Description: In this blog article, Classics and Latin tutor Matas offers a compelling insight into the fascinating world of life as a PhD student at Oxford.
Receiving an offer to write one’s PhD at the University of Oxford is indeed a very exciting moment.
I can certainly say that it was so for me, and I will always be immensely grateful for such an opportunity.
However, matters quickly turn from exciting to daunting once you actually begin.
The research proposal falls apart upon first contact with secondary literature.
You find yourself at a loss as to what comes next, and on top of it all you need to balance this with the need to teach, attend conferences and publish papers, as well as the many exciting events and activities that Oxford is so full of.
So, what to do?
Writing a PhD is a long process.
A process of three to four years of consistent research on one topic, of writing and re-writing what will ultimately amount to one’s biggest work of scholarship yet.
But as they say, every great journey starts with the first step.
It is a platitude, but one that is very much true for the doctoral student’s experience.
And to this I would also add that every great journey not only starts with the first step, but is a matter of taking step after step throughout.
That is why I would like to take you, dear readers, through a day in my life as a PhD student at the University of Oxford, so that you yourselves may see how one such step looks like from someone who is now at the end of his own journey.
And every single step is indeed important, because three to four years at Oxford is an eternity that passes in the blink of an eye.
Therefore, each day must count.
Don’t Get Carried Away
Now my own PhD is in philosophy, so I cannot speak about the experience of the scientists among us, but what I can say with confidence is that any successful humanities PhD hinges on one’s ability to manage the almost absolute freedom that is afforded to you.
Getting carried away with the many temptations offered by university life is easier than one might think, and it is crucial to give structure to all of your days, and to have the discipline to observe self-set schedules.
I myself like to start my own day not with academics, but with exercise.
I dedicate about an hour and a half of my mornings towards my preferred method of exercise, which is lifting weights at the gym.
It is simple, and it affords independence, meaning that I have flexibility in case I need to change my schedule up.
Oxford is a place catered towards the mind, yes, but the body matters too.
Commitment
Work for me begins come lunchtime (or the morning if I have an off day from the gym), and continues until the late afternoon or early evening, depending on how much I have to do on a given day.
Sometimes it is all just a matter of going to the library, sitting down at a desk, and doing several hours of focused research and writing, whether it be for the thesis, or a side-project such as a conference paper.
It is important to have a dedicated workspace, and as you may have guessed it, that is what the library is for me (I am also very lucky that Corpus Christi – my college, has a beautiful 16th century library that is still in use today).
Doing so allows you to get in the groove more quickly, and to do more quality work in a shorter period of time.
PhD and Tutoring
On other days however, thesis work is interspersed with tutoring undergraduates.
Tutorials at Oxford are one-hour-long sessions where the tutor (who may be a PhD student or a senior academic) and one or two students discuss the students’ essays and explore the topics therein more deeply.
Tutoring requires preparation of its own in terms of reading, marking and commenting essays, as well as taking note of what to discuss in the tutorial itself.
If I happen to have many students on a given term, I try to dedicate an entire day solely towards tutoring.
And if I have fewer, I arrange to have the tutorials in the afternoon, so that I have the morning to prepare, and some time for lunch and thesis work in between.
However, this is only a template, and it is not always possible to follow it perfectly.
After all, the undergraduates are busy people too with schedules of their own, and oftentimes the tutors and students must seek a middle ground that works for both parties.
Unwinding
When the evening comes and the day’s work is done, I head back home for dinner.
I like to cook my own meals, because that way I can keep them and myself healthy, and the process of cooking itself is a great way to unwind.
Depending on the day of the week, and on tomorrow’s tasks, I might spend the rest of the evening at home doing something relaxing (my preference is to either watch classic films or to read a novel and not forget that it’s not just scholarly literature that’s out there).
However, on other occasions, I might go out to an event or to meet friends and have some fun.
For writing a humanities PhD can and oftentimes is a solitary process, and it is important to maintain a social life too.
Final Note
Such is a typical day in my life as a PhD student at Oxford.
I hope, dear readers, that it has given you some valuable insights into what it is like, and perhaps some guidance too for those of you who are considering the same path yourselves but are not too sure about what such a choice entails on a day-to-day basis.
If you’re curious about studying at Oxford, be sure to check out our blog article, How to Prepare for an Interview at Oxford, written by another member of the Telios Tutors team.
By tutor Matas
