Contents

  1. Funding
  2. Time management
  3. Submission deadlines
  4. Socialising with other PGRs
  5. Relationship with Supervisor

Funding 

Funding opportunities for PGR students will vary depending on your research area and the College you’re studying within, but whether you have a University studentship, a stipend funded by a research council, or are self-funding, it’s worth remembering that there may be other options for financial support open to you.

If you’re thinking about studying on a PGR course in future, one of the main sources of funding you should explore is from the UK research councils. You can look at the relevant research council in your area and check if they have any opportunities available:

Funding bodies support PhD students in different ways. Some will pay tuition fees only; some will include a stipend (maintenance/living costs) or travel expenses, while others will simply be a one-off award to ease the financial burden of further study.

Similarly, each funding body will have its own criteria for eligibility, including how long you have been a resident in the UK. At PhD level, funding will tend to be awarded on academic merit, however there are some awards that take into account financial background and other criteria such as gender (such as in the case of the British Federation of Women Graduates).

If you’re already studying on a PGR course, the University has a searchable list of scholarships on their website, ranging from fully funded studentships through to grants and bursaries that can support you with travel or placement options during your research programme. You can also contact the team directly with your query using their contact form.

Some departments may have part-time graduate teaching assistantships or demonstrator roles available to PGRs, which is a great way of boosting your income, as well as obtaining teaching and relevant work experience. The University has a list of all their current job vacancies on their website.

Your College Graduate School should be able to advise on any upcoming opportunities, and it’s also a good idea to get into the habit of regularly checking their support and resources pages, as per the links below:

The University also has two Financial Aid funds which you may be eligible for:

  • The Discretionary Fund is open for applications from UK students and is intended to provide financial support to eligible students to help cover costs relating to childcare, living expenses, and study needs (excluding tuition fees).
  • The Financial Support Fund is open for applications from EU and International students and is intended to provide financial support if you find yourself struggling with basic living costs, due to unforeseen circumstances or challenges.

There are also additional sources of funding beyond the University, such as the Turn2us search facility which allows you to search through hundreds of different grants offered by a range of UK charities, and the The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding which provides comprehensive information on a wide range of funding opportunities, including those from charities, trusts, and foundations. The guide also offers tools and guidance to help with grant applications.

It is also worth considering joining a professional body or society related to your discipline, as sometimes they will offer incentives or grants for PGR students to help with things like conferences fees and expenses. You should speak to your supervisor or departmental colleagues about which organisations they are perhaps members of, or would recommend.

Where possible, it also a good idea try and save some money every month so that you have something to fall back on if your official funding or stipend finishes before you have finished writing up -  your thesis may well take longer than you anticipated, and you will want your focus to be on that in your final months, rather than being distracted by financial worries or having to rely on paid employment to cover your financial commitments.

During your ‘thesis pending’ period you may not receive funding, but should still be a registered student and exempt from council tax until the “end of study” date on your MyCampus record. This date will normally be the same as your thesis submission date confirmed by your Graduate School.

Time Management

Unless you are doing lab or field-based research you may not have a regular structure to your week, and so it’s really important to be self-disciplined, set out your own schedule or timetable for each week, and try to stick to this.

Many PGRs find that treating your research programme more or less in line with a 9 - 5 job (or equivalent ) works well, and there may well be an expectation of this from your supervisor, depending on your area of research.

If you’re struggling to focus on a particular task or piece of work you could try using the “Pomodoro Technique”.  This is a time management strategy that uses a timer to break work into intervals, typically 25 minutes, followed by short breaks. After four of these intervals, a longer break is taken. This technique aims to improve focus, reduce distractions, and prevent burnout by structuring work with regular breaks. 
 

Use a calendar for important milestones and meetings, and use a diary or digital planner to set out your tasks on a weekly and daily basis – whatever works for you and your discipline. Keep a record of how long things take as you go along, as that can help with future planning. It may also be helpful to talk to other more established PGRs or postdocs in your department about their ways of working.

