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These St. Barts Hotels Are Straight Out of a Daydream

The best places to visit in yorkshire for a mood boost suggested by yorkshire postreaders, the temptations’ 10 best songs, ranked, here are the best rally car noises and jumps from lake superior performancerally, where to stay in long beach: 10 best places to stay, the 10 best hacks for a warmer house this winter, these disney world airbnbs are rated the best by guests, it’s the best way to experience the great outdoors, anker prime powerbank battery pack: the best gift for the frequent traveler, overwater bungalows: your ultimate guide to paradise on stilts, incredibly useful youtube channels and videos for post-graduate students.

The post-graduate educational experience can be extremely taxing and overwhelming. Luckily for students, YouTube exists and can provide a fantastic breather and supplementary educational tool as students go through their post-graduate studies.

With that in mind, we decided to curate ten extremely useful YouTube channels and videos for post-graduate students in need of a little jolt.

Five Essential Videos

• 5 Things I Wish I Would Have Known BEFORE Starting Graduate School

Olivia of Olivia’s Grad School Vlogs approaches grad school problems with a unique charisma and openness. She’s going through all of the struggles you’re going through and this list is a perfect primer for new post-graduate students unsure of what they’re in for.

• Grad School Crises – NOT MY THESIS #2

Deboki does a fantastic job making light of her own grad school struggles, using this video to highlight each year of grad school and why each particular year “sucks in ways that are specific to that year.” You will feel much less alone in your grad school struggles when you watch this.

• Depression In Graduate Studies, What Are The Signs?

This video is a critical one considering the heavy proliferation of acute depression cases and exacerbated mental illnesses due to the stressors of post-graduate studies. If you or someone you know is facing depression during their grad studies, this is a revelatory watch.

• How To Ruin Your Mental Health As A Ph.D. Student

One of the most-watched videos in Joolz’s Ph.D. Life series, this is a straightforward and entertaining video that shows post-graduate students (Ph.D. students, specifically) what not to do when facing the acute stressors of graduate school.

• The Reset Button: The Great Fantasy of Academia

Grades can be one of the most anxiety-inducing parts of the graduate school experience. This 15-minute TED Talk will serve to remind you why you’re in post-graduate studies – less for the grades you get and more for the chance to master a particular subject.

Five Essential Channels

Looking for inspiration on days where it just seems like there’s no point? TED Talks provide a perfect respite with a wide variety of energetic, charismatic speeches that both provoke critical thought and serve to inspire action.

• Stanford University

One of America’s most prestigious and trusted universities has made a wide variety of lectures and on-campus performances available 24/7. You’re bound to find some inspiration in your field of choice, along with supplementary learning materials.

• Yale University Courses

Even if you don’t have the grades to study at this Ivy League staple, you can still enjoy a bevy of lectures and lessons from some of the nation’s most respected professors. Another great source of inspiration and essential knowledge.

• The CollegeInfoGeek Podcast

Also known as the “Thomas Frank” channel, this channel features its namesake – a 2013 Iowa State University graduate who decided to dish out needed advice to students about battling the pressures of post-graduate studies head-on. Frank’s optimism is undeniable and can very well push you out of your post-graduate doldrums.

• Motivation2Study

This channel’s “Study Motivation” series compiles the speeches of a wide variety of successful people in gorgeous audiovisual collages. If you need a boost to see where the light at the end of the tunnel can truly lead, this channel will help.

Concluding Thoughts

These five videos and YouTube channels are a fantastic place to start for post-graduate students in need of inspiration or help with unique grad school problems. With these bookmarked, a post-graduate student can get the leg up on any struggles that come their way.

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Baylor Graduate Writing Center

Helping Grad Students Become Better Writers

6 Youtube Channels for Academic Writing Inspiration

by Dr. Kristin Huggins, Consultant

**These channels are not GWC partners, nor is this post an official endorsement of their videos. These resources are merely helpful tools that some of our consultants have found personally beneficial in their own work.**

Similar to our blog post on podcasts for the academic writer , today we offer a vetted list of YouTubers who have devoted their digital voice to the academic space. All of these channels are produced by Ph.D. graduates, tenured professors, academic consultants, or current doctoral candidates at prestigious universities. With these distinct backgrounds, they all provide a unique approach to academic writing, research strategies, and life hacks for the stressed-out graduate student.

Keep in mind that these channels are meant to inspire audiences, not to supply faultless, prescriptive instructions on how to write a thesis or craft the perfect literature review. First and foremost, take your lead from your chair/supervising professor/faculty advisor. Ultimately, they will be the ones to make the call whether your paper passes muster.

Instead, peruse these channels with the intention to become invigorated by ideas that may fall outside your typical modus operandi .

Finally, my hope for you (dear reader) is that these channels serve a secondary purpose outside the realm of academic writing: to prove to you that there is a community beyond your classroom, who are seeking answers just like you.

Often, writing is interpreted as a solitary act, requiring monastery-like isolation in order to achieve academic success. This could not be further from the truth, as proven by the abundance of YouTube channels, podcasts, blogs, and online community forums.

Writing is collaborative. It is social. It is a living organism that requires room to evolve, shift, grow. The act of writing cannot be static, but requires engagement and interaction in order to improve–just like you.

Don’t fall into the trap of siloing yourself away in a library cubby without much-needed human interaction from those that understand (on a very visceral level) the degree of stress and anxiety your writing projects create in your life.

With that, I hope these channels provide you with inspiration and community for your academic writing needs!

Brisa Marie – Future Ph.D.

Brisa is a first-generation student, pursuing a Ph.D. in Culture and Performance at UCLA’s World Arts and Culture/Dance Department. Brisa created her channel after realizing how doctoral programs were frought with hidden gatekeepers, unspoken expectations, and unexpected challenges for the graduate student. While she felt overprepared entering into her program, she discovered that completing a doctorate required much more: grit, discipline, support, and a thick skin. She hopes that her channel demystifies the experience of doctoral work for others like her who dream of attaining a terminal degree in their field.

Andy Stapleton

Dr. Stapleton has a Ph.D. in chemistry, and has worked in the private sector as a chemist and in higher education as a tenured professor for ten years, where he conducted research, secured funding, taught and supervised students. He provides a very frank, honest review of how to be successful in a Ph.D. program and as an early career professor/researcher. Several of his videos are devoted to debunking the myths behind conducting and writing research at the doctoral level. He provides audiences with clear-cut strategies for how to write a grant application, how to write your professional portfolio for employment after your Ph.D., how to get your work peer-reviewed, and more.

Set apart from other channels run by individuals in the field, Grad Coach is an award-winning company devoted to assisting graduate students and early career professors with their writing and research needs. They’ve been recognized by several organizations for their work (AI International, MEA, Tutor’s Association UK, Business Excellence Awards), and boast 100+ years of combined experience with their large team of 15 coaches. This channel cuts straight to the heart of academic writing, offering short, bite-sized videos with clear strategies for how to develop research questions, how to master the academic voice, how to approach different academic styles, crafting the perfect research proposal, and more.

Dr. Amina Yonis

Dr. Yonis first began her channel during her time as a doctoral student, sharing her experiences and connecting with other students around the world. Now, she leads a team of 20 with The Page Doctor, her business devoted to assisting students with their academic writing needs. Her YouTube channel is devoted to inspiring content on how to tackle insurmountable writing tasks found throughout the doctoral journey. She also provides excellent strategies on how to maximize productivity and balance priorities during this process.

