 1000 miles

On top of that, for the whole of 2019 (third year PhD) I tracked my money, and the report is here :

My personal finances report for 2019

Where is good to live in London?

I’ve lived in three different houses during my PhD in London and have a pretty good idea now of good places to live in London. You can read this whole post talking about living in London as a student and the associated costs including a breakdown of rent :

London student accommodation: Breaking down the cost of living in London for students

Bonus: Read the journeys of PhD students

Before I started my PhD I had a ton of questions and nobody who I could ask about their experience. The reality is that many of these PhD FAQs have a variety of answers as everyone’s PhD story is different. Therefore if you’d like to hear first hand from people who are going through the journey check out my series of PhD profiles , with a new profile every month. You can also discover some of their top tips for applying!

If you’d like personalised help with your PhD application I am now starting to offer a small number of one-to-one sessions. Please contact me to find out more or click here to book a call.

Is there anything else you’d like to know to help with a potential PhD application? Let me know and I’ll write about it! You can subscribe to stay up to date here:

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

PhD Salary UK: How Much Do PhD Students Get Paid Compared to Graduates?

5th February 2024 5th February 2024

The Benefits of Having a PhD

7th September 2022 30th January 2024

My top PhD regrets: 10 lessons learned by a PhD grad

21st April 2022 25th September 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Privacy Overview

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Starting the research process

A Beginner's Guide to Starting the Research Process

When you have to write a thesis or dissertation , it can be hard to know where to begin, but there are some clear steps you can follow.

The research process often begins with a very broad idea for a topic you’d like to know more about. You do some preliminary research to identify a  problem . After refining your research questions , you can lay out the foundations of your research design , leading to a proposal that outlines your ideas and plans.

This article takes you through the first steps of the research process, helping you narrow down your ideas and build up a strong foundation for your research project.

Table of contents

Step 1: choose your topic, step 2: identify a problem, step 3: formulate research questions, step 4: create a research design, step 5: write a research proposal, other interesting articles.

First you have to come up with some ideas. Your thesis or dissertation topic can start out very broad. Think about the general area or field you’re interested in—maybe you already have specific research interests based on classes you’ve taken, or maybe you had to consider your topic when applying to graduate school and writing a statement of purpose .

Even if you already have a good sense of your topic, you’ll need to read widely to build background knowledge and begin narrowing down your ideas. Conduct an initial literature review to begin gathering relevant sources. As you read, take notes and try to identify problems, questions, debates, contradictions and gaps. Your aim is to narrow down from a broad area of interest to a specific niche.

Make sure to consider the practicalities: the requirements of your programme, the amount of time you have to complete the research, and how difficult it will be to access sources and data on the topic. Before moving onto the next stage, it’s a good idea to discuss the topic with your thesis supervisor.

>>Read more about narrowing down a research topic

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

So you’ve settled on a topic and found a niche—but what exactly will your research investigate, and why does it matter? To give your project focus and purpose, you have to define a research problem .

The problem might be a practical issue—for example, a process or practice that isn’t working well, an area of concern in an organization’s performance, or a difficulty faced by a specific group of people in society.

Alternatively, you might choose to investigate a theoretical problem—for example, an underexplored phenomenon or relationship, a contradiction between different models or theories, or an unresolved debate among scholars.

To put the problem in context and set your objectives, you can write a problem statement . This describes who the problem affects, why research is needed, and how your research project will contribute to solving it.

>>Read more about defining a research problem

Next, based on the problem statement, you need to write one or more research questions . These target exactly what you want to find out. They might focus on describing, comparing, evaluating, or explaining the research problem.

A strong research question should be specific enough that you can answer it thoroughly using appropriate qualitative or quantitative research methods. It should also be complex enough to require in-depth investigation, analysis, and argument. Questions that can be answered with “yes/no” or with easily available facts are not complex enough for a thesis or dissertation.

In some types of research, at this stage you might also have to develop a conceptual framework and testable hypotheses .

>>See research question examples

The research design is a practical framework for answering your research questions. It involves making decisions about the type of data you need, the methods you’ll use to collect and analyze it, and the location and timescale of your research.

There are often many possible paths you can take to answering your questions. The decisions you make will partly be based on your priorities. For example, do you want to determine causes and effects, draw generalizable conclusions, or understand the details of a specific context?

You need to decide whether you will use primary or secondary data and qualitative or quantitative methods . You also need to determine the specific tools, procedures, and materials you’ll use to collect and analyze your data, as well as your criteria for selecting participants or sources.

>>Read more about creating a research design

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Finally, after completing these steps, you are ready to complete a research proposal . The proposal outlines the context, relevance, purpose, and plan of your research.

As well as outlining the background, problem statement, and research questions, the proposal should also include a literature review that shows how your project will fit into existing work on the topic. The research design section describes your approach and explains exactly what you will do.

You might have to get the proposal approved by your supervisor before you get started, and it will guide the process of writing your thesis or dissertation.

>>Read more about writing a research proposal

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

• Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples

What Is a Research Design | Types, Guide & Examples

• How to Write a Research Proposal | Examples & Templates

More interesting articles

• 10 Research Question Examples to Guide Your Research Project
• How to Choose a Dissertation Topic | 8 Steps to Follow
• How to Define a Research Problem | Ideas & Examples
• How to Write a Problem Statement | Guide & Examples
• Relevance of Your Dissertation Topic | Criteria & Tips
• Research Objectives | Definition & Examples
• What Is a Fishbone Diagram? | Templates & Examples
• What Is Root Cause Analysis? | Definition & Examples

What is your plagiarism score?

Ecologist and environmental social scientist

• Funders and Collaborators

Five tips for starting (and continuing) a PhD

On 4th September 2020

In Advice for other students

Lots of the specific stuff you learn as a PhD student, as well as general approaches to your work, begins with informal advice rather than formal training. I’ve received lots of advice from others during my PhD, since the very early stages of my project. This has helped me both build a PhD project that I’m happy with, and actually enjoy my life while I do my PhD (the two, of course, being closely but not entirely linked!). As it’s the start of the academic year I want to share a few of my own tips along those lines, to help get your PhD off to a good start, and keep it on a trajectory you’re happy with:

1. Keep notes on everything you read

My PhD, like many, kicked off with lots of reading of textbooks and academic papers. My reading has ebbed and flowed, but not really stopped, since then. Reading is a big thing during your PhD. It’s useful to keep track of what you’ve been reading because you won’t remember all of it, but you will want to come back to a lot of it.

