Hello, and a very warm welcome! If you’re reading this page, then you are probably a new Doctoral Researcher at the University Sussex. You might not even have started yet, and perhaps just want to get an idea of what PhD life is like. In that case, you’re in the right place.

The purpose of this website is to provide you with all the information and guidance you need to get started on your PhD programme. We cover areas including supervision, networking, wellbeing, progress, training, and lots more. To find out more about how we designed this resource, take a look at the About page. Otherwise, please have a poke around and get yourself acquainted.

We’ve brought together resources from the main Sussex website, and added interviews with current PhD researchers and professional services staff from around campus. They’ll give you lots of advice on making the most of your time here.

You might want to start with a video of a recent event we hosted – 10 Steps to a Better PhD with Dr Nathan Ryder.  In a lively and informative talk, Nathan shares lots of tips based on his own studies and his experience of having worked with thousands of other doctoral researchers.

And you could also take a look at highlights from Angel Productions’s PhD Survival Guide (Sussex login required).

In this video, a wide range of researchers and staff reveal what they wish they’d known when they started their PhD: