academic phd

Receive job alerts that match your preferences.

462 PhD positions

Find available fellowships, scholarships and programmes here. To have PhD opportunities sent to you the day they're posted, sign up for job alerts.

• PhD positions in Belgium (109)
• PhD positions in The Netherlands (103)
• PhD positions in Germany (56)
• PhD positions in Switzerland (54)
• PhD positions in Finland (31)
• PhD positions in Sweden (27)
• PhD positions in Luxembourg (26)
• PhD positions in Austria (19)
• PhD positions in Norway (17)
• PhD positions in France (13)

Main fields

• PhD positions in Engineering (229)
• PhD positions in Computer Science (157)
• PhD positions in Physics (141)
• PhD positions in Chemistry (117)
• PhD positions in Biology (111)
• PhD positions in Medicine (67)
• PhD positions in Mathematics (62)
• PhD positions in Business and Economics (31)
• PhD positions in Social Science (29)
• PhD positions in Geosciences (25)

Search results (462)

PhD position on quantum sensing of biomolecules and their chemical stimuli (P2403) 100%

For the prestigious PhD school of the Swiss Nanoscience Institute (SNI), we solicit applications for a paid 4-year PhD student position in the Biomolecular Nano-Dynamics group at the Dept. of Chemi...

Ph.D. candidate for modelling & optimising highly efficient drive systems for E-vehicles based on GaN devices

Ph.D. candidate for modelling & optimising highly efficient drive systems for E-vehicles based on GaN devicesThe Laboratory for High Power Electronic Systems (HPE) at the Department of Information ...

Doctoral scholarship holder household financial resilience 1950-1975

Let’s shape the future - University of AntwerpThe University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pio...

PhD PROJECT IN ENDOTHELIAL CELL HETEROGENEITY DURING STROKE

A pre-doctoral position in the context of a KU Leuven competitive 4-year C1 funding project entitled ‘Is the cerebroprotective function of Prdm16 during ischemic stroke mediated by controlling the ...

Marie-Curie (MSCA) PhD position: Optimizing Parameters for Electromagnetic Environment Monitoring (iSense - DC6)

At the M-Group at KU Leuven Bruges Campus, we are driving innovation in interconnected, intelligent mechatronic systems. A dedicated part of our team focuses on electromagnetic risk management, add...

MSCA Doctoral Network DEMINE – Openings for doctoral candidates

The Media Culture & Policy Lab at KU Leuven explores the dynamic intersections of media culture, technology, citizens, and society, fostering positive social change through transdisciplinary collab...

Marie-Curie (MSCA) PhD position: Optimizing EMI monitoring through compressed sensing: reducing sensor deployment for efficient data acquisition (iSense - DC5)

Ph.d. candidate for designing, modelling & optimising charging systems for e-vehicles based on gan devices.

Ph.D. candidate for designing, modelling & optimising charging systems for E-vehicles based on GaN devicesThe Laboratory for High Power Electronic Systems (HPE) at the Department of Information Tec...

Marie-Curie (MSCA) PhD position: Enhancing the dependability of mission-critical system through an advanced data-driven anomaly detection methodology for electromagnetic disturbances (iSense – DC9)

Phd in health monitoring of aircraft structures and systems.

Applications are invited for a PhD fellowship. This PhD is situated in a joint project between the Departments of Mechanical and Materials Engineering of the KU Leuven - Campus Ghent, to fully cove...

PhD Position on ‘Linking Locus Coeruleus Function to Sleep, Brain Function and Health, and Autonomic Control in Humans’

PhD Position on ‘Linking Locus Coeruleus Function to Sleep, Brain Function and Health, and Autonomic Control in Humans’The Neural Control of Movement Lab at ETH Zurich (Department of Health Science...

PhD student position: quantum sensing of biomolecules and their chemical stimuli.

For the prestigious PhD school of the Swiss Nanoscience Institute, we solicit applications for a paid 4-year PhD student position in the Biomolecular Nano-Dynamics group at the Dept. of Chemistry a...

PhD/Researcher position: Privacy Engineering through Source Code Analysis

DistriNet is a leading research group specializing in secure and distributed software, embedded in the KU Leuven Department of Computer Science. With over 100 researchers, including 15 full-time pr...