My system for keeping notes on my reading is highly unsophisticated, but it works: I have (currently) three Word Documents, called Reading_[insert year here] stored on Dropbox so I can access them anywhere. I’ve got a separate one for each year of my PhD because 1) each document is a bit more manageable than one scary enormous one, and 2) I find it surprisingly easy to remember when-ish I was reading different stuff because my reading has gone through some quite distinct phases (e.g. more stuff relevant to study design early on, more stuff about analysis later) so it seemed like a reasonable and simple way to organise my notes.

The  notes I make on what I read vary a lot: at my laziest, I just copy and paste the paper title, first author and abstract into the doc, and I’m done. If I’m feeling enthusiastic, I make more extensive notes on the paper and my thoughts on it, or copy specific sections that are especially interesting or relevant to my work. I make sure that each paper title or reference is formatted as a heading so that I can scan through the document easily, and create a contents page for each document.  Now, if I want to find a specific paper or read publications on a particular theme, I can Ctrl+F to find key words in my Reading documents.

2. Read a couple of theses

I’m going to disagree with tip #2 in Five Tips for Starting Your PhD Out Right and say you don’t need to read them cover to cover – I don’t think this is necessary in the early stages in your project, unless you really want to do so, or if you feel that every chapter is highly relevant to your own PhD. But I do think it’s helpful to flick through and see different thesis structures (trends in how to structure a thesis evolve over time, and also vary by subject area, so look at recent graduates in your field for ideas of what’s likely to be appropriate for you).

Theses might also contain some specific content that you didn’t realise you’ll need to add to your own thesis (such as more detailed methodology than you usually see in a published paper) or useful references if the PhD is closely related to your own work. I think it works well to look through the theses of recent graduates in your research group, your supervisor, or others working on similar stuff to you. But you can also search for theses online, for example by using EThOS .

3. Start a Word document called “Thesis”

You can use other people’s theses (see previous tip) as a guide to add appropriate headings and subheadings to this document which will act as your own thesis structure / outline. Okay, I did this in third year, not first year, but I reckon it would have been helpful to start this earlier. Since I started this document, I’ve made good progress on actually organising my thoughts and even writing a few things down. And if you’ve got this document ready from early on in your project, you can populate it with notes and ideas whenever they occur to you at any point during your PhD.

Recently, I’ve been going through my Reading documents (remember tip #1) page by page and copying across notes from papers that I have read (and often forgotten about) into the appropriate sections of my Thesis document. It’s surprising how quickly my rough structure has been populated with ideas and material for literature review and synthesis, and how this has helped me link different ideas together i.e. stuff I read in first year and forgot about, with stuff I’ve been reading recently, with stuff that’s coming out of my own analysis. Actually, now that it’s getting quite full, I’ve split my Thesis doc up so that I’m just working with one document per empirical chapter. In first year, a simple thesis structure in a single document is a good place to start.

4. Think about how to make the flexibility of your PhD (and your control over it) work best for you

This one’s quite big-picture, and I’m kind of cheating the list-of-five by squeezing several tips into one. But I think that the general principle of this tip is important, and can be interpreted in different ways to suit different people: PhDs are often inherently flexible, in how you set your daily, weekly and monthly schedule, and I think that you should make the most of that.

The nature of your PhD flexibility and your control over it depend on the details of your project, how you’re going to be working with your supervisors and institution. But there are usually opportunities for flexibility, even if you have to be in the lab most days. PhD-life-flexibility can be exploited for your professional or personal development, to maximise your productivity, to create opportunities that are fun or useful now, or allow you to flex creative muscles you haven’t had the opportunity to flex before.

Below I list the kinds of things you can think about to best use the flexibility of your PhD. These are all things that can work alongside the core research / write / defend thesis requirements of your PhD, and while you definitely don’t have to make any firm plans on day one, I think that it’s really valuable to think about ideas like this (and any more you have) early in your project. It’s all about what you want to get out of your time whilst doing your PhD , including but not limited to the PhD itself, and how you want to structure that time:

• How do you want to set your daily schedule, where do you want to work? What’s going to be most pleasant and productive for you, and fit in with your home life?
• What things do you want to do outside of your PhD (sports, reading non-PhD-related books, joining local clubs and groups, always protecting weekends off) to actively maintain a healthy work-life balance (which is better for both your wellbeing, and the state of your thesis)?
• Are there times when you’re going to be working extra hard (like fieldwork)? How do you want to balance that with rest and recuperation afterwards (an extended post-fieldwork holiday…?)?
• Do you want to take an interruption from your PhD for an internship or job?
• Do you want to practise writing by starting a blog or try a bit of science journalism ?
• Do you want to get involved with science outreach?
• Do you want to build a professional profile and network by making a website or getting on social media?
• Do you want to teach undergraduates or Masters students?
• What training courses would you like to do (and where do you find out about them)?
• Do you want to try turning one or more of your chapters into academic papers?

5. Talk to people, lots, in both general and specific ways

Starting a PhD can be overwhelming, and knowing where to start, or where to go next, can be really tough. Having conversations with other PhD students about what they are working on, how they are finding their PhD, what kind of training they have received, might point you to interesting new research topics, training opportunities, or just give you a bit of a general feel for what it’s going to be like doing a PhD in your new department. These general conversations are important because they can provide you with nuggets of wisdom you didn’t know you needed and, crucially, help you feel connected to and supported by your colleagues and peers.

Asking your supervisor or others specific questions like are there any academics whose work you recommend I look into? / do you recommend any textbooks on [planning a research project], [planning fieldwork], [fundamentals of landscape ecology], [fundamentals of development research] [insert another topic you’re not sure about yet but want to learn about]? / are there any conferences I should look out for? can give you some useful starting points for directing your own learning in the early stages of your project. So, think specifically about what you need at the start of your PhD, and ask for help with it.

