Category: Your Academic Journey

Explore the world of doctoral research and academia with insights, tips, and guidance for prospective and current PhD students. Navigate the challenges and rewards of the doctoral journey.

Experiences

It’s Your PhD: How to Deal With Unhelpful Advice

This article explores how advice, whether solicited or unsolicited, can damage the morale and hope of those doing a PhD. The purpose of this article is to comment on the boundaries that researchers must put in place to avoid being negatively affected: we must be discerning as to whether advice is useful and pertinent, or whether it is not applicable to us. The main message is: don’t listen to everyone, and trust your own judgement!

PREP: A Non-Traditional Route To PhD

Open To Change: How I Went From Writing About Medieval Witchcraft To The Virgin Mary

Solidarity In The Collective

Six Ways To Prepare For Your Upcoming PhD

Travelling, Working, And Returning To Academia

Lessons I Have Learnt From My PhD

“We Regret To Inform You That Your PhD Application Has Been Successful…” A Short Story On The Challenges Of Finding A PhD Scholarship

You Belong Here! The Battle With Your Inner Voice

Is The Grass Always Greener On The Other Side? The Pros And Cons Of Completing A PhD Abroad

What Do I Know Three Years On?

Featured Academic

Nayanna Mercado-Soto

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ADHD

How to do a PhD when you have ADHD Part 1: Academics

Guidance for doing a PhD with ADHD and make the most of your abilities with these helpful strategies. From capitalizing on hyperfocus and taking productive breaks, to creating multiple points of contact for deadlines and commitments, this guide is packed with tips to help you work with your ADHD rather than against it.

After accepting an offer

What to do after accepting your PhD offer: Celebrate, Rest, and Plan

This article suggests a number of places to start, such as building a good relationship with your supervisor, networking with your peers, planning your move and checking out any additional course requirements.

Community

It’s Time To Find Your Team – Advice For PhD Students During Those Lonely Times

PhD students often face loneliness during their journey, and it’s important to have a support system. In this article, Alicia Wickert shares her advice on how to find your team, including reaching out to family, joining a community at university, and connecting with other students in your department.

ADHD

Tips for navigating disability disclosure in the PhD application process

In this PhD Talk, Karly Ball draws on both personal experiences and important insights from her study into navigating disability disclosure in the PhD application process. She outlines three potential considerations for disclosing a disability during this process.

Applications and Funding

3 Tips for Applying to PhD Programs

Applying to PhD programs can be confusing, and there is little advice about how to go about applying for them. This article offers three top tips for navigating the PhD application process and making yourself a strong applicant.

Academic Careers

15 Years in Academia: 10 Things I’d Do Differently If Starting My PhD Again

This article reflects on the author’s 15-year academic journey, detailing the lessons learned from disorganised PhD student to effective work habits as a postdoc and assistant professor, and applying these lessons to their current role at Paperpile. Suzanne offers practical advice on academic writing, productivity, and professional development, emphasizing the importance of daily writing practice, systematic note-taking, reflection, goal setting, and the use of digital tools like reference managers. She shares these insights to help current PhD students avoid similar pitfalls and develop productive habits early in their academic careers.

Experiences

Anxiety in Academia: Using Anxiety as My Superpower

Anxiety is a debilitating condition that can make the simplest of tasks difficult, let alone a PhD. This empowering article follows Jake’s experience with anxiety during sixth form and university, and how once he discovered research he began to view anxiety as a superpower to keep his PhD pushing forwards. He shares anxiety-reducing techniques for when it gets too much, including affirmations and breath control, and emphasises the value of accepting anxiety in your life.

Productivity

The #1 Reason Papers Get Rejected (and How to Avoid It)

Rejection stings. You put months into a paper, edit it until you can’t stand to look at it anymore, hit submit, and then a few

Your Academic Journey

Applications and Funding

Career and Networking

Thesis and Dissertation

Category: Your Academic Journey

It’s Your PhD: How to Deal With Unhelpful Advice

Most recent

PREP: A Non-Traditional Route To PhD

Open To Change: How I Went From Writing About Medieval Witchcraft To The Virgin Mary

Solidarity In The Collective

Six Ways To Prepare For Your Upcoming PhD

Travelling, Working, And Returning To Academia

Lessons I Have Learnt From My PhD

“We Regret To Inform You That Your PhD Application Has Been Successful…” A Short Story On The Challenges Of Finding A PhD Scholarship

You Belong Here! The Battle With Your Inner Voice

Is The Grass Always Greener On The Other Side? The Pros And Cons Of Completing A PhD Abroad

What Do I Know Three Years On?

Nayanna Mercado-Soto

How to do a PhD when you have ADHD Part 1: Academics

What to do after accepting your PhD offer: Celebrate, Rest, and Plan

It’s Time To Find Your Team – Advice For PhD Students During Those Lonely Times

Tips for navigating disability disclosure in the PhD application process

3 Tips for Applying to PhD Programs

15 Years in Academia: 10 Things I’d Do Differently If Starting My PhD Again

Anxiety in Academia: Using Anxiety as My Superpower

The #1 Reason Papers Get Rejected (and How to Avoid It)

Most recent

Nayanna Mercado-Soto

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