PhD position: Development of a work-place curriculum for the efficient training of heat pump installers

Job descriptionThis project aims at effective up- and reskilling of heat pump installers through the  development of a technology-enhanced workplace learning curriculum. The ideal candidate should ...

PhD Position in Craft-Inspired Robotic Fabrication

The research groups Research[x]Design at the Department of Architecture, and Robotics at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, are offering a fully-funded, 4-year PhD position at KU Leuven univ...

PhD/Researcher position: Decentralized Data Sharing Middleware for Data Spaces

PhD in 3 years: Doctoral Researcher in Nanomedicine Based Cancer Therapy

The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 3,600 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based ed...

PhD Position Additive Manufacturing and Concrete Modeling

The Faculty of Engineering Technology, located on Campus De Nayer (Sint-Katelijne-Waver), and the Department of Civil Engineering of the Science Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven, invit...

Doctoral scholarship holder to join the research group: Natural Products and Food Research and Analysis

Let’s shape the future - University of AntwerpThe University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking, university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20000 students, conduct pi...

PhD: Automated Testing of Autonomous Satellite

About the SnTSnT is a leading international research and innovation centre in secure, reliable and trustworthy ICT systems and services. We play an instrumental role in Luxembourg by fueling innova...

Doctoral Researcher, Memory Politics

 The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä is seeking to recruit:A Doctoral Researcher in Memory Politics for a fixed term of 3 years, starting on January 2nd 202...

Doctoral scholarship holder terrestrial ecosystem ecology

Let’s shape the future - University of AntwerpThe University of Antwerp is a dynamic, forward-thinking university. We offer an innovative academic education to more than 20 000 students, conduct pi...

PhD Thesis Student (f/m) on ID06-LVP in the Matter at Extremes Group

The European Synchrotron, the ESRF, is an international research centre based in Grenoble, France.Through its innovative engineering, pioneering scientific vision and a strong commitment from its 700 staff members, the ESRF is recognised as one of...

PhD student Exploring spatial (re)presentations and imaginations through image-making

BackgroundArcK is the research group of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts that focuses on research in architecture and interior architecture. We conduct fundamental and applied research on the b...

PhD position (f/m/d): Large-scale weather effects in wind farm simulations

Job descriptionThis PhD project is part of the ERC Consolidator Grant project WINDFLOW, which strives to develop groundbreaking large-eddy simulation strategies for wind farm flows. Joining our tea...

PhD Student on ID03 in the Structure of Materials group

Phd scholarship within the project coloring white habits.

Looking for a creative PhD opportunity that engages Religion and Diversity? This project incorporates Arts Based Research with Participative Action Research to observe and analyze representation fo...

PhD Research Fellows in Civil and Structural Engineering

About the positionA 100 % position is available at the University of Agder, Faculty of Engineering and Science as a PhD Research Fellow within Civil and Structural engineering, for a period of three years. The position is affiliated with the Depar...

PhD on hardware design of RDC for Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers (E2GO DC1)

Position PhD-studentIrène Curie Fellowship NoDepartment(s) Electrical EngineeringFTE 1,0Date off 01/09/2024Reference number V36.7646Job descriptionResearch Programme Description“E2GO– Cost-reduction of EV fast-charging station to enable large-scal...

Multi OMICS analysis of idiopatic pulmonary fibrosis

The BREATHE laboratory (group of Dr Laurens De Sadeleer, Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Unit) has an open PhD position for a highly motivated researcher to investigate lung fibrosis through state-...

Jobs by field

• Programming Languages 175
• Electrical Engineering 164
• Machine Learning 162
• Artificial Intelligence 151
• Molecular Biology 131
• Electronics 125
• Cell Biology 123
• Materials Engineering 119
• Computational Sciences 115
• Mechanical Engineering 98

Jobs by type

• Postdoc 318
• Assistant / Associate Professor 157
• Researcher 111
• Professor 106
• Tenure Track 63
• Lecturer / Senior Lecturer 60
• Engineer 59
• Management / Leadership 54
• Research assistant 42

Jobs by country

• Belgium 236
• The Netherlands 158
• Germany 116
• Morocco 106
• Switzerland 96
• Luxembourg 79