…And one bonus tip: read advice from other (ex-) PhD students

There are similar posts to this one with advice on starting your PhD here , and I particularly like the twenty top tips from Lucy Taylor here . There are actual full guides to PhD life like The A-Z of the PhD Trajectory and The Unwritten Rules of Ph.D. Research which can be very helpful to read through at any stage of your PhD (though I guess you maximise your use of them if you read them early!) and to use as reference books as and when you need them. There are lots of people blogging about their past and present PhD experiences, which can offer great advice and comfort at every stage in your PhD. Personally, I love the Thesis Whisperer and like to check in with it semi-regularly. Reading TW feels a bit like my tip #5: it’s about seeking out help and advice, sometimes when you didn’t even know you needed it.

Practical tips on how to be an interdisciplinary individual

It all depends.

Add Comment →

• Doing an internship during your PhD – Ellie Wood

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

HTML Text Five tips for starting (and continuing) a PhD / Ellie Wood by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

Plain text Five tips for starting (and continuing) a PhD by blogadmin @ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén

Report this page

To report inappropriate content on this page, please use the form below. Upon receiving your report, we will be in touch as per the Take Down Policy of the service.

Please note that personal data collected through this form is used and stored for the purposes of processing this report and communication with you.

If you are unable to report a concern about content via this form please contact the Service Owner .

• PhD Stories

14 Things you need to know when starting a PhD

• Posted by by Kristin The PhD
• 30. September 2019
• 7 minute read

You will never get it all right. Still, there are some things you should know when starting your PhD. This list will help you getting as much right as you possibly can. Welcome to the circus!

1. Doing a PhD is tough.

In many fields, doing a PhD will take you a long, long time – most likely anywhere between 3 and 7 years. In this time, you will accumulate a good few bathtubs of blood, sweat, and tears. Doing a PhD is a serious commitment. Check-in with yourself is you are ready for a rough adventure.

If you are, there are many great things ahead: Amazing people to meet, your own scientific discoveries, and a title at the end. Still, be prepared to spend a large portion of your time being frustrated, because nothing ever works as planned.

To get through your PhD, you will need to face a lot of bullshit and frustration. The good news: Once you are done, you will have nerves of steel and nothing in this world will be able to stop you any longer.

2. It’s normal to feel stupid.

All PhD candidates hear a voice inside of their heads telling them they are stupid, incompetent, and not worthy of their position. Some feel like they got their position out of sheer luck, and that they are only days away from everyone figuring out. Ironically, as a PhD student, it is normal to feel like you don’t know what you’re doing.

Once this self-doubt starts raising its voice, it might never go silent again. That’s okay. So many academics are struggling with the feeling of not being smart, competent, and productive enough, that we even have a word for this: Impostor Syndrome. Welcome the voice in and choose to ignore it. Let your unwanted houseguest have a cup of coffee while you work at getting better.

3. Nobody expects you to be an expert on your first day.

As a rule of thumb, you are granted at least the first half year of your PhD to catch up. When starting a PhD, read up on with literature about your topic, understand your experimental/analytical methods, and fill in any other gaps you might find while starting out. Read papers, go to a conference, ask your colleagues and supervisors about everything that is unclear to you. If they see that you are making an effort, they will be patient and understanding. However, really DO use that time to get up to speed. After the first half year, you will be expected to know what you are doing.

4. You might be expected to work on weekends.

Some (though not all!) supervisors expect PhD students to work overtime, in some cases even during weekends. The best you can do to figure out if that would apply to you, is to talk to your colleagues before starting . What is their typical workday? Is weekend work required/expected/a personal choice? Make sure you know what to you are getting yourself into.

In most cases, you will not have to work crazy hours and weekends if your supervisors are content with your output. If long hours and/or weekend work is the norm in your lab, set clear boundaries for yourself. How long is it really okay for you to stay on a long day? How often can you really afford to come to work on a weekend? To be a good researcher, you will need time off the job to recharge, get inspired, and to keep connected to your friends and family. Taking time for yourself outside of work is not a sign of laziness – it’s a must to stay sane in this business.

5. You will go from prodigy to disgrace and back countless times.

When you start, you never screwed up an experiment, you never asked a weird question, and your professor will congratulate themselves for the great new hire. You’re the new Golden Student!

Enjoy it while it lasts. At some point – no matter how hard you try to please – your professor will be annoyed with you. Maybe you forgot to cite a paper, came late to a seminar, or were simply the first person they saw after receiving bad news. You are suddenly cut off your professor’s affection.

It’s going to hurt – but also, it’s going to pass. Things will go back to normal almost always on their own – with the next batch of results or the next department mood swing.

6. You are responsible for your own growth.

While your supervisor should be your mentor and guiding light, this may not always be the case, for many possible reasons. Do not expect your supervisor to seek out new opportunities for you. If they do – great! If they don’t, make sure that you always have your own back .

Look for university courses or graduate school workshops that teach skills you want to get better at. For specific problems, don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues. Find conferences that interest you. Convince your collaborators that it is time to write a paper.

Be prepared to be your own mentor for a large part of the way. This can be hard – learn more on how to own your growth in this article .

7. Write EVERYTHING down.

When starting a PhD, also start a personal notebook in which you collect everything project-related, even if you don’t know what it means yet. From organisational to-dos, manuals of the new analytics software, to your personal ideas about the project and anything your professor mentions. This notebook will save your ass over and over again in the future.

8. Make your meetings count.

Meetings will be the backbone of your research. Whether it’s your supervisor stopping by the lab or strategy brainstorming with your professor, meetings will pave the way.

Especially in the beginning of your PhD, talking with your supervisors may be intimidating. You will not understand everything that is being said, and that’s okay. When it comes to meetings, make sure to:

• Make notes.
• Ask all of your questions.
• Find out exactly what is expected of you.
• Find out who can help you with these tasks.
• Thank everyone for their time when the meeting is over.
• Summarize all agreed points in an email to everyone involved.

The last point is crucial, because supervisors tend to have horrible memory. Write a recap email for every important meeting. Get the discussed milestones and strategies written down and shared. This will avoid misunderstandings and save you a lot of future headache.