If there is something you are truly stuck with, to the point where you may be feeling overwhelmed reach out for help, and/or leave whatever it is for the time being, and return to it later with fresh eyes. Do something more straightforward in the meantime – it will make you feel better to have produced something, even if that wasn’t the original plan for that day/week.

The University’s Student Learning Development Service can offer advice & support on topics such as time-management and dissertation writing. You can find contact details for them, and more detail on the type of support they offer on the University  website.

Research & Innovation Services also have a number of optional courses you can enrol on covering a variety of areas including advice on academic writing, presenting data and how to keep motivated throughout your PhD. You can find the full list, and enrol for these on their website.

Remember, most PGR students will have periods where they may feel less engaged or motivated, especially if results are inconclusive or can not be replicated, but if you find yourself frequently procrastinating or deviating from your intended schedule ask yourself why. Perhaps revisit how you are approaching your project with your Supervisor, as it could be a change of tack is needed.

Submission Deadlines

Make sure you are clear on these and that they’re realistic, if not, there may be scope to agree extensions, depending on your individual circumstances and progress.

It might sound obvious, but breaking down large tasks into more manageable chunks with timescales works well for most people. This can be less overwhelming, and it can help you feel more in control if you can tick things off as you go along.

If an extension is needed for a piece of work or your Annual Progress Review (APR) submission,  then don’t be afraid to ask for this. Research doesn’t always go to plan for a multitude of reasons, or you may have had mitigating or medical circumstances outwith your control that have impacted on your progress or performance. It may even be that you would benefit from a suspension of study until your circumstances have improved. You should reach out to your supervisor as early as possible to discuss any circumstances you’re experiencing or to explore the possibility of an extension. The earlier they are aware of this the sooner they can try and assist you with this.

In the event your original thesis submission date is not going to be achievable due to exceptional circumstances, it is possible to apply for an extension to the deadline, but this must be submitted no later than three months in advance of the original submission date. You can find more detail on this in chapter 10 of the PGR Code of Practice.

Socialising with other PGRs

It’s usually beneficial for your overall wellbeing to balance out all that pain-staking research by getting to know other PGRs outwith the academic environment. In addition, you may find that becoming a PGR opens doors to socialising with a range of other students and academics, from honours project students right through to postdocs and established lecturers.  As well as building life-long friendships, this also provides networking and collaboration opportunities which may help towards achieving those sought-after publications.

Check out the UofG PGR Development and  PGR Community and Belonging pages where you can connect with other like-minded souls. We’d also recommend that you join the SRC-affiliated PGR society who run a variety of different events for PGR students throughout the academic year.

Relationship with your Supervisor

This may be one of the most important relationships during your academic career, and a breakdown of that relationship can have severe consequences for achieving your research degree, which can be hard to recover from.

You want to foster good relations from the outset, so be enthusiastic, ask questions, come up with ideas, answer emails promptly and be on time for meetings.

You may not be able to change supervisor easily due to the nuances of your project and funding considerations, so bear in mind it’s in your best interest to try and make the relationship between you as positive as possible. If you don’t always see eye to eye or are worried about the direction your project is taking, then try working through any issues in a professional and collegiate manner at the time.

Don’t wait until your APR to raise concerns, or be afraid to try and address any issues head-on but politely and professionally. It’s always better to try to raise concerns at the time than try to untangle things later when positions will have become more entrenched, especially when you only have a finite amount of time in which to complete your research degree.

Ask for more frequent meetings if you feel you need more guidance and support, and familiarise yourself with the PGR Code of Practice, the original project description, and your Graduate School research handbook so that you are clear on expected outputs and the levels of support and supervision you should be receiving.

Ultimately if you still have concerns that the supervisory relationship is not sufficiently supportive to facilitate your academic growth and progress, then you should reach out to other staff within your graduate School, such as your secondary supervisor or the PGR Convenor or Director, to try to agree a way forward. You are always welcome to come and talk things through with staff at the SRC Advice Centre before taking such a step.