Jobs by employer

• Mohammed VI Polytechnic Unive... 106
• KU Leuven 91
• University of Luxembourg 77
• Eindhoven University of Techn... 60
• Ghent University 44
• ETH Zürich 42
• KTH Royal Institute of Techno... 38
• Silicon Austria Labs (SAL) 30
• University of Twente 28

The aspiring academic’s career path from PhD to professor

If you have just finished your PhD or postdoc and realised that an academic career needs more than published papers and teaching, Jan Buermann has advice on how to kick-start progress up the ladder

Jan Buermann

• More on this topic

Created in partnership with

You may also like

Popular resources

.css-1txxx8u{overflow:hidden;max-height:81px;text-indent:0px;} Change is coming, whether higher education likes it or not

Is it worth paying for genai, emotions and learning: what role do emotions play in how and why students learn, teaching international students about academic integrity, ai and assessment redesign: a four-step process.

Let’s start with an oversimplification of a difficult part of any academic’s life: that a PhD degree only certifies that you are knowledgeable and have some understanding of how personal research should be conducted. To progress further in academia, you will need to show a few more skills – hard and soft – to get hired and promoted .

So, how do you become the jack-of-all-trades scholar, as represented by Vitae’s researcher development framework ? How do you navigate a sector beset with ever shorter contracts, staffing cuts and rising expectations from early career researchers (ECRs)? 

The answer is planning and executing a few key steps. Here are practical tips, collected from supporting researchers like you, to set you on track to becoming a future leader with impactful research .

• Read more: Resources for every step of your academic career
• Advice for growing into an academic leadership role
• Three cornerstones of a successful research career

A career in academia is often perceived as a straightforward progression, even if it is not the easiest route to follow. 

• Get a PhD. 
• Drone away in two to three postdoc positions. 
• Become a lecturer. 
• Get promoted through increasingly senior roles up to a professorship.

By step two, and definitely to make it to step three, you will need a portfolio of evidence showing your diverse skill set. 

Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against you. When do you build your career if your university and your boss want you to spend 100 per cent of your time on the bottom end of producing research that increases their rankings? The answer is: know what you need and mould that into alignment with your university and your boss.

Find the pathway from goals to promotion

Let’s start with the clich é . Who are you? Who do you want to be? What is needed to connect those two? 

First, look at your short- and long-term goals. Consider whether you want a traditional route that balances teaching and research or if you want to focus on one or the other – or more on impact and enterprise . Many universities have different pathways. But be aware that non-teaching positions are often on fixed-term contracts and you may have to find your own funding . Also, be broader earlier in your career; you might want to adjust your focus later. 

Second, find the requirements to get promoted (or hired). Universities will have lists of requirements of hard and soft targets that you can check. A hard target would be having supervised at least one PhD student ; a soft target would be a suggestion that you have done a public engagement or a knowledge exchange activity. 

Last, you can start matching what you have done with what you need. You can be creative about it, such as presenting your endless invitations for reviewing as a sign of your international reputation. Make a list of what you still need to do and then start ticking things off.

Find support

To make building an academic career easier for yourself, try to work in a supportive environment. Don’t choose your university, research group and boss based on science alone. You may find that your boss might not be helpful beyond your association with them.

Find people who are genuinely happy to actively support you and discuss your career with you. It’s also OK if they are forced to do this. At least in the UK, more and more grants require projects to support the career-building of involved researchers or promote female leadership . So, check the small print of your contract and your boss’ grants.

Another option is dedicated career development opportunities or projects. If you are in the UK, your university might be a signatory of the Research Concordat , which requires the university to give you time to develop your career. Moreover, UKRI and Research England support postdoctoral development and have funded research development frameworks such as C-DICE .

Grab any chance to demonstrate your skill set

Now that you have found a supportive environment, take up all opportunities that help you and which your time allows. Maybe your boss will give you tasks that align with your requirements (make sure they are not just administrative tasks your boss does not want to do). 

The best thing you can do is run small, somewhat independent projects; they do not have to be massive, especially if you have just finished your PhD. For example, if you want to show you can manage a project with a budget, organising a public engagement activity with £100 to £200 awarded to you would mean you have planned, managed and evaluated a project and used money effectively. Moreover, even if you are just an ECR on a fixed-term contract, there are more opportunities to run small-scale or pump-priming projects for upwards of £2,000. 