TheRedHeadedAcademic

Kaelyn Apple is a History and African American studies Ph.D. student at Yale University. She is devoted to using her voice as a gateway – rather than a gatekeeper – to accessible higher education. While Kaelyn offers sound advice for the logistical aspects of writing a thesis or dissertation, she also specializes in writing professional portfolios. Her videos cover how to develop a resume, CV, statement of purpose, and writing samples at the graduate level.

PhD and Productivity

This channel is produced by a Ph.D. student in Dublin, Ireland, who uses her platform to provide tools and strategies for graduate students to organize their writing and research obligations. She also offers tutorials for keyword searches and source management, and teaches her audience how to use tools for notetaking, reading, synthesizing literature, in-field research, and academic writing.

We hope you found these channels helpful and inspiring!

Until next time, dear reader. Happy Writing.

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I got my PhD by making YouTube videos – and so can you

But first, your university needs a policy on alternative-format dissertations.

When I first began PhD studies in 2010, I didn’t have an exact idea of what my dissertation would look like; all I knew was that it wouldn’t be a traditional 90,000-word text document. It couldn’t be, because I knew if it were, I’d never last to see graduation. Four years later, I have recently crossed the finish line, having successfully defended a web-­based dissertation that took the form of a series of YouTube videos and a blog – the first of its kind. It seemed like a preposterous venture in the beginning, however the vision, method, and rationale became increasingly clear as the journey evolved. I share my experience here for anyone who is keen to do things a little differently and unafraid of the road less travelled.

I will start by saying that before I became a PhD student in education at Brock University, I had been teaching art in a public school where teachers were consistently encouraged to embrace new technologies and blaze a trail; if we waited for the pedagogical and proverbial path to be mapped out for us, we’d miss unlimited opportunities for teaching and learning. So it didn’t make sense that in the context of my own higher learning, the expectation was to follow a tradition of text­based, siloed work. As an art teacher, I was continuously communicating with visual imagery instead of words, and I wanted to practise what I preached in my PhD. Beside that, the thought of producing a 300-page, bound, hard copy of my writing that would ultimately end up on a shelf in the university library and – let’s face it – rarely, if ever, get read just didn’t motivate me. Sure, it would also be submitted to the university’s digital repository and it might appear on ProQuest, but relatively speaking that barely counts as being accessible in today’s world.

Twitter, wikis, blogs and YouTube are dynamic pillars of the 21st-century classroom; social media has become the norm in educational practice for good reason – its collaborative, accessible nature – and I wanted my education research, as well, to capitalize on its benefits. I believe the accessibility argument would have been enough on its own for me to be granted permission to produce my dissertation in an alternate format, but just for good measure my research question also focused on creativity in education, and I chose an art-based methodology. Together, I had all the rationale I needed for a successful proposal to work in a creative way: through online video, a medium that supports communication in a variety of ways and can be easily disseminated far and wide over the Internet.

In the context of their historical location and current relationship with technology, many universities have begun to shift policies around dissertation and theses formats to support a multimodal approach. Brock University did not have a framework in place for producing an alternative format dissertation at the time, so my supervisor and I established one. We borrowed from those that were already in place at York University, University of Toronto, and Ryerson University, and presented it to the Dean of Education for approval. It helped that we could say there were precedents out there at neighbouring institutions; this proved the need for rethinking the process and the product of a research degree.

Like the policies at York, U of T, and Ryerson, Brock’s framework acknowledges the affordances of a multimodal piece as well as its limitations. Whereas the main advantage is arguably that it better enables understandability and accessibility, a disadvantage is that very often, a researcher cannot make a point at length without losing the audience, by virtue of the form. For example, it is easy for me to discuss in detail on paper those scholars who have influenced my thinking around art pedagogy, however this kind of expository dialogue would be overwhelming in video format.

Some things are better suited to text. For this reason, all four multimodal policies still require the submission of a written component in addition to the multimodal aspect of the dissertation. For me, this meant that I added a blog to coincide with my video work, which by that point had evolved into a five-part series, with each video operating like a traditional dissertation chapter (I had an introduction video, a literature review video, a methodology video, as well as an observations video and a recommendations video). I used the blog self-reflexively and wrote in first person, and I found the videos and blog complemented one another nicely, both functionally and stylistically. Because I was treading through uncharted territory, naturally there were questions that arose from my committee as I went along, and the blog served as a convenient space to address these. Having the blog meant that I didn’t have to reedit my videos (which is more difficult to do in video format than a text format) and their narrative flow could be left undisturbed. All video and blog artifacts were posted to a website, www.raisingcreativity.com (the namesake of my dissertation), in order to house everything in one place. With everything available online, my dissertation is literally at one’s fingertips, available through any smartphone.

Distribution is therefore made easy and driven by social media as viewers share, comment on, and post my research elsewhere from wherever they are in the world. Viewers are invited into the discussion brought to life in the videos, and are able to play a role in furthering the ideas presented. I am able to accurately gauge this activity thanks to analytics gathered by Google and YouTube. As of October 2014, the videos have garnered over 37,000 combined views, and have been seen in 195 countries worldwide — far greater than the level of attention my work would have received otherwise. All of this is exciting to me, not simply because I have managed to avoid having my work never being read, but because of the opportunity it creates that my research will matter on some level. Whether in the end it hits home at the personal level or the policy level, it will have done so due to mass exposure, which is how anyone’s research can have its best chance at making a difference. After all, what are we researching for, if not to make a difference?

My dissertation follows a growing trend of emerging scholars and recent graduates from a variety of faculties who have reimagined the dissertation to accomplish the requirements they need to fulfill, while capitalizing on other strengths that text alone could not offer. For example, Dr. Nick Sousanis ’ PhD research was presented through comic strips; Dr. Spencer J. Harrison displayed his PhD work in the form of a lifesize painted circus tent; and Dr. Daria Loi successfully submitted a suitcase full of 2D and 3D artifacts as her dissertation. The options and opportunities for a creative approach to the dissertation are plenty, so long as (according to Brock’s policy) they maintain a clear research focus/question, a contextualization within relevant theories and ideas, and there is a clear methodological approach. In any of these cases mentioned, the level of scholarly rigour is at least the same as a traditional text; it is just exhibited differently.

In my case, I estimate that producing YouTube videos meant over 100 more hours of work than what would have been required for a textual dissertation. The production process includes script writing, storyboarding, recruiting reliable volunteers, getting the lighting, audio, and lens acuity right, shooting multiple takes, navigating the lengthy editing process, and finally adding text titling on screen and animations in post-production to bring the work up to a professional level. Making a multimodal dissertation is not an easier route to a PhD in any way! It is like embarking on an adventure without a map instead of opting for the highway and a GPS: both roads lead to the same destination, but the trip is very different.

Looking back at the course of the past four years with hindsight being 20/20, the multimodal approach seems so obvious now; it’s relevant, engaging, creative, accessible, rigourous, reflective of current culture, and has the potential to be truly transformative. I now say to myself, “of course I got my PhD by making YouTube videos” . . . and so can you.

Dr. Rebecca Zak is an artist/researcher/teacher and entrepreneur. She lives in the Toronto area with her husband and their baby daughter.

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Hi Rebecca, Congratulations on your methodology for delivering your findings in a culturally appropriate format. Sometimes the audience is very narrow and sometimes, as in your case, it is the planet in general. For my PhD I am using film to bring findings back to the community of origin (Six Nations of the Grand River) rather than leaving them in PDF on QSpace -a format that is culturally irrelevant. Basically I am “Planting Stories: Feeding Communities” – the title of the film I am working on. I have a few questions: 1. How did you fund your films? Was it a matter of family members pooling their talents? Budget is an issue for such creative endeavours and they can be quite time consuming. 2. What does the Canadian Copyright Act require of a film maker in a case like yours? I will look at the rest of your series. The performing arts are gaining a wider acceptance in academia of late. NOrm Denzin is a pioneer in promoting the use of the arts in reporting academic findings. A 2014 conference which featured his approach can be found at this link: QI 2014 (Conference Program; pp. 1-21 are poster sessions) http://www.icqi.org/program/ Registration http://www.icqi.org/registration/

Your film dissertation sounds intriguing!