9. Make the important people your friends.

Yes, your professor and supervisors are important. However, the really important people are the members of the non-scientific staff.

Secretaries, technicians, and librarians make the world go round in every university or institution. Still, their work is rarely appreciated. BE NICE TO THEM! Introduce yourself. Say hello when you see them. Smile. Say please and thank you.

From quick help with any technical problems to a secretary check-in about your professor’s mood – building a good relationship with the staff will make your PhD life much easier.

10. A community will help you through the toughest times.

We are human beings, and as such we have an obsession with feeling horrible about ourselves. For your PhD, the best remedy for this is to be an active part of a community. A good PhD community is a group of PhDs and/or Post-Docs that you feel safe with and that you admire. By talking with them, you will see that everyone has their pitfalls and learn how you can deal with your own. 

Your community may simply be your colleagues at work. Other communities may be local PhD associations, Meetup groups, or research schools. Nothing in sight? Talk to PhD students that are working close-by and join their lunch breaks. Becoming a member of a supportive circle will help you get through the tougher times.

11. Outside friends are gold.

Make an effort to find and maintain friends outside of work. In frustrating times, these people will be your little islands of happiness – because they will be able to get your mind off your anxiety-inducing PhD project for a little while.

If you are new in town, join a sports class, a book club, or a brunch Meetup. Do whatever you enjoy that will get you to hang out with people outside of your work bubble.

12. There is mental help if you need it.

There will come a time in your PhD when things won’t go well. If this affects you psychologically, find support before you are too far down the hole to reach out.

Sit down today, as you have a clear head and are optimistic, and make a list of where you can get help if needed. Think of it as an emergency list. Who could you turn to if you are treated disrespectfully? If you are discriminated against? Where do you ask for help if you feel depressed, frustrated, or overwhelmed? Who is there if you are on the verge of burn-out?

For any of the above, there is somebody in charge at your institution that will hear you out in a private session. Possible allies could be the student union, PhD representatives, equal opportunities officers, and scientific counsellors. Many universities offer free psychological counselling. Make a list of names and email addresses now. Your future self will thank you.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you think about reaching out for help, stop thinking and simply go. Don’t wait to reach out until it’s too late.

13. You can always quit.

When bad comes to worse, quitting is an option.

This is not to say that you should leave your PhD at the slightest problem coming up. Keep struggling through your challenges, but always know that you are not trapped in this job. You have the option of leaving if you don’t want to go on. There is no shame in doing that. You are in control. Keep this in mind and it will be easier for you to deal with difficult situations.

14. Starting a PhD: A few practical musts.

Backup your data. Be honest to your supervisor. Express any scientific concerns. Always ask questions. Don’t be shy to ask for help. Have an organisation system. Take any chance to present and discuss your science.

And, most importantly: Allow yourself to make mistakes.

If you find this list helpful, share it with someone that is just starting out with their PhD.

What are things that you wish you would have known when you started your PhD? Which things surprised you most? What did you learn along the way? Let us know in the comments below!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related Articles

Doing a PhD in Finland

• Posted by by Nicholas Rowe

• Mental Health

How I took time out of my PhD to recover

• Posted by by Leafgrabbing

The only PhD advice you’ll need

• 4 minute read

Privacy Overview

• Home »
• Advice »
• Studying For A PhD

find your perfect postgrad program Search our Database of 30,000 Courses

Studying for a phd: the basics.

PhD study gives you extensive knowledge and expertise in a specialised field that interests you, and provides you with a solid foundation for career progression. 

If you are considering postgraduate study, you may be wondering what it’s like to study for a PhD. Here you will find some of the most commonly asked questions about PhD study to help you decide whether a PhD is right for you. Find out everything you need to know before becoming a PhD student , how to get a PhD , and more.

What is studying a PhD like?

Whilst extremely rewarding, studying for a PhD can be hard work and time consuming. You’ll need to be good at managing your workload and balancing your schedule. You’ll need time for research and data analysis, attending lab and lecture sessions as well as collaborating on research with other students. While this might seem intensive, good time management and planning should make it easier to handle. 

How long do you study for a PhD?

PhD study will typically take three to four years full time. Studying part time can take up to six years. Most students complete their thesis in the third year, although some intuitions allow you to extend your thesis deadline by up to four years if you need to. 

Read our article on  how long is a PhD? for more information.

Is it hard to study for a PhD?

Studying for a PhD can be hard and also very stressful, but very much worth the effort. A PhD is a significant personal and financial investment that requires you to be motivated and organised over a number of years. Taking on a PhD is no easy task, but it can also be highly rewarding and open doors to career advancement.  

As a PhD graduate, you’ll be able to demonstrate advanced knowledge in your field, as well as a huge range of valuable skills, including time management, independence, drive and research skills. 

How do you study for a PhD?

PhD study involves original research into your chosen field. It is important to research your chosen field before making your PhD application.

With a full-time PhD the first year is spent researching your topic and planning how you will conduct your research. The second year is spent conducting research and analysing data until you are ready to present your findings in a written thesis. 

Find out more about what's involved in our related article: What is a PhD? 

Things to consider before embarking on a PhD

Before embarking on a PhD program it’s important that you think carefully about the reasons why you want to study a PhD. Although it will be a fulfilling academic experience, it is also likely to be a big financial commitment and require a lot of your time. 

Here are five essential points to consider before you start a PhD program.

1. Why do you want to study a PhD program?

The first thing you need to do is consider why you want to study a doctoral program. If your motivation is dissatisfaction with your current career this may not be ideal for giving you the focus you will need to succeed in your doctorate. If, however, you are motivated towards doctorate study because you really want to improve your future career prospects  and gaining this qualification will fit in with the bigger picture of your life plan - then great! This should help give you the focus and motivation to achieve a successful end result.

2. Do you know which PhD subject you want to study?

In order to enjoy and be successful in your PhD program you should have a clear idea of what it is you want to specialise in. Although it is not essential to know your topic exactly, you do want to be clear enough in where your interest lies and feel confident that the topic will hold your attention for the duration of the doctorate program. Also, bear in mind that the clearer you are about your field of interest in your application - the more chance you have in successfully gaining a place on the program.