Another good option is to join professional societies , working groups or committees and actively participate. That often allows you to organise events, solve complex problems and network, which are all skills and expertise usually needed for promotions.

Forge your own opportunities

Maybe your environment is not that supportive. In that case, think how you can use what your boss wants to achieve. Their research vision or the vision of the grant that pays you might be bigger than to simply churn out research as demanded. Have that vision in mind and align it with your research vision. Start developing a vision now because you need one as a researcher, then use that to convince them that if you spend time on “your” work, you are doing “their” work.

Finally, if there are no readily available opportunities, including via committees, make your own. My research group had no conference for students, so I started one. This is not part of my job, but it allowed me to evidence leadership, support of the academic unit and team management.

So, what are the takeaways? Determine what you want and need. Find people and places that support you. Grab opportunities as they reveal themselves (do not overload yourself, though). Forge your destiny in your own way. And don’t forget to publish high-impact papers on the way.

Jan Buermann is research fellow in citizen-centric AI systems in the Agents, Interaction and Complexity Group at the University of Southampton.

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter .

The iScanner app supports the academic community in information sharing and management

Change is coming, whether higher education likes it or not, use ai to get your students thinking critically, a diy guide to starting your own journal, artificial intelligence and academic integrity: striking a balance, contextual learning: linking learning to the real world.

Register for free

and unlock a host of features on the THE site

• What is a PhD?

Written by Mark Bennett

A PhD is a doctoral research degree and the highest level of academic qualification you can achieve. The degree normally takes between three and four years of full-time work towards a thesis offering an original contribution to your subject.

This page explains what a PhD is, what it involves and what you need to know if you’re considering applying for a PhD research project , or enrolling on a doctoral programme .

On this page

The meaning of a phd.

The PhD can take on something of a mythic status. Are they only for geniuses? Do you have to discover something incredible? Does the qualification make you an academic? And are higher research degrees just for people who want to be academics?

Even the full title, ‘Doctor of Philosophy’, has a somewhat mysterious ring to it. Do you become a doctor? Yes, but not that kind of doctor. Do you have to study Philosophy? No (not unless you want to) .

So, before going any further, let's explain what the term 'PhD' actually means and what defines a doctorate.

What does PhD stand for?

PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy. This is one of the highest level academic degrees that can be awarded. PhD is an abbreviation of the Latin term (Ph)ilosophiae (D)octor. Traditionally the term ‘philosophy’ does not refer to the subject but its original Greek meaning which roughly translates to ‘lover of wisdom’.

What is a doctorate?

A doctorate is any qualification that awards a doctoral degree. In order to qualify for one you need to produce advanced work that makes a significant new contribution to knowledge in your field. Doing so earns you the title 'Doctor' – hence the name.

So, is a PhD different to a doctorate? No. A PhD is a type of doctorate .

The PhD is the most common type of doctorate and is awarded in almost all subjects at universities around the world. Other doctorates tend to be more specialised or for more practical and professional projects.

Essentially, all PhDs are doctorates, but not all doctorates are PhDs.

Do you need a Masters to get a PhD?

Not necessarily. It's common for students in Arts and the Humanities to complete an MA (Master of Arts) before starting a PhD in order to acquire research experience and techniques. Students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) don't always need an MS/MSc (Master of Science) to do a PhD as you'll gain training in lab techniques and other skills during your undergraduate degree.

Whether a Masters is a requirement for a PhD also varies by country. Australian PhDs may require a Masters as the equivalent of their own 'honours year' (where students work on research). US PhD programmes often include a Masters.

We have a whole guide dedicated to helping you decide whether a PhD without a Masters is the right route for you.

The origin of the PhD

Despite its name, the PhD isn't actually an Ancient Greek degree. Instead it's a much more recent development. The PhD as we know it was developed in nineteenth-century Germany, alongside the modern research university.

Higher education had traditionally focussed on mastery of an existing body of scholarship and the highest academic rank available was, appropriately enough, a Masters degree.