In answer to your first question, it was relatively inexpensive dollars-wise to produce my documentary dissertation (I used a $400 DSLR to shoot everything and rented a lav mic and lighting). The cost came in the hours it took to do it, and yes I utilized talented family members and other contacts to help me.

In answer to your second question, the Canadian Copyright Act (2012) allows for video clips of reasonable shortness to be appropriated for educational and research purposes under the fair use clause. Here’s a link to a deeper discussion of this:

Hope that helps, and best wishes!

Rebecca Zak, PhD

Good article. Gives me hope. I am in the same place you were Rebecca, I have big ideas for a great PhD topic, but exploring it in a massive paper is a big turn off.

congratulations on the accomplishment – always a delight when I find that my suitcase somewhat enabled those that like me needed to tell an important story in a different way. thank you!!

Of my god… I wish wish wish I had learned of you years ago and had thought of making a case for a more creative approach to my work… As I write this “traditional thesis” I realize more and more how static and flat it is with its rigid mechanical “structure.” My goal is to share the voices of the women I interviewed..to share their lived “body stories”.. How do I share their voices in a silly thesis that will be far removed from the very communities I am a part of and am researching with/about? What you spoke of here would have been a life saver… a new approach that would have made me feel “alive” and “connected” as I wrote. An approach that would have surely allowed to me actually enjoy this journey. Thank you for sharing! I missed the boat but i surely others will see the light!

Top 25 Higher Education YouTube Channels

Thanks to the advent of video streaming, college students now have global, 24/7 access to countless multimedia learning opportunities. YouTube, in particular, is rich with higher education content aimed at supporting you in your journey through college, grad school, and beyond.

Thanks to the advent of video streaming, college students now have global, 24/7 access to countless multimedia learning opportunities. YouTube , in particular, is rich with higher education content aimed at supporting you in your journey through college, grad school, and beyond.

But with so much content to choose from, which are the very best YouTube channels for students? Lucky for you, we’ve done the research so we can save you the legwork. Whether you’re a first-year college entrant, a seasoned grad student, or an adult learner preparing for a return to the academy, these YouTube channels will help you navigate the world of higher education with ease. From academic disciplines, to college life, to study skills, it seems there’s an excellent YouTube channel out there for every aspect of your higher education journey.

If your prefer your support resources in written form, rather than streaming video, check out our look at the The 10 Best Higher Education Websites .

Otherwise, read on for a look at the Top 25 YouTube channels for higher education...

And beyond the tremendous wealth of resources highlighted in the list above, we also have a ton of comprehensive study guides, study tips, and study starters right here at Academic Influence.

See all kinds of tips, tricks and hacks for surviving your college experience with a look at our Blog .

See our Resources Guide for much more on studying, starting your job search, and more.

• How to Give a Presentation as A PhD Student
• Doing a PhD

At some point in their career, most researchers will be asked to give a presentation at a conference. These podium talks can be a brilliant way to promote yourself as an academic and also to disseminate your work to a wider audience. Standing up and giving a talk to a large audience can feel scary, particularly if you feel under-prepared. However, with enough preparation and practice this could become an enjoyable experience and maybe even one you look forward to!

Here are a few tips from us to help you with preparation for your next (or first) presentation.

Keep It Simple

Typically, any talk you give will be accompanied by a series of slides. The key thing to remember here is ‘less is more’. Keep the message on each slide very clear with minimal text and ideally an image on every slide. Remember that these slides are designed to support what you’re talking about rather than being a script to read from.

Have a Structure

Prepare your slides with a logical structure in mind. If you’re presenting an experimental study, this may be as simple as: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. Think about what one thing you want the audience to take away from your talk – what’s the take-home message? A common mantra that’s used by many researchers is to (1) tell the audience what you’re going to tell them, (2) tell them and (3) tell them what you’ve told them. Simple!

Practice, Practice, Practice

There’s really no better substitute for building confidence in giving your talk than by practising it as much as you can. That’s not to say that you should learn it word for word and simply repeat from memory, but it should feel very natural by the time you come to present. A great idea is to write out a script of what you’d like to say and then amend it as you read it out aloud – you’ll find the way you structure your sentences or the words you use may differ slightly as you present out loud versus just writing down in text form.

Practice by yourself as you’re developing your thoughts and the flow of your talk but make sure you also practice in front of others, such as those in your lab, your supervisor and your friends and family.

It’s All in The Delivery

You know what you’re going to say, make sure you also practice how you’re going to say it. Make a conscious effort to speak a little (emphasis on the little!) slower than you normally would. Don’t forget to breathe and be happy – this is a chance to show off the great work that you’ve been doing. Speak clearly and not too quietly and try to connect with your audience – think of this as a discussion you’re having with them about your research. If you can, try to arrive at the presentation hall before others arrive so you have an opportunity to stand at the podium and visualise yourself giving your talk – this way when you go up to present, the environment will be a little more familiar to you. Enjoy it!

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Highlighting the positive aspects of being a PhD student

Camille bernery.

1 Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech Orsay, France

Léo Lusardi

Clara marino, martin philippe-lesaffre, elena angulo.

2 Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC Sevilla, Spain

Elsa Bonnaud

Loreleï guéry.

3 UMR Plant Health Institute of Montpellier, CIRAD and INRAE Montpellier, France

Eléna Manfrini

Anna turbelin, céline albert.

4 Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre Frankfurt am Main, Germany

5 Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal, United States

Franck Courchamp

Associated data.

All data generated or analysed during this study came from Twitter API and cannot be shared.

Articles about doing a PhD tend to focus on the difficulties faced by research students. Here we argue that the scientific community should also highlight the positive elements of the PhD experience.

Introduction

Doing a PhD can be both demanding and rewarding. In addition to overcoming the scientific and intellectual challenges involved in doing original research, a PhD student may also have to deal with financial difficulties, an unhealthy work-life balance, or resulting concerns about their mental health ( Woolston, 2017 ; Auerbach et al., 2018 ; Oswalt et al., 2020 ; Evans et al., 2018 ). Despite all this, most PhD students seem satisfied with their decision to do a PhD, mostly because they work in stimulating environments with a high degree of independence and good supervision ( Pommier et al., 2022 ; Woolston, 2017 ).

Paradoxically, however, the fact that most PhD students are positive about doing a PhD is not always apparent to the outside world. For example, the present authors recently analysed more than 90,000 tweets about the PhD experience: almost half of the tweets were positive, and less than a sixth were negative, yet the negative tweets received more likes and retweets ( Figure 1 ). What can be done to counter such misleading and negative impressions? In this article we – a group of PhD students, postdocs and permanent academics – highlight the positive elements of doing a PhD in order to present a more balanced view of the whole PhD experience. We also make recommendations to maintain a positive momentum throughout the PhD. Although these ideas and recommendations are based on our experiences as researchers in ecology working in Europe, we feel that most of the points we make also apply in other disciplines and places.

