The First Month as a PhD Student

2 Nov 2023

My name is Jordan and I am a Postgraduate Tutor at the University College Cork Skills Centre. I am a first year PhD student in Applied Linguistics, and I did my master's degree here also. As starting a PhD is a big life step that has a certain air of mystery around it, I'm here to tell you what life is really like as a PhD student at University College Cork during those first couple of weeks and what to expect. 

I’ll also share some of the things that I wish I knew before I started my PhD - in order to make the transition easier for anyone who is considering making the next step at UCC in the near or distance future.

The IRC GOI Postgraduate Scholarship: 

This mostly applies to PhD students who start their studies in September/October, however, the first month and a half of your PhD is almost exclusively going to be devoted to filling out your application for the IRC GOI Postgraduate Scholarship. The scholarship application window opens every late-August/early-September and is extremely competitive as it is one of the largest (in terms of financial support) within Ireland. It is recommended that all PhD students in Ireland apply for this particular scholarship regardless of academic discipline, so my experience in this blog is applicable to all incoming PhD students. 

Regarding what this process is like, you will work closely with your PhD supervisors when writing your scholarship application and they will give advice on what key points you have to make in order for your application to stand out in the eyes of reviewers. Furthermore, there is a notable amount of reading and preparation work to do as there are information sheets to read from IRC (as well as your individual college in UCC) which provide advice, as well as the dos and don’ts of writing your scholarship. The amount of preparation work required for the IRC GOI Postgraduate Scholarship was personally the biggest surprise for me and is something that I wish I was more prepared for before starting my PhD. 

Therefore, my key piece of advice is to familiarise yourself with the GOI scholarship website in the weeks/months leading up to your PhD start date. If you are like me, you probably did not expect your first month to be spent primarily focusing on and applying for a scholarship, so any work that you can do beforehand (i.e. familiarising yourself with the application form or the information sheet) is certainly a bonus. 

There are numerous positives in regard to completing this scholarship application form though. After writing about your thesis proposal in extraordinary detail from the project description, methodology, dissemination plan, data management plan, and anticipated impact of your project among other things, you will have a far greater understanding of what your thesis is actually going to be about, why it is unique, and why it is an exciting project to undertake.  

Postgraduate Modules: 

Undertaking a PhD can be seen as the great unknown in some respects as most websites and blogs will say that your PhD is simply graded by a final thesis and an oral examination called a viva voce. However, what else does a PhD actually involve? Therefore, a common question is “will I have to attend classes?” and “what type of classes will I have to attend?”. I am here to answer this question from my own experience as it was not something that I was 100% sure about before I actually started my own PhD at UCC either.  

Firstly, it is compulsory to attend at least 15 credits worth of modules during the duration of your PhD at University College Cork - with 30 credits worth of classes being the maximum amount you can possibly attend. This is not a large amount considering that your PhD will normally be at least 3 years in length, so it is important to choose modules that you are interested in and that you feel will contribute to your academic/professional development. University College Cork (and your specific college) offers a number of postgraduate modules that you can sign up for such as general research training for doctoral students, qualitative and quantitative data analysis training, and research integrity training among others.  

However, you can pretty much study any module you like as long as it is listed in UCC’s book of modules (and is in some way related to your thesis topic). I feel as though this may not be something that is made abundantly clear to all students; therefore, I think it is important to mention it in this blog.  

For example, as my thesis topic involves investigating elements of Korean culture and interviewing Korean students, me and my supervisors agreed that it would best for me to take a module in Korean Language at UCC. So far, I am thoroughly enjoying learning a new language and I’m glad that I chose this particular module for the first year of my studies over some of the other, more general options that my college recommends to all PhD students. 

It is important to note that you should always consult your supervisors before you enrol in any module – in some cases you will even need to ask them to sign a permission form before you can register for one. 

Therefore, in the weeks/months leading up to your PhD, take a look at the UCC book of modules, email your supervisor for advice, and have some ideas prepared before you begin your PhD studies – because some modules will begin almost immediately after your start date in September/February. This preparation is key in ensuring that you pick fulfilling modules that you will enjoy. 

Supervisors: 

As already mentioned in the first two sections of this blog, supervisors will always be involved in the most important aspects of your PhD journey. Therefore, it is essential to keep them updated on any big developments in both your life and your thesis writing which may affect any deadlines that you agreed upon. This advice is applicable to all students who are required to write a thesis and is not just limited to PhD students - your supervisors are ultimately there to help you and can make the most difficult moments of your academic journey easier for you by simply giving reassurance or advising you on what to do next.  

Having said that, something which I didn’t know before coming to UCC this past September was…”when does my PhD actually start and what should I be doing right now?” because for the first two weeks in September I was unsure of what to do. Looking back, I should have contacted my supervisors sooner – because the lack of clarity I experienced for the first two weeks or so quickly went away after I had an initial meeting with both of my supervisors. 

While considering a PhD, you may have read some blog posts or websites which mention that you will be completely on your own during a PhD, there is no structure, and that you will require a lot of self-discipline. However, while you will certainly have more responsibility and individual work to do, it is important to realise that your supervisors will guide your way to a certain extent and give you some much needed structure. This was evident in my first meeting with my PhD supervisors as they suggested what type of books/articles I should read right now, what scholarships I should be applying for, and what work I need to have prepared before our next meeting in a month’s time. This initial meeting with my supervisors in September ultimately gave my PhD some structure and it also allowed me to clearly plan ahead with some purpose.  

Therefore, I would advise any incoming PhD students to plan a meeting with their supervisors as soon as possible after you arrive at UCC in order to avoid feeling unsure of yourself in those first couple of weeks. All supervisors are different and will have other outside commitments, but I would advise all students to ask their PhD supervisors ‘how often will we meet?’ and ‘what should I have prepared for the next meeting?’, this will give you some goals to aim for and will remind you that you have people (your supervisors) accompanying you on your academic journey and that you are not on your own. It is important to remember that you will have a supervisory team who want you to succeed and who will try their best to make that happen.