Explore subjects here at Postgrad.

3. Can you fund a PhD?

Undertaking PhD study can be quite a big financial commitment. Despite numerous bursaries and scholarships , financial aid and the availability of student loans with favourable rates - the PhD tuition fees can be high and the chances are you will finish your doctoral program in some debt, or at the very least less financially comfortable then you were before embarking on it. However, if you’ve done your calculations and worked out that it is a financially viable option for you, think of it as an investment in your future. Once you are established in your new profession you should be more than able to pay back any loans you have had to take out. 

Find out more about PhD loans .

4. How will PhD study improve your career prospects long term?

Obviously the answer to this question very much depends on your chosen subject matter. Once you’ve worked out what doctoral program you want to follow - you need to work out how this will help your career long term. For some PhD courses (ie Law ) it is obvious that doctorate study can only enhance your career. However non-vocational fields of doctorate study  (ie 18th century poetry) may be less likely to alter your career path or financially improve your future earning capacity.

However, intellectually of course, the reward will be just as good. And in either case, studying a PhD demonstrates your commitment to your subject and your willingness to apply this knowledge in your future career.

5. Are you prepared for the application process?

Once you are sure you want to do a PhD program, you need to consider the application process . You need to take your time choosing the right doctoral program  and institution , and bear in mind that it will take time to gather together the information you need - professional references, personal statements - to help ensure your application is successful.  Check the individual institution’s website for application deadlines and make sure you give yourself plenty of time to prepare.

Related articles

Dos and Don'ts Of A PhD Interview

What Is A PhD Student? A Definition

How To Get A PhD

How To Find A PhD

What Is A PhD?

Why Study A PhD?

Where Should You Study Your PhD?

Common PhD Myths

What? Where? Why? When? How? Is A PhD Right For Me?

5 Things To Ask When Looking For a PhD

Exclusive bursaries Open day alerts Funding advice Application tips Latest PG news

Sign up now!

Take 2 minutes to sign up to PGS student services and reap the benefits…

• The chance to apply for one of our 5 PGS Bursaries worth £2,000 each
• Fantastic scholarship updates
• Latest PG news sent directly to you.

Ready for your legal career? Apply now to start your journey at The University of Law this Summer.

Find out more!

• Share on twitter
• Share on facebook

Essential PhD tips: 10 articles all doctoral students should read

Phd advice: from choosing the right topic to getting through your thesis.

• Share on linkedin
• Share on mail

If you’re still deciding whether to study for a doctorate, or even if you’re nearing the end of your PhD and are thinking about your next steps, we’ve selected 10 articles that you really should take a look at.

They cover everything from selecting your topic to securing a top job when your years of hard graft come to an end.

14 essential PhD questions answered Welcome to the  Times Higher Education  PhD surgery with Tara Brabazon, professor of education at Charles Sturt University , Australia.

The PhD experience: this far, and no further Five students on how doctoral study changed them and their futures.

10 steps to PhD failure Top tips on making postgraduate study even tougher (which students could also use to avoid pitfalls if they prefer).

How not to write a PhD thesis If you want failure, this is your road map to getting there.

Realistic expectations keep you on the path to a PhD Isolation is part of the experience, but peer support groups and co-working can combat loneliness and quell students’ self-doubt.

10 truths a PhD supervisor will never tell you There are some important dos and don’ts to bear in mind when choosing someone to oversee your doctoral thesis.

Me and my PhD supervisor: tales of love and loathing Academics discuss how supervisors shaped their teaching.

How to get students through their PhD thesis Tara Brabazon shares her 10-step regime for steering emotionally drained postgraduate students through the final stages of their thesis.

Choosing a PhD subject A well-chosen doctoral thesis will have a focus that can be explored in the appropriate time and built on in the future.

How to get ahead with a PhD Postgraduates do not to realise how employable they are. Pat Cryer explains how to get a well-paid job.

Read next:  visit the THE PhD advice page

Register to continue.

Why register?

• Registration is free and only takes a moment
• Once registered, you can read 3 articles a month
• Sign up for our newsletter

Or subscribe for unlimited access to:

• Unlimited access to news, views, insights & reviews
• Digital editions
• Digital access to THE’s university and college rankings analysis

Already registered or a current subscriber? Login

You might also like

Sexual harassment of PhDs linked to academia’s ‘leaky pipeline’

Women who complete their PhDs in workplaces with high harassment rates less likely to remain in research, Danish study finds

Renaming postdocs and PhD students would boost respect, pay, progression

What other industry would deem those with so much prior training to still be mere trainees? Let’s call them what they are – researchers, says Michele Nardin

Academic careers recommended by just one in six postdocs: survey

Teachers fret about workloads and researchers about job security in ‘rare sport’ of academia

Engineering and physics PhD numbers to fall despite extra funding

Improved settlement for UK’s ‘biggest-ever’ doctoral training investment will deliver fewer funded PhD places than in previous years, UKRI confirms

Featured jobs

• Assistant Professor / Lecturer
• PhD Candidate
• Senior Researcher / Group Leader
• Researcher / Analyst
• Research Assistant / Technician
• Administration
• Executive / Senior Industry Position
• Mid-Level Industry Position
• Junior Industry Position
• Graduate / Traineeship
• Practitioner / Consultant
• Summer Schools
• Online Courses
• Professional Training
• Supplementary Courses
• All Courses
• PhD Programs
• Master's Programs
• MBA Programs
• Bachelor's Programs
• All Programs
• Remote/Hybrid Jobs
• Online Programs
• Online/Hybrid Conferences
• Fellowships
• Postgraduate Scholarships
• Undergraduate Scholarships
• Prizes & Contests
• Financial Aid
• Research/Project Funding
• Other Funding
• All Scholarships
• Conferences
• Exhibitions / Fairs
• All Conferences
• Economics Terms A-Z
• Career Advice
• Study Advice
• Work Abroad
• Study Abroad
• Campus Reviews
• Recruiter Advice
• University / College
• Graduate / Business School
• Research Institute
• Bank / Central Bank
• Private Company / Industry
• Consulting / Legal Firm
• Association / NGO
• All EconDirectory
• 📖 INOMICS Handbook

All Categories

All disciplines.

• Scholarships
• All Economics Terms A-Z
• EconDirectory
• All 📖 INOMICS Handbook

How to Make The Most of Your PhD - Tips For Beginner Doctoral Students

Read a summary or generate practice questions using the INOMICS AI tool

When you start a PhD, there's a lot to think about – so here are our tips on what to do to make the most of your PhD experience.

Get to know your fellow PhD students.

Doing a PhD is sometimes a lonely experience, but it can also be a chance to meet like-minded people. Whenever possible, take the opportunity to get to know your fellows PhD students at lectures, department events, or social events. As well as being a good way to make new friends, you'll benefit from having people to talk to about your PhD experience and to turn to for help or advice.

Suggested Opportunities

• PhD Program
• Posted 11 hours ago

PhD contract in sustainable finance - 2024-2027

• Posted 2 days ago

PhD in Economics - Barcelona

• PhD Program, Master's Program
• Posted 1 week ago

MSc/PhD in Quantitative Economics - University of Alicante

Find out about the library, IT systems, and university administration.

While there is a lot to think about at the start of your PhD, it will only get more busy as time goes on. So take a few days at some point near the start of your PhD to look into your university library and IT systems. Find out where the buildings are located, what kind of log-in information or card you need, and who you can ask if you run into problems. Also find out about the administrative arrangements and student support for matriculation, funding , and other issues. If you need to use these services later down the line, you'll be glad that you already know where to turn for help.

Organise regular meetings with both of your supervisors.

You need to make sure that you have regular contact with both of your supervisors . Specifics can vary between individuals, but generally you should see your main supervisor at least once every two weeks, and your second supervisor at least once per semester. Set up these meetings early on and be diligent about attending them.

Do attend lectures, departmental seminars, and events.

With so much pressure on, you might feel like you need to spend all of your time getting started on your research project. But you need to learn about your subject more broadly in order to become a good researcher, and you also need to get to know the other people in your department and university. So do attend extra lectures, departmental seminars, and events – particularly at the beginning of your PhD when you have more time than you will later.

Have a plan, but be okay with changing it.

When you start you PhD, you will need a plan of what research you are intending to perform, and the timescale in which you will operate. The more detailed this plan is, the better – for example, for a science PhD, try to think through each stage of literature review, hypothesis formation, experimental design, data analysis, and so on - and make a note of how long you think you should spend on each task. Do be realistic here! This is where it helps to talk to other PhDs or academics, as you can ask them how long certain tasks typically (recruitment of participants, for example, always takes far longer than you imagine it would). Draw up your timetable, however, also remember that this plan is subject to change. Perhaps you come up with a new idea, or your first experiment doesn't work out, and you need to change your plan. That's okay! Your plan should be a guideline, but you need to be flexible about how things work out.

Look for training courses – especially for soft skills.

Soft skills like oral presentation, essay writing, or supervision can be frequently overlooked by PhD students and supervisors alike. However, these skills are essential for you to succeed in your PhD and beyond, so you should make an effort to learn more about them. See if your university or graduate school runs training courses, and sign yourself up if you can – half a day to two days' worth of training on these skills can be incredibly useful throughout your career.

Get a support system in place of friends, family, and fellow academics.

Working on your PhD can be wonderful, but it can be stressful too! You'll need help and support from others to avoid burning out. Make an effort to get to know new people and to keep in contact with family, friends, and former co-workers to ensure that you have people who can give you emotional support when you need it.

Also Interesting

• INOMICS Recommendations

Top Summer Schools in Economics 2024

Whether you want to learn about a new topic, to brush up on your skills, or to meet more people in your economics field, summer schools are an ideal opportunity for you. Many reputable universities run intensive but stimulating summer courses that give students the chance to increase their academic standing.

• All You Need to Know

What makes a successful economist?

“The master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts. He must reach a high standard in several different directions and must combine talents not often found together. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher…He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man's nature or his institutions must lie entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood; as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near the earth as a politician.”

• Furthering your Economics Career

Professional Trainings as a Means of Increasing Your Employability

Economics is a massive field with many sub-disciplines, and it’s impossible to master the whole lot of it from just one Master’s degree or even a PhD.

• phd student
• PhD Students

Related Items

Publish A Summary of Your Economics Research on INOMICS

Global School in Empirical Research Methods GSERM at the University of St.Gallen

Graduate Program in Economics and Finance (GPEF) - Fully funded Ph.D. Positions

Featured announcements, business data science graduate program summer school, ecomod school of modeling and data science - prague, czech republic…, master of science in applied economics.

• scholarship

Career Integration Fellowships for western Economics PhDs teaching in…

Upcoming deadlines.

• Apr 11, 2024 Full Professor (W2) in Applied Econometrics
• Apr 14, 2024 Professor in Empirical Economics and Data Science
• Apr 15, 2024 Career Integration Fellowships for western Economics PhDs teaching in CEE/fSU
• Apr 15, 2024 Doctoral Positions at the Graduate School of the Social and Behavioural Sciences (GSBS), University of Konstanz
• Apr 15, 2024 CALL FOR PAPERS - 17TH YOUNG ECONOMISTS' SEMINAR

INOMICS AI Tools

The INOMICS AI can generate an article summary or practice questions related to the content of this article. Try it now!

An error occured

Please try again later.

3 Practical questions, generated by our AI model

For more questions on economics study topics, with practice quizzes and detailed answer explanations, check out the INOMICS Study Guides.

Login to your account

Email Address

Forgot your password? Click here.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• CORRESPONDENCE
• 02 April 2024

How can we make PhD training fit for the modern world? Broaden its philosophical foundations

• Ganesh Alagarasan 0

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati, India.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

You have highlighted how PhD training assessment has stagnated, despite evolving educational methodologies (see Nature 613 , 414 (2023) and Nature 627 , 244; 2024 ). In particular, you note the mismatch between the current PhD journey and the multifaceted demands of modern research and societal challenges.