We retrieved all tweets posted in the English language during 12 consecutive weeks, from September to December 2021, that contained any of the following six hashtags: #phdlife, #phdspeaks, #phdvoice, #phdchat, #phdtips, #phdstudent. We then measured the sentiment (positive, negative or neutral) associated with each original tweet (excluding retweets). Of the 91 229 tweets we retrieved, 43,941 were positive, 12,298 were negative, and 34,990 were neutral. Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to compare the average number of likes and retweets of positive versus negative tweets. Negative tweets received significantly more likes than positive tweets (14.5 vs 12.3; P <0.001); negative tweets were also retweeted more than positive tweets but the difference was not significant (1.7 vs 1.5; P =0.383). The Twitter API and the “rtweet” R package ( cran.r-project.org/web/packages/rtweet/vignettes/intro.html ) were used to retrieve the tweets; the “syuzhet” R package ( rdrr.io/cran/syuzhet/ ) and the Bing lexicon ( Liu, 2012 ) were used for the sentiment analysis; all analyses were performed with R software ( R Development Core Team, 2021 ).

Three benefits of doing a PhD

There are two primary outputs from a PhD: new skills and expertise for the graduate, and new knowledge for the wider world. In this article we focus on the former and discuss the three main benefits of doing a PhD for the individual: (i) the development of specific skills to become an expert; (ii) the ability to work in a collaborative environment; (iii) improved communication skills while sharing knowledge ( Figure 2 ). For each of these benefits we discuss both general aspects that apply to most doctoral students, and specific aspects that depend on the student’s supervisor, field of research, location and other factors.

The three primary benefits of doing a PhD are acquiring expertise (pink circle), learning to work in a collaborative environment (blue), and developing communication skills for sharing knowledge (yellow). For each benefit, general aspects that apply to almost all doctoral students are shown in bold type in the small circle, and specific aspects that depend on, for example, the student’s supervisor or field of research are shown in plain type in the large circle. The large grey area contains more abstract and subjective ideas that are not discussed in the main text. It should be noted that this figure is conceptual, and that the aspects and ideas in it could be grouped in other, equally valid, ways.

Becoming an expert

Throughout a doctoral project, a PhD student will develop many of the skills needed to grow into an independent researcher, while also developing expertise in a given field. In addition to learning a great deal about their own field – and adding knowledge to it – a PhD student will learn how to perform a variety of tasks, and thus acquire new transferable skills. These will include autonomy, critical thinking, organization and planning, resilience, and the ability to design, lead and carry out projects. Furthermore, unlike postdocs and principal investigators, who have to carry out various management and administrative tasks, PhD students are usually free to dedicate their working hours almost exclusively to academic pursuits that they are (or can become) passionate about. This freedom is one of the aspects that make the PhD experience unique, and it should not be overlooked or taken for granted. Unfortunately, not all PhD students benefit from or are aware of such autonomy, but this ought to be an objective for all PhDs.

A PhD does not consist of a number of uneventful years that culminate in a single success. Rather, there are many steps along the way – such as mastering a technique, completing a series of experiments or activities in the field, or finishing the first draft of a manuscript – and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with each completed milestone should be a source of pride to the student.

Working in a collaborative environment

Learning how to work with other researchers is an important part of getting a PhD. The PhD student’s most important working relationship is with their supervisor (or, in some cases, supervisors), but most PhD students will also have the opportunity to collaborate with other members of their research group or lab, or even with researchers from the wider community. Working on other projects from time to time can help the student’s own project through increased productivity and creativity; moreover, it can strengthen lab cohesion, and might even lead to the student being a co-author on a paper. Additionally, supervising undergraduate students – or even new graduate students – is a good way of acquiring management skills.

Conferences are another way to meet and interact with other researchers. In particular, they are an opportunity to discover, discuss and be inspired by the work of other scientists. Conversations at conferences can generate new research questions or ideas for new and improved ways to tackle existing questions. Moreover, presenting results at a conference gives students a chance to receive feedback, to be recognized as active researchers by their peers, and to build a professional network.

Collaboration also can happen through the many virtual communities that PhD students can join for technical, scientific or moral support. For example, the Global PhD Server enables doctoral students to discuss their experience, exchange anecdotes, and offer or seek help. The @PhDForum supports a variety of activities, such as writing sessions for PhD students working on papers or chapters of their thesis, while Stack Overflow is a good place to offer/seek help with coding and statistics.

Developing communication skills

The ability to communicate results is a crucial skill for any researcher. A PhD student will, for example, be required to present their work to other scientists as talks or posters at meetings and conferences. The student will also start learning how to write a scientific article. Moreover, there are many opportunities for PhD students to share their passion and knowledge about their field, such as teaching and mentoring undergraduates and other graduate students. They can also get involved in public outreach, and contribute to awakening new passions or educating citizens on certain topics.

Recommendations

Along the PhD journey, neither the doctoral student nor the supervisor will have full control over what will happen. Some things will go wrong, which is why it is important to remain positive and try to make the most of what is a unique opportunity. Ways for the student to remain positive include going back to old pages in their laboratory notebook to see how much progress has been made, and keeping a note of all the positive feedback from different people. It is also important to remember that one does not become a PhD student by chance – being accepted to do a PhD is an achievement in itself. Additionally, sharing preliminary results with other members of the group and attending social events of a lab can build a supportive working atmosphere and help students to stay positive.

Focusing only on research can sometimes be exhausting, so spending time on other activities – such as supervising students, teaching, or working on outreach – can break the monotony and generate a sense of progress. Finally, it is important to celebrate achievements, such as a first draft, an accepted paper, a conference presentation or the submission of a grant proposal (and, obviously, a successful grant proposal). These achievements can be celebrated in the real world, on social media – or both! By regularly highlighting positive outcomes, it is easier to recognise that past difficulties have been overcome, that progress has been made, and that expertise, skills and knowledge have been gained.

In parallel, it is important to try to limit the impact of the negative aspects of the PhD experience, for they are real and various, and can be crushing if left unchecked. First, it is essential to contextualize them. For example, bear in mind that failure is an integral part of progress, and is often just a temporary setback as opposed to a defeat. This is especially true when a manuscript is rejected by a journal: viewing the rejection as an opportunity to improve the manuscript, and acknowledging that the reviewer reports are about the science, not the authors, can help reframe rejections in a positive light. After all, even the most distinguished researchers have experienced rejection many times. Moreover, as highlighted above, science is a collective adventure, and one is rarely alone when help is sought out. In this regard, talking about the challenges one encounters during a PhD with other students or researchers can also help put these challenges into perspective and to see the positive aspects.

The relationship between the PhD student and their supervisor will likely have a big influence on the PhD experience. However, it is important to recognize that this relationship works both ways, and both stand to benefit if it works well. Among other things, the PhD students can help their own cause by being clear on the type of feedback they want, or by scheduling regular meetings focused on their PhD – and persisting even if their supervisor is busy ( Kearns and Gardiner, 2011 ).

We would also encourage supervisors to be positive in their interactions with their PhD students, and to build a global productive environment that could benefit the PhD student ( Andreev et al., 2022 ). Supervisors could, for example, praise PhD students when the opportunity arises, and ensure that criticism is always constructive – and also encourage other members of their lab to do the same.

PhD students may also face challenges that cannot be overcome with positive thinking. Abusive behaviours such as bullying, harassment or discrimination should be reported to the relevant authorities immediately.

Some PhD students will also be anxious about their future job prospects, especially if they hope to remain in academic research. One way to help reduce such anxiety is to clarify life/career goals and identify the steps needed to reach them. For example, if the student makes a list of all potential funding opportunities (including deadlines) at the start of their last year, it will help them plan for the future and relieve some of the pressure that will build up towards the end of their PhD. Building a professional network can also help with career planning, and attending conferences and establishing collaborations are crucial in this regard.

