Life as a PhD Student Update | Years 1-1.5

TL;DR

A part-time PhD student shares an update on her studies in the classics department and discusses the challenges and progress she has made in her research.

Transcript

hi guys so as July comes to close it will have been exactly one year and six months since I started my PhD now I've had a few people recently actually have had people ever since I started my PhD asking how my PhD is going and a few people about recently and I thought perhaps this might be a nice time to do a bit of a update on the past year and a h... Read More

Key Insights

• 👨‍🔬 The author's PhD research topic has evolved from a broad idea to a specific focus on 4th century Athenian rhetoric and the politicization of sexual assault.
• 💦 Balancing work and study as a part-time PhD student can be challenging and may restrict opportunities for extracurricular activities and writing academic articles.
• 🤞 Teaching undergraduate students has been a fulfilling experience for the author, and she hopes to do more of it in the future.
• 💍 Attending conferences and engaging with the academic community is inspiring and provides valuable opportunities for networking and learning.
• 👨‍🔬 The author's research plan has changed over time, with her narrowing down her topic and adjusting the structure of her thesis chapters.
• 🙃 Despite the ups and downs, the author remains dedicated to her PhD studies and is confident that pursuing classics was the right decision for her.
• 🧑‍🎓 The author welcomes questions and discussions about the PhD experience and encourages interaction with other graduate students and researchers.

Questions & Answers

Q: How has the author's research topic evolved since starting the PhD?

The author initially had a broad research topic on the representation of sexual assault in Greek literature but has since narrowed it down to studying 4th century Athenian rhetoric and its politicization of sexual assault.

Q: What are the author's main challenges as a part-time PhD student?

Balancing work and study, finding time for extracurricular activities and writing academic articles, and not being able to attend as many methodology and teaching skill classes as desired.

Q: How has the author's initial research plan changed over the past year and a half?

The author's preliminary interpretations of the evidence have developed, and she has been working on writing up chapters for her thesis, while also considering dispersing certain information throughout the thesis instead of having separate chapters.

Q: What are the author's future plans for her PhD studies?

The author estimates that it will take around five years to complete her PhD and expresses her continued passion for classics and research, remaining excited about her academic career.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The content provides an overview of the author's experience as a part-time PhD student in the classics department at the University of Roehampton.

• The author discusses her initial research topic on the representation of sexual assault in Greek literature and how she narrowed it down to a specific subset of texts.

• She shares the challenges of balancing work, study, and other commitments, while also mentioning some achievements such as giving papers at conferences and teaching undergraduate students.