A day in life of a PhD student

7.00am

Wakey wakey! It’s yet another beautiful  sunny morning in Norwich. The birds are singing, the trees are starting to bloom and you can smell the spring in the air!

I make myself a smoothie and watch BBC news.

7.45am

I like to start my day with going for a run or to the swimming pool.  Today is a pool day, so I get my stuff together, hop into my car and drive to UEA Sportspark.

 

I live 10 minutes away from campus in a quiet residential area of Norwich. Since Norwich is not awfully big, wherever you live is usually a convenient distance from both the city centre and the university, meaning you don’t have to waste a lot of time on going to places. Although I prefer to drive, there are many other alternatives, like taking a bus or cycling. Busses run frequently between the city and the university, and there are multiple bicycle routes throughout Norwich.

8.00am

UEA Sportspark is not a regular university sport centre, it’s huge, has an Olympic size swimming pool, newly refurbished gym with all the latest sports equipment, studios for group classes,gymnastics hall, squash courts and much more.

I swim for an hour, take a shower and get back home.

10.00am

I make myself breakfast, cup of tea and start studying. Unlike UG and PG students, as a PhD student, I do not have that many classes, so I mainly study at home or at the library.

UEA library is very contemporary and progressive, you don’t even need to physically be there to get the books and academic articles that you need, as you can access most of them online. It is incredibly useful, especially for students like me, who prefer to study in the peace and quiet of their own home.

2.00pm

I am back to campus to meet with my supervisors. These meetings take place every 2-4 weeks when you are on your first year of PhD and then less frequent after that. I discuss my ideas and concerns, get feedback for the work I’ve done so far and work out a plan of action for the next couple of weeks.  Yes, more reading and writing ahead!

After the meeting is finished I have a few spare minutes and I decide to take a brief walk around campus. UEA’s campus is very green and very spacious, creating a pleasant and nice environment to study. The walk helps me to sort out my thoughts after the meeting, and have a clearer structure of ideas in my head. Depending on the time of a day, you can spot a few or a lot of rabbits on your way. Today I saw a rabbit and two squirrels. As usual, it makes me smile and take out my phone to take a picture and send it to my friends back home.

 

 

3.00pm

It’s Monday, which means the Research Seminar day! Every week each school holds a research seminar for PhD students. Some weeks students present their papers to the rest of the faculty, other weeks the university invites visiting speakers.

Today we will get a chance to meet Professor Charles Barr, who will give a talk on Irish-American director John Ford and the handling of dialogue in his films, focusing on the linguistic patterns of names and naming.

5.00pm

It is our tradition to go for a drink every Monday after the research seminar. It gives students a chance to talk to each other, as well as academic staff in a more relaxed and informal atmosphere. UEA provides a perfect space for such meetings, which is the Grad bar. It is dedicated to postgraduate mature students, and unlike the Pub on campus, offers a quieter environment for socialising.

 

8.00pm

I am back home. I cook dinner, watch TV or read a book, chat with my parents on skype and prepare for another busy but exciting day ahead.


Have a great day everyone, whether it's a study day or a work day or even better a day off!

Best,
Ksenia, Russian Ambassador for UEA