Finally, if needed, it is entirely acceptable for a PhD student to take a break during their PhD, to refocus on what they really want in life, or to even leave their PhD without finishing it if they realize that it is not for them. However, before making such a decision, we would encourage the student to ask themselves if the doubts they are experiencing are due to a momentary difficulty that will pass, or if a PhD is not really the right career path for them.

Doing a PhD is a unique experience that typically occupies three or more years of someone’s life. Through this experience the student will be enriched by acquiring a range of professional and personal skills, and by gaining a prestigious qualification. In the end, it is in the interest of everyone – the PhD student, the supervisor, their colleagues, their institutions, and academia in general – to make this experience as positive as possible.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the internal reviewers (Céline Bellard, Eva Delmas, Christophe Diagne and Xavier Fauvergue) for useful recommendations. Work on this paper began during a lab retreat attended by all co-authors. PhD students were funded by the French Ministry of Higher Education (CB, LL, CM, MPL); postdocs were funded by the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (UA), the Biodiversa ERA-Net AlienScenario project (AT), and the AXA Research Fund Chair for Invasion Biology of University Paris-Saclay (EA, CA, EM); Tenured academics salary were funded by the University Paris-Saclay (EB), the CIRAD (LG) and the CNRS (FC). MPL was also funded as an intern by the ENS Paris-Saclay during part of the project.

Biographies

Camille Bernery is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Léo Lusardi is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Clara Marino is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Martin Philippe-Lesaffre is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Elena Angulo is in the Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain and the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Elsa Bonnaud is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Loreleï Guéry is in the UMR Plant Health Institute of Montpellier, CIRAD and INRAE, Montpellier, France

Eléna Manfrini is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Anna Turbelin is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Céline Albert is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Ugo Arbieu is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France, the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, United States

Franck Courchamp is in the Laboratoire Écologie Systématique Évolution, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS and AgroParisTech, Orsay, France

Competing interests

No competing interests declared.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing.

Conceptualization, Writing – review and editing.

Conceptualization.

Conceptualization, Visualization, Writing – review and editing.

Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing.

Data availability

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• Pommier S, Talby M, Auffray-Seguette M, Dalaut M, Eijsberg H, Elshawish P, Muller H. Le doctorat en France Regards croisés sur la formation doctorale. Réseau National de Collèges Doctoraux. 2022. [June 28, 2022]. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03494721
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7 Super Simple PhD Student Motivation Hacks

Losing motivation during your PhD is very, after all, you are trying to work towards a single problem for many years. When things are not going your way, or you are just fed up of thinking about the same thing over and over again, you can very quickly lose motivation.

Keeping your motivation up during your PhD means understanding you need to focus on discipline and not necessarily motivation. However, remembering your “why”, eating healthily, and finding an energising hobby can help keep you motivated.

In this article, we will go over all of the things you need to know about keeping up your motivation as a PhD student and all of the things I learned throughout my 15 years in academia.

I was always surprised at how easy it was to get myself back on track if I found myself in a slump.

Check out my YouTube video if you want to know more about how to get your PhD motivation back. I summarised all of the most important and effective tricks:

Here are all of the little tricks you need to know.

It’s about discipline NOT motivation

It’s common to feel demotivated and lose your motivation during your PhD or when writing up your thesis, but there’s a simple fact that every successful person learns.

It’s not about motivation, it’s about discipline.

That’s what successful PhD students and academics understand.

They don’t wait to feel like doing something, they just do it. And they keep doing it, even when they don’t feel like it, because they know it’s important.

Successful PhD students are disciplined. They have the self-control to do what they need to do, even when they don’t want to do it. They know that if they’re not disciplined, they won’t achieve their goals.

Unfortunately, we often wait for too long for motivation to strike. In my experience, a lot of the time, this simply does not happen.

If you want to be successful during your PhD, you need to be disciplined. You need to have the self-control to do what’s necessary, even when you don’t feel like it. You need to keep going, even when you feel like giving up.

Discipline is the key to success in academia.

Sometimes, discipline is not enough on its own. If you are experiencing any of the low motivation symptoms, you can combat them relatively easily.

How to spot low motivation?

There are several ways to spot low motivation.

One way is to ask yourself how much pleasure you get from the activities you’re engaged in. If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, it’s likely that your motivation is low.

Another way to tell if your motivation is low is to look at how much effort you’re putting into your studies.

If you find yourself procrastinating or not putting forth your best effort, it’s a sign that your motivation may be low.

Finally, take a look at your results. If you’re not seeing the progress you want, or if you’re seeing setbacks, it could be a sign that your motivation is lacking.

There are also some very specific PhD related symptoms that you should look for.

Not wanting to communicate with your supervisor

One of the first warning signs I look for in any of my students is any hesitation in communicating with their supervisors.

Students often avoid speaking with their supervisors if they are not producing results. This can happen when the PhD student feels like there is a massive hurdle in front of them that they cannot overcome.

Your supervisor should be able to help you find a simple experiment or study to do to start the ball rolling.

Never avoid or delay a supervisor meeting. The meetings will keep you accountable and help you on the path to completion.

Procrastination on thesis/writing

Writing is a massive pain in the bum.

I know that I would always procrastinate a lot when it came to writing up my thesis or peer-reviewed papers.

A lot of people find the academic writing process very tedious and painful. Finding the motivation to do just a few hundred words a day can also be very difficult.

Loss of enthusiasm

Burnout During your PhD, it is likely that you will feel overwhelmed and stressed at some point.

Your supervisor may not be able to help either, as they are usually busy with their own research and things.

Research is a notoriously competitive field, which means that there is a lot of pressure to succeed. This can lead to feelings of anxiety and stress, which can eventually lead to burnout.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or burnt out, it is important to take a step back and assess your situation. Talk to your supervisor about your concerns and see if there is anything they can do to help you.

It may also be helpful to talk to other PhD students or academics who have been through the same thing. They will be able to offer advice and support.

In the end, it is up to you to manage your own stress levels and make sure you don’t end up burning out.

If you want to know more about combating burnout during your PhD check out my YouTube video below.

How do PhD students stay motivated?

There is no one answer to this question as different students have different motivators.

However, some ways that PhD students stay motivated include setting goals, breaking up their work into manageable tasks, staying organized, and seeking support from their peers and mentors.

Additionally, many students find it helpful to celebrate their small accomplishments along the way. This will help create a sense of momentum that can breed more motivation.

Here are the basic motivational tips including some simple actionable advice that you can use if you are feeling unmotivated.

Motivational Tips

1. The basics

First, try setting smaller goals that are more achievable. This will help you see progress and feel more successful, which can increase your motivation.

Second, make sure you’re taking care of yourself physically by getting enough sleep and exercise; both things can boost your energy and mood, which can in turn increase your motivation.

Finally, try speaking kindly to yourself and focusing on positive self-talk; this can help increase your confidence and self-belief, making it easier to stay motivated.

2. Remember your WHY

Throughout PhD it can be hard to remember why you actually started one in the first place. There is so much more you end up doing is a PhD student. You can actually forget your true purpose whilst busy with the admin, politics, and busywork that a PhD often presents.

Getting familiar with your motivations to do your PhD will certainly ground you, hopefully, help you remember why you decided to go down this path in the first place.

3. Focus on the bigger picture

Focusing on the bigger picture also helps me a lot.

Quite often we can get bogged down in the details of our research. However, connecting with the bigger picture and zooming out really helps boost motivation.

Remember questions such as:

• who you’re doing this research for
• why you did this in the first place
• what the true benefits of your work are

can really help provide that small amount of inspiration when it is low.

