Dominating your doctoral degree

PhD students get an insider's look at their upcoming degrees

Starting a PhD can be almost as daunting as finishing it, and no-one knows that better than the staff at the Graduate Research School here at Otago.

So School Manager Ms Claire Gallop has this year started a new initiative aimed at getting doctoral students off on the right foot.

Entitled 'An Insider's Guide to Doctoral Domination: PhD Induction Programme', the six-hour long course over two weeks gives a cohort of new students a heads up on the information they'll need to survive the next three years.

Ms Gallop, herself a doctoral student, says the reasons for the new programme are two-fold.

“Previously, we've held a three-hour programme as a one-off. We're hoping the new format will allow us to give doctoral candidates more information than before, but that it will also create a group of students who have bonded over the two weeks.”

“One of the key indicators for a successful and enjoyable PhD is having an excellent support network in place. We've designed this to help create bonds between thesis candidates from across the University.”

The six hour-long sessions cover: getting to know you, getting the bureaucracy, getting support, getting coffee (an induction into the Staff Club), getting on with supervisors, and getting on with it.

Find out more about Otago's Graduate Research School.