As the focus shifted more onto the production of new knowledge and ideas, the PhD degree was brought in to recognise those who demonstrated the necessary skills and expertise.

The PhD process – what's required to get a PhD?

The typical length of a PhD is three to four years full-time, or five to six years part-time.

Unlike most Masters courses (or all undergraduate programmes), a PhD is a pure research degree. But that doesn’t mean you’ll just spend years locked away in a library or laboratory. In fact, the modern PhD is a diverse and varied qualification with many different components.

Whereas the second or third year of a taught degree look quite a lot like the first (with more modules and coursework at a higher level) a PhD moves through a series of stages.

A typical PhD normally involves:

• Carrying out a literature review (a survey of current scholarship in your field).
• Conducting original research and collecting your results .
• Producing a thesis that presents your conclusions.
• Writing up your thesis and submitting it as a dissertation .
• Defending your thesis in an oral viva voce exam.

These stages vary a little between subjects and universities, but they tend to fall into the same sequence over the three years of a typical full-time PhD.

The first year of a PhD

The beginning of a PhD is all about finding your feet as a researcher and getting a solid grounding in the current scholarship that relates to your topic.

You’ll have initial meetings with your supervisor and discuss a plan of action based on your research proposal.

The first step in this will almost certainly be carrying out your literature review . With the guidance of your supervisor you’ll begin surveying and evaluating existing scholarship. This will help situate your research and ensure your work is original.

Your literature review will provide a logical jumping off point for the beginning of your own research and the gathering of results . This could involve designing and implementing experiments, or getting stuck into a pile of primary sources.

The year may end with an MPhil upgrade . This occurs when PhD students are initially registered for an MPhil degree and then ‘upgraded’ to PhD candidates upon making sufficient progress. You’ll submit material from your literature review, or a draft of your research findings and discuss these with members of your department in an upgrade exam . All being well, you’ll then continue with your research as a PhD student.

PhDs in other countries

The information on the page is based on the UK. Most countries follow a similar format, but there are some differences. In the USA , for example, PhD students complete reading assignments and examinations before beginning their research. You can find out more in our guides to PhD study around the world .

The second year of a PhD

Your second year will probably be when you do most of your core research. The process for this will vary depending on your field, but your main focus will be on gathering results from experiments, archival research, surveys or other means.

As your research develops, so will the thesis (or argument) you base upon it. You may even begin writing up chapters or other pieces that will eventually form part of your dissertation .

You’ll still be having regular meetings with your supervisor. They’ll check your progress, provide feedback on your ideas and probably read any drafts your produce.

The second year is also an important stage for your development as a scholar. You’ll be well versed in current research and have begun to collect some important data or develop insights of your own. But you won’t yet be faced with the demanding and time-intensive task of finalising your dissertation.

So, this part of your PhD is a perfect time to think about presenting your work at academic conferences , gaining teaching experience or perhaps even selecting some material for publication in an academic journal. You can read more about these kinds of activities below.

The third year of a PhD

The third year of a PhD is sometimes referred to as the writing up phase.

Traditionally, this is the final part of your doctorate, during which your main task will be pulling together your results and honing your thesis into a dissertation .

In reality, it’s not always as simple as that.

It’s not uncommon for final year PhD students to still be fine-tuning experiments, collecting results or chasing up a few extra sources. This is particularly likely if you spend part of your second year focussing on professional development.

In fact, some students actually take all or part of a fourth year to finalise their dissertation. Whether you are able to do this will depend on the terms of your enrolment – and perhaps your PhD funding .

Eventually though, you are going to be faced with writing up your thesis and submitting your dissertation.

Your supervisor will be very involved in this process. They’ll read through your final draft and let you know when they think your PhD is ready for submission.

All that’s left then is your final viva voce oral exam. This is a formal discussion and defence of your thesis involving at least one internal and external examiner. It’s normally the only assessment procedure for a PhD. Once you’ve passed, you’ve done it!

Looking for more information about the stages of a PhD?

How do you go about completing a literature review? What's it like to do PhD research? And what actually happens at an MPhil upgrade? You can find out more in our detailed guide to the PhD journey .

Doing a PhD – what's it actually like?

You can think of the ‘stages’ outlined above as the basic ‘roadmap’ for a PhD