4. Find an energizing hobby

Hobbies have been something that has provided a welcome distraction from my PhD and academic work.

They have allowed me to get away from work and take a break from the daily grind.

However, not all hobbies are made the same.

I would recommend finding a hobby in which you feel energised. Watching TV, reading a book, are great but often leave me feeling tired. Hobbies that include hanging out with other people and being active are often much better for keeping up my motivation and helping me feel energised and ready to tackle the issues by PhD threw up.

5. Eat well

It goes without saying that eating well throughout your PhD will help you feel better in many aspects of your life.

If you’re feeling unmotivated remember to go back to unprocessed and healthy food to kickstart your healthy eating habits again.

Stay away from highly processed foods and junk food – doing so has provided me with a huge boost in energy and therefore motivation.

6. Take time to step away from your work

Step away from your PhD every so often.

Take a moment to reconnect with friends, family and old acquaintances. It is actually okay to take some time for you.

Some PhD students need to step away from their work for much longer. Stepping away from your PhD for six months to a year can also help you regain the motivation you need to finish.

7. Focus on your achievements

In the daily grind of a PhD can be hard to focus on your achievements when all you can see are your failures or challenges.

Nothing motivates me more in my academic career than seeing what I have already achieved and what I can improve on.

Taking a moment to stop and reflect on your achievements will help you fine-tune your next step and will give you the energy to want to reproduce that successful experiment or study.

I like to keep a little list of my achievements nearby so that I can look at them whenever I am feeling flat.

Why Losing Motivation In Grad School Is Normal

Losing motivation in grad school is normal for a number of reasons.

First, the academic pressure can be intense and overwhelming at times.

Second, the process of getting a PhD or postdoc often takes much longer than students expect, which can lead to frustration and disappointment.

Third, many students are juggling multiple responsibilities (e.g., teaching, research, family) and simply don’t have the time or energy to devote to their studies.

Finally, it’s easy to become discouraged when you compare yourself to your peers and feel like you’re not making as much progress as they are.

If you’re feeling unmotivated, it’s important to remember that it’s normal and that you’re not alone.

Talk to your advisor or other trusted faculty member about how you’re feeling and see if they have any advice on how to get back on track.

Take some time for yourself outside of school and do things that make you happy. And finally, remind yourself why you’re doing this in the first place. Grad school is hard work, but it’s also an amazing opportunity to learn and grow as a person.

Wrapping up

This article is covered everything you need to know about keeping up your motivation as a PhD student.

The PhD is long, arduous, and can test even the most motivated of individuals. Focusing on discipline and execution every day will be the number one way you can build up momentum and keep moving forward.

When your willpower is depleted, make sure you are eating well, you take time to reconnect with friends and family and do an energising hobby.

Small steps every single day is what finishes a PhD. Take small steps and the rest of your PhD will follow.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

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13 Popular YouTube Channels for Smart Researchers!

A growing sensation, streamed educational programs are quickly finding their place among students, professionals, researchers, and teachers. Science e-learning has grown by nearly 900% over the last 20 years with almost 1 billion people taking advantage of all that online learning and training has to offer. Free e-learning via YouTube videos is becoming a popular way for researchers and teachers to reach audiences around the world. Webinars from prominent researchers, videos with science lessons, and even lessons from Ivy League institutions have their own channels with millions of followers. With hundreds of different options, there are YouTube science channels for everyone that can be accessed in a comfortable environment.

What are the Advantages?

E-learning crosses diversity borders and can reach larger audiences. There are several science channels that cater to graduate students, professionals, and researchers. More teachers and professors are using science channels as supplementary materials in their classrooms, especially for online-learning environments. These channels are easily accessible, and link to videos and channels with similar content.

Top YouTube Science Channels

Out of the thousands of channels these stand out because of their quality content, number of subscribers, and number of Twitter followers.

Veritasium: A little more formal, this channel delivers lectures, interviews, and experiments. Two of their top videos are “ Can Silence Actually Drive You Crazy ?” with 15 million views, and “ Anti-Gravity Wheel? ” with 19.4 million views.

Vsauce: Divided into seasons called Mind Field, creators tackle difficult scientific questions with the latest discoveries/inventions. Slowly growing in popularity, fun graphics and humor accompany videos such as “ The Greater Good ,” talking about self-driving cars or “ The Psychedelic Experience ” discussing drug effect on the brain.

ASAP Science: Creators of this channel are devoted musicians as much as scientists and find ways to infuse music into their segments. Relying heavily on humorous science subjects, one of the most famous clips includes “ Are you smarter than average .”

Smarter Every Day: Focusing more on the scientific method and proving scientific experiments as true or false, this channel has nearly 17 million viewers. Known also as SED, the creators describe how the brain reacts to simple tasks, like riding a bicycle after a brain injury in “ The Backwards Brain Bicycle .”

Sci Show: At nearly 5.4 million followers, the SciShow brags that they “hate not knowing things.” The channel offers the latest SciShow News such as “ The Trouble with This Year’s Flu Season ,” or quick questions like “ What Do Dogs See When They Watch TV ?”

Ted Talks on Science: Ted Talks has been one of the most popular supplemental tools for teachers. A creative take on lecture-based learning, Ted Talks brings in experts from around the world to discuss some of the most current research such as the tech breakthrough series.

Life Noggin: An animated channel, Life Noggin discusses a variety of topics such as “ What If You Never Ate Fruits and Vegetables ?”

Yale Courses: Making its famous Ivy League education free, Yale Courses offers several online lectures by faculty members. The science channel has over 33k views for single episodes and covers a variety of topics from biology and chemistry to life and medical sciences.

Stanford Online: Similar to Yale’s channel but with a more personal context, Stanford Online delivers lectures on various scientific subjects. The videos often feature lecture-style episodes by graduate students such as “ Stanford Seminar-Combining Physical and Statistical Models in Projected Global Warming .”

Scientific American: With some of the latest and most up-to-date information, this channel is similar to the television program and explores themes such as “ New Volcano Survey for Materials Ejected from a Volcano .”

Mental Floss: Taken from a popular magazine, these videos combine popular culture and science to deliver facts in animated and live videos such as “50 Science Misconceptions.”

Brusspup: This channel specializes in visual science and illusions. Videos feature episodes set to music, paced in fast-forwarded action such as “ Ultimate Illusions and Science Compilation .”

Minute Earth: Living up to its name, Minute Earth focuses on biology and earth sciences and delivers segments that are short and concise. Fun cartoon-like graphics and sound effects make this channel a favorite for younger audiences, such as “ A Disease’s Guide to World Domination .”

One of the things that make online video learning so effective in Science is its viewer-centered approach. This creates an accommodating atmosphere that engages modern learners from all backgrounds.

In what ways do these Science YouTube channels help you? Do you have any of your favourite YouTube channels that you follow for fun-learning? Do share with us in the comments section below!

Itsoktobesmart is a great one too 🙂

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A guide for first year PhD students: Expectations, responsibilities, advice

The first year of a PhD can feel like a rollercoaster ride. First-year PhD students are ambitious and want to fulfil expectations. At the same time, they may be unsure of what these expectations and their responsibilities are. This guide aims to provide first-year PhD students with some directions and advice.

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The first year as a PhD student: Excitement, ambition, overwhelm

What to expect as a first-year phd student, responsibilities of a first-year phd student, a supervisor’s expectations of a first-year phd student, thesis/dissertation, academic skills, relationships and networking, health and well-being.

Starting a PhD is exciting. Securing a PhD position is a major life event, and often something that first-year year PhD students have been working towards for a long time.