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

185,98 € per year

only 3,65 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 628 , 36 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00969-x

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Related Articles

See more letters to the editor

• Research management
• Scientific community

The neuroscientist formerly known as Prince’s audio engineer

Career Feature 14 MAR 24

This geologist communicates science from the ski slopes

Career Q&A 11 MAR 24

No installation required: how WebAssembly is changing scientific computing

Technology Feature 11 MAR 24

Allow researchers with caring responsibilities ‘promotion pauses’ to make research more equitable

Correspondence 02 APR 24

Impact factors are outdated, but new research assessments still fail scientists

World View 02 APR 24

How scientists are making the most of Reddit

Career Feature 01 APR 24

Adopt universal standards for study adaptation to boost health, education and social-science research

Africa’s postdoc workforce is on the rise — but at what cost?

Career Feature 02 APR 24

Faculty Positions, Aging and Neurodegeneration, Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine

Applicants with expertise in aging and neurodegeneration and related areas are particularly encouraged to apply.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Westlake Laboratory of Life Sciences and Biomedicine (WLLSB)

Faculty Positions in Chemical Biology, Westlake University

We are seeking outstanding scientists to lead vigorous independent research programs focusing on all aspects of chemical biology including...

School of Life Sciences, Westlake University

Faculty Positions in Neurobiology, Westlake University

We seek exceptional candidates to lead vigorous independent research programs working in any area of neurobiology.

Seeking Global Talents, the International School of Medicine, Zhejiang University

Welcome to apply for all levels of professors based at the International School of Medicine, Zhejiang University.

Yiwu, Zhejiang, China

International School of Medicine, Zhejiang University

Nanjing Forestry University is globally seeking Metasequoia Scholars and Metasequoia Talents

Located next to Purple Mountain and Xuanwu Lake, Nanjing Forestry University (NJFU) is a key provincial university jointly built by Jiangsu Province

Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Nanjing Forestry University (NFU)

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Standards Alignment

Assessments, professional learning, family engagement, case studies.

NEW EUREKA MATH 2 ® PILOT PACKAGE

Are you looking for new ways to advance equity and build knowledge in your math classroom with high-quality instructional materials? EdReports recently reviewed Eureka Math 2 . Scan the QR code or access the final report .

Check out our special pilot package for only $10 per student.

Shop Online

SEE THE SCIENCE OF READING IN ACTION

At Great Minds ® , we’re committed to ensuring our curricula are aligned to the latest research on how students best learn to read, write, and build knowledge.

Explore webinars, blogs, research briefs, and more to discover how we incorporate this important body of research.

FREE CLASSROOM PRINTABLES

At Great Minds®, we’re committed to supporting educators with high-quality curricula and resources.

Explore resources designed to aid students in science and engineering and spark classroom conversation.

Webinar Library

Instructional resources, trending topics, knowledge-building, the science of reading, lesson design, universal design for learning (udl), background knowledge.

Palm Springs, CA

Houston, TX

New Orleans, LA

The Great Minds Science Video Library

These short videos are one way we support Great Minds® educators. Learn about the basics of PhD Science ® as well as the professional learning opportunities we offer to teachers and leaders. 

Making Sense of Pedagogy

Knowledge and Skills in PhD Science

Explore how we leverage content to build students’ knowledge and skills., unpacking the teacher resource pack and implementation guide.

Phenomena in PhD Science

More information on phenomena from our implementation guide., breaking down each grade level.

Introducing PhD Science Level 1

Learn more about the coherence and knowledge building across level 1., what to expect in professional development.

What to Expect in Module-Level Study

This session takes participants through the process to deepen understanding of a module, the science highlighted, and the knowledge and investigations progressions. participants study a specific module to understand the science behind the knowledge being built as it uses anchor visuals to explain the phenomena and explore how the investigations lead to the scientific understanding., what to expect in coaching.

What to Expect from Coaching

Learn about coaching for phd science..

What to Expect in Guided Observation for Leaders

In this session, selected leaders participate in classroom observations with a phd science coach to identify trends of implementation including celebrating successes and identifying areas of growth. participating in this session improves instructional leaders’ ability to support effective classroom practice..

What to Expect in Prepare a Lesson Collaboratively

Guided by a phd science coach, educators in a small group co-teach to analyze and customize a selected lesson. participants either co-teach the lesson or observe the co-taught lesson. the whole group debriefs the lesson through objective analysis of how the instruction affected student learning. together, the group decides on adjustments to the lesson that will likely improve student outcomes and will support teachers to carry best practices into future instruction., what to expect in nurturing a student-driven classroom, in this session, phd science educators identify what a student-driven classroom looks and sounds like, explore ways culturally responsive pedagogy and classroom norms support a student-driven classroom, and create goals to intentionally plan for nurturing your own student-driven classroom., what to expect in pacing for a student-driven classroom, in this session, phd science educators engage in self-reflection to identify variables that are impacting pacing in their phd science student-driven classroom. participants explore curricular resources and hear from experienced implementors to identify potential solutions to their own pacing challenges. then, they apply what they learn by intentionally planning for pacing at a module-level and a lesson-level., what to expect in discourse for a student-driven classroom, what to expect in differentiation for a student-driven classroom, in this session, phd science educators identify how discourse supports a student-driven classroom. they will explore a process that includes support in laying a solid foundation, planning, facilitating, and reflecting on student-led discourse., what to expect in leveraging related phenomena in a student-driven classroom, in this session, phd science educators discover how to leverage related phenomena to support students in transferring and applying science content knowledge., more free videos for phd science customers.

To access more high-quality professional learning videos, select the option below that aligns with your PhD Science implementation .

For Digital Users

Log into your  Great Minds Dashboard  and access your Digital Teacher Edition. Within the collection for each grade, access the PhD Science Resources: Implementation and select Video Resources for directions on how to access extended video resources.

For Print Users

Reach out to request access via your Great Minds Dashboard. If you do not have a Great Minds account, you can sign up for free here .

Great Minds is the exclusive provider of professional development written and delivered by the creators of PhD Science . Learn more about our full professional learning offerings.

Ready to dive deeper?  For more implementation support

The videos on this page may not be altered in any way. These videos may be shared for noncommercial purposes only. Any commercial use of these videos, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.

Great Minds ®  has made every effort to obtain permission for the reprinting of all copyrighted material. If any owner of copyrighted material is not acknowledged herein, please contact Great Minds for proper acknowledgment in all future editions.

every child is capable of greatness

• Job Openings
• Digital Support
• Print Support
• Media Inquiries

Let’s Connect

• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• System Status
• CA Residents: Do Not Sell My Info

• Find Your Perfect PhD
• Finding a PhD

Find Your PhD, Fast Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest. Search Now

• When looking for PhD research projects, a great place to start is with our comprehensive and up-to-date database .
• Speak with lecturers within your area of interest about potential PhD opportunities they may have.
• Attend Postgraduate Events . Whilst there, speak to current PhD students and career advisors to get an awareness of what PhD projects are on offer.
• Visit the postgraduate section of university websites and the PhD Research Council section of the GOV.UK website

Finding A PhD

Searching for PhD research projects can sometimes feel like daunting process. Often, it’s difficult to know where to find a PhD position or where to even start.

To make this searching process as easy as possible for you, we’ve curated a collection of the best places to search for PhD projects. By using our recommended collection, you should hopefully gain a greater insight into where your interests lie and which programme is best suited for you.

Our Comprehensive and Up-To-Date Directory

We can’t create a list of great resources and not include ourselves! At DiscoverPhDs, our primary aim is to connect great students to great PhD projects. To enable this, we provide a comprehensive database of PhD projects offered from universities all across the UK.

We regularly add to our database to ensure you’re getting the latest opportunities and the most relevant information and programme details. On top of this, we’ve created our database to be as easy to use as possible; all our PhD listings provide a direct ‘apply’ link or contact email address of the lead supervisor. This enables you to:

• Request further information about any aspect of the position,
• Enquire about the specific applications process,
• Connect directly with the supervisor

Universities Websites

Search on the website of the universities you are interested in as some many only be listing PhD research projects internally or may link you to other opportunities such as Professional Doctorate Programmes. As examples, have a look at the research pages of The University of Cambridge , Cardiff University , University of Leicester , Sheffield University and The University of Glasgow .

Your Current Supervisor

If you’re currently undertaking a research project or dissertation as part of your undergraduate or master’s degree, it would be a good idea to speak to your current supervisor. Not only would you have already built a good rapport with them, but having worked with you they will have a good idea on what PhD positions would utilise your strengths or best interest you. In fact, a noticeable percentage of past and current PhD students came into their PhD programme because of being recommended by their undergraduate supervisor. Your supervisor will be well-connected – make sure you take advantage of these opportunities.

Tip: Don’t just limit your discussion to your own personal supervisor. All supervisors are within their field of work because they have a natural passion for research and teaching. As such, most supervisors will be more than happy to help any student who wishes to follow in their footsteps and make their own impact.

Postgraduate Events

Nearly all universities hold regular Postgraduate Fairs and Open Days. As part of these events, current postgraduate students may be on hand to share their experiences of their projects and university. This is a fantastic opportunity to not only find out what PhDs the university is offering but to find out more about their facilities, research labs and library collection, etc. Given that you will be heavily relying on these resources during your PhD, it’s important that you know what’s provided by each university. Hearing student stories about what PhD life is really like, what to expect from supervisors and some of the challenges that current students have encountered can be really useful in your decision making process.

Besides the above, career advisers may also be available at these events. Speaking to them will help you understand what you can do with a PhD, whether a PhD is right for you, what degree class you’re expected to hold and how best to prepare for research projects. Seeing as they would have helped many PhD candidates through the decision-making process before, they will provide you with some invaluable insight that you would otherwise be oblivious to.

To help bring all Postgraduate Fairs and Open Days offered across all universities together, we’ve created a helpful Postgraduate Events page which we highly recommend you check out.

Research Councils

Research councils are nationally funded agencies which offer sponsored PhD research projects (also known as a PhD studentship). Different research councils cover different areas of research, these include:

• The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC),
• The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC),
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC),
• The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC),
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

The GOV.UK website has a full list of nationally-funded research councils available online. You can find further details on these councils on the GOV.UK website.

Although our database includes PhD programmes offered by these research councils, it would be a good idea to regularly browse the website of the ones you are particularly interested in case they list some internal only. These councils play an important role in supporting and encouraging doctoral researchers and they regularly hold calls for applications for PhD funding. If you or your potential supervisor have a PhD project proposal defined but need funding, then applying to these calls may become a key first milestone in your postgraduate research journey.

For example, the EPSRC offers a Doctoral Training Partnership programme in which a research student is given funding to pursue postgraduate study with a research question that aligns with the Councils core engineering and physical sciences themes. These awards often have eligibility criteria linked to them, impacting which postgraduate research students can apply; an international student, for example, may not be able to apply to a certain UK based scholarship scheme but there are several other options that can still help you fund your doctoral research; this may involve taking out a postgraduate loan (or more specifically a postgraduate doctoral loan).

To make this searching process as easy as possible for you, we’ve curated a collection of the best places to search for a PhD. By using our recommended collection, you should hopefully gain a greater insight into where your interests lie and which programme is best suited for you.

Further Resources

As you continue your search of PhD research projects, be sure to check our our PhD advice articles, including how to prepare for your PhD application, and interviews with current and past doctoral students. Many of the people we’ve interviewed have completed degrees within a STEM discipline; they offer a wide range of advice on their individual approaches to applied research and independent study, as well as sharing some the impact their work has had. Many have continued the research of their projects within academia after finishing, whilst some have developed successful careers in industry and business sectors.

It’s worth noting that when you apply to undertake doctoral study, you may first be registered as an MPhil researcher, depending on the specific doctoral programme you apply for, officially become a full PhD student after passing an upgrade viva. At the upgrade stage, some students do decide to graduate with an MPhil research degree rather than pursuing further PhD study however this is less common.

We hope the above list will help you find the perfect PhD position and earn your doctoral degree.

If you have any recommendations besides these resources, please let us know at [email protected] so we can look to add it.

If you’re ready to start your search for your PhD, start now with our  PhD database .

Browse PhDs Now

Join thousands of students.

Join thousands of other students and stay up to date with the latest PhD programmes, funding opportunities and advice.