Childcare

Combining parenting with doctoral studies is big challenge, but many researchers overcome it successfully. There are childcare facilities available on campus for either long-term bookings or half-day sessions.

Make sure your supervisor is aware of any parental responsibilities, as it’s often possible to schedule meetings to suit your commitments or to catch up by phone or Skype. It’s not unreasonable to request flexibility, so long as you’ve provided enough notice.

Some of the training opportunities through the Researcher Development Programme are available as webinars or online modules, and some take place at the weekends.

In this video, Dr Lucy Robinson explains how she coped as a single parent while studying for a PhD:

[Read the transcript]