Many PhD students cannot wait to start. They already want to prepare in the weeks and months leading up to their new positions. And once they do start, they are full of energy, ambitions and plans.

First-year PhD students want to do well, make progress with their projects and meet their supervisors’ expectations. However, it is not always clear what that means.

“Am I doing enough? Do I make enough progress? Am I smart enough? Did I bite off more than I can chew?”

Questions like these, and insecurities, often develop early on in a PhD journey.

Furthermore, starting in a new environment can also be draining. There are new colleagues, new processes, and many unwritten rules in academia. Coupled with open questions about the direction of one’s PhD research, the first year can feel overwhelming.

To avoid overwhelm, it helps to know that the first year of a PhD involves much more than just figuring out one’s research. And absolutely normal to feel lost from time to time.

Succeeding in academia has many facets, including your thesis or dissertation, but also learning new skills, and developing relationships with supervisors, colleagues and scholars in your field. All of that takes energy.

Set realistic expectations for yourself in the first year of your PhD. Not everything will work out as planned. Research takes time, and setbacks are inevitable.

Doing a PhD is often experienced as very stressful : many PhD students are perfectionists, and a PhD requires a lot of self-responsibility. Consequently, PhD work tends to feel very personal, and criticism can sting.

First-year PhD students can deal with ‘failures’ more constructively by realizing that failures are an inevitable part of academic work, and by adopting a more welcoming attitude to criticism and feedback.

First-year PhD students can also expect to read and explore a lot. At times, this involves going down the rabbit hole of academic literature: processing new information, frameworks and perspectives before discarding them again.

Thinking, researching, experimenting, writing and editing are not straightforward processes, and a lot of learning takes place along the way.

Specific requirements and responsibilities of a first-year PhD student differ from programme to programme.

However, frequently a key responsibility of a PhD student is to develop a firm research proposal in the first year, which is often coupled with an extensive literature review.

This requires first-year PhD students to immerse themselves in the relevant literature. However, it is also recommended to read a bit outside of your field or discipline to gain new perspectives.

If a PhD programme involves course work, as is for instance the case in North America much more than in Europe, then planning and starting coursework is also often a responsibility during the first year.

All in all, a first-year PhD student is responsible to get organised and create a feasible plan for the coming years. The first year is meant to set the foundation for the PhD trajectory .

Unless the PhD programme is followed online, and unless there is a pandemic raging, first-year PhD students are additionally often expected to actively participate in the research group, lab or department in which they are based.

Active participation can range from simply showing up regularly, to attending lunches with colleagues, attending research events or presenting preliminary findings.

The internet is full of horror stories of PhD supervisors having extremely unrealistic expectations of first-year PhD students. For instance, several publications in the first year.

While this can certainly happen, I dare to say that this is not the norm.

Again, specific expectations or requirements in terms of performance and output of first-year PhD students can differ from university to university, and from supervisor to supervisor.

Beyond that, however, there are several expectations that many PhD supervisors have of first-year PhD students.

For instance, PhD supervisors tend to appreciate some levels of regularity and consistency. While it is absolutely normal to have periods where you make more progress (for instance in writing) than in others, it is not good to contact your supervisor every day for a month, and then fall off the earth for half a year.

Consistency goes hand in hand with good communication. Communication, respect and openness are fundamental elements in a good supervisor-supervisee relationship.

Many supervisors prefer first-year PhD students to ask for help and support if they experience roadblocks of any kind, instead of finding out that after a year no progress was made.

Lastly, supervisors often expect PhD students to take matters into their own hands. Instead of simply waiting for instruction, this means that first-year PhD students should be in the driver’s seat of their journey. Therefore, it is no surprise that proactiveness is one of the 10 qualities of successful PhD students.

25 things every first year PhD student should do

To turn the more abstract discussion on expectations and responsibilities into more concrete advice, the following list includes 25 things (divided into five categories) that every first-year PhD student should do.

• Read as much as you can. Write down your thoughts and observations.
• Develop a system to keep track of the literature you are reading (for instance through an excel file, notebooks, or a reference manager like Zotero ).
• Develop a literature review on your research topic.
• Familiarise yourself with your university’s PhD requirements (such as length, number of publications, required coursework, etc.).
• Read a few PhD theses from your field and university to understand what is ultimately expected from you.
• Get into the habit of writing . It does not have to be purely academic text. Write down your observations, write blog posts, and write a research diary. The more you write, the easier it gets.
• Develop a good system of communication and effective supervision meetings with your PhD supervisor/s.
• Get into the habit of talking about your research. Speak to your friends about your work, and discuss some readings with your colleagues. Try to formulate your thoughts in an accessible way. The more you do this, the easier it gets.
• Present something in a friendly environment (such as your research group) to practice public speaking .
• Learn how to prioritise tasks . Sometimes, prioritising one task means ruthlessly dropping others. Get comfortable with it. No one can do it all.
• Get to know your supervisor/s . Learn about their research and activities, their preferences and things like their preferred way of communicating. Don’t just expect your supervisor/s to adjust to your preferences, also adjust to theirs.
• Be present in your department, lab or research group. Chat with colleagues, exchange information, support each other and socialise. Collaboration is always better than competition.
• Develop a good support network outside of work. Even the nicest PhD trajectory can be stressful and frustrating from time to time. Know who has your back and can provide support and/or distraction when needed.
• Get to know the administrators and secretaries of your university. They hold a lot of power and you want them on your side!
• Start your online presence by filling out your university profile page, and setting up a professional Twitter account or a LinkedIn profile. You want people to be able to find information about you and your research online.
• Observe your energy levels and find your rhythm. Some people concentrate better in the morning, others late at night. Figure out when to tackle difficult tasks, when to schedule meetings, and when to take breaks. A PhD is not a regular 9 to 5 job. If you have flexibility in your time planning, optimise your routine so that it fits you .
• Be kind to yourself. When having negative thoughts, speak them out loud. Would you talk to your friends or colleagues the same way you talk to yourself? Probably not. Be forgiving and compassionate if you have a bad day.
• Foster an identity outside of your PhD by taking time for instance for hobbies, family and friends. It will help you to separate your self-worth from your PhD work.
• Prioritise your health and well-being . This involves for example getting proper sleep , exercising and eating healthily. Not only will you feel better, but your work will also benefit.
• Take proper breaks. Getting burnout is not a badge of honour or testimony to your dedication. Work smarter, not harder.

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Graduate Students Keara Sebold and Maria Kotsouris win Gitner and TF Awards

• By: Molly I. German
• March 26, 2024

The History Department is pleased to announce that Keara Sebold is the winner of the Gitner Family Prize in teaching and Maria Koutsouris is the winner of the GRS Outstanding Teaching Fellow Award. This year, there were a record number of faculty nominations and very impassioned recommendations submitted for many of our wonderful TFs. On behalf of our faculty, staff, and undergraduate students, thank you!

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Texas A&M, The Association Of Former Students Announce 2024 Distinguished Achievement Honorees

Texas A&M University and The Association of Former Students have selected 25 outstanding faculty and staff to be honored with the 2024 university-level Distinguished Achievement Awards. Since 1955, the Distinguished Achievement Awards have been granted to those who exhibit the highest standards of excellence at Texas A&M.

The award honors Texas A&M faculty and staff members in teaching, research, individual student engagement, graduate mentoring, administration, staff and extension/outreach/continuing education/professional development.

The selection process for this award is rigorous, with the recipients chosen by a campus-wide committee composed of faculty, staff, students and former students. The award is a testimony to the esteem and high regard in which colleagues hold the recipients.

In recognition of their achievements, each recipient will receive a monetary gift, an engraved watch and a commemorative certificate. Recipients will be honored on April 26 at the Faculty Affairs Spring Awards Ceremony in the Student Recreation Center, Room 2229.

The 2024 awardees are:

Administration.

• Robert Ahdieh, School of Law
• Thomas McKnight, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences

Extension, Outreach, Continuing Education, and Professional Development

• William Byrnes, School of Law

Graduate Mentoring

• David Claridge, J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
• David Russell, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences

Individual Student Engagement

• Jennifer Rhinesmith-Carranza, Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Aakash Tyagi, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, College of Engineering
• Haitham Abu-Rub, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University at Qatar
• Rodolfo Nayga, Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Eric Peterson, J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Lin Shao, Department of Nuclear Engineering, College of Engineering
• Farida Sohrabji, Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine
• David Threadgill, Department of Nutrition, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Jennifer Ford, Division of Student Affairs
• Gerald Smith, Division of Student Affairs
• Barry Boyd, Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Emily Cantrell, Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, School of Education and Human Development
• Daniel Conway, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences
• Michelle Diaz, James Benjamin Department of Accounting, Mays Business School
• Debra Ellis, Department of Construction Science, School of Architecture
• Michelle Kwok, Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, School of Education and Human Development
• Catharina Laporte, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
• Verity McInnis, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences
• Jayne Reuben, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry
• Christina Wiederwohl, Department of Oceanography, College of Arts and Sciences

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Trinity’s 2024 U of T Student Leadership Award Winners

This year, an incredible 16 members of the Trinity community have been awarded 2024 U of T Student Leadership Awards (UTSLA) – 12 Trinity College students and four Trinity College alumni ! The University of Toronto Student Leadership Awards recognize graduating students for outstanding student leadership, volunteer service, and commitment to the university broadly, to their own division, or for contributions in both areas. Congratulations to all our 2024 UTSLA recipients! View the list of all recipients: 2024 U of T Student Leadership Awards (PDF) .

#TrinityGrad24 undergraduate Arts & Science students: 

Mogtaba Awad Alim, Catherine Chi, Taylan Gurpinar, Nisha Iqbal, Alexander Lawson, Anusha Madhusudanan, Ciara Rose McGarry, Alex McLean, Ruichen (Richard) Shuai, Tam Tran, Jessie Wu  and Sabrina Zhu

Trinity alumni (current U of T graduate students):

David Guo, Nathan Kuehne, Zoe Thompson and Kirsten Ching Fong Yeung

Learn more about Trinity’s incredible UTSLA recipients!

Trinity’s 2024 UTSLA winners share what contribution of which they are most proud. ( Supplied photos )

#TrinityGrad24 undergraduate Arts & Science students:

About the award:.

The  University of Toronto Student Leadership Award  continues U of T’s long-standing tradition of recognizing outstanding student leadership, volunteer service, and commitment to the university. This tradition began with the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award, which ran from 1994 – 2019 and was named in honour of  Mr. Gordon Cressy , former Vice-President, Development and University Relations. In naming the award, the  University of Toronto Alumni Association  (UTAA) recognized Cressy’s leadership and volunteer service across various spheres, as well as his term at the university. During the award’s 25-year history, it celebrated the exemplary contributions of more than 4,000 students whose commitment and volunteerism had a lasting impact on their peers and the university.

The University of Toronto Student Leadership Award (UTSLA) continues the spirit of the retired Cressy Award.  Recipients of the UTSLA   join the distinguished community of  past Cressy Award recipients  in being honoured for their exemplary leadership and volunteer service to U of T.

If you are a Trinity College program student or alumni (International Relations; Ethics, Society & Law; or Immunology) who received a 2024 U of T Student Leadership Award, please let us know – email [email protected] .

Categories: Alumni ; Awards & Honours ; Student News ; University of Toronto News

Graduate Assistantships

• Key Information
• Rules and Regulations
• Employee and Supervisor Relations

Research Assistantship (1892-2024)

Department: Center for STEM Research, Education, and Outreach (78260)

Position: Research Assistantship

Hours/Week: 50% (20 hours)

Term: Fall 2024

Closing Date: 12/01/2024

Location: SIUE

Number of Openings: 2

Semi-monthly Stipend: $750.00

Posting Number: 1892-2024

Qualifications

A solid high school level understanding of life sciences (including genetics), and strong familiarity of LGBTQ culture and concepts of gender and sex, from lived, volunteer, educational, or work experiences. Experience with qualitative analysis and coding is also desirable.

Position Description

The position will primarily be responsible for participating in qualitative analysis of high school student interviews following exposure to an inclusive biology curriculum as a part of a grant funded project from the NSF. 

Application Process

Required documents.

 Brief cover letter describing interests in the project and career goals CV or Resume

Applicant Materials Are Received By

 Email

  **All communications sent to the prospective employer should include the posting number for the position. 

Voluntary GA Applicant Data Form

This form is used to gather applicant data by the Office of Equal Opportunity, Access, & Title IX Coordination at SIUE. This information cannot be viewed by units hiring Graduate Assistants. Completion of this form is not required and will not impact your chances of being hired for a Graduate Assistantship. This form is NOT an application for employment. To apply for a Graduate Assistant position, follow the instructions listed in the posting.  

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is authorized to operate as a postsecondary educational institution by the  Illinois Board of Higher Education .

• Current Students
• Faculty & Staff
• Community & Business Partners

Title: Celebration of Spring – A Hindu Hoya’s Reflections on Holi 

The vibrant festival of Holi is one of the biggest festivals among Hindus. It is the celebration of colors, unity and friendship. We sat down with a student from India to get a personal reflection on what this festival means to them.

Meet Vandita Awasthi (G’24): she’s a student in the Master of Science in Economics program at the Graduate School. Awasthi came to Georgetown because of its diversity and proximity to renowned institutions, networking opportunities, and the program allows her to learn directly from professors and experts in the field.

“More than a religious observance, Holi holds significance as a day that celebrates our relationships and mutual appreciation, transcending religious confines,” Awasthi said. Explore her experiences of this joyous festival.

A Festival of Colors

“I am from a family rooted in open-mindedness and liberalism, fostering in me an appreciation for diverse religions and cultures. Within the Hindu community, I find a harmonious blend of various festivals and ceremonies, each celebrating different facets of our religion.

“What I cherish most about being Hindu is the profound sense of belonging it offers, spanning geographical boundaries and uniting us worldwide.

“Holi stands out as one of the most cherished festivals among Hindus, renowned as the festival of colors. It’s a time for reuniting with friends and family, indulging in delicious food and sharing laughter. Beyond its vibrant revelry, Holi symbolizes the onset of spring and, in Hindu mythology, signifies the triumph of good over evil. One thing I miss about my hometown is the vibrant transformation of the streets as Holi approaches.”

Everywhere you look in New Delhi, there are colorful flowers, decorations and an array of vibrant colors, painting the city like a kaleidoscope. – Vandita Awasthi

Transcends Religions & Cultures

“More than a religious observance, Holi holds significance as a day that celebrates our relationships and mutual appreciation, transcending religious confines. It’s a celebration of unity, free from the constraints of religious differences or boundaries.

“While my past Holi celebrations were spent with my family, my time at Georgetown University has granted me the opportunity to extend these celebrations to include the friends I’ve made during my two years here. Now, I rejoice in Holi not only with my Hindu peers but also with friends from diverse countries, religions and beliefs.

“It’s a testament to the universality of the joy and fellowship that Holi embodies.”

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Deadline to enter the Graduate Student Photo Contest

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