One of the most enlightening lessons I have learned through knowing international students is that many things I thought were normal are in fact peculiarly British, and actually quite peculiar. So this Guide to the British is as much for the Brits as it is for anyone coming from elsewhere and baffled by our strange … Continue reading
Perhaps you are looking for an academic job, or looking for a PhD supervisor: Associate Professor sounds good, right? But is that more senior than Assistant Professor? What about Lecturer - or Reader? Does a Reader really just read? The academic world has always enjoyed its mysterious hierarchies and systems, and you are not alone … Continue reading
Half of the PhD students in the UK are international: the university system here couldn’t survive without them. If you ask British or international students what is the best thing about studying here, one of the top points is the diversity of the people you meet and all you can learn from them. But what … Continue reading
So you’re doing a PhD - or maybe you’ve just finished one - and all you hear is how terrible the academic job market is now. Hundreds of highly qualified people applying for each nine-month part-time teaching fellowship, salaries dropping, more PhD graduates and fewer new jobs. Your supervisor might tell you that actually there … Continue reading
So here you are, living the dream: maybe funded, part funded or not at all, but either way managing somehow to do a PhD. What a privilege! Organising your time exactly as you please, exploring an intellectual field that fascinates you, surrounded by like-minded people and having your horizons broadened every day. So why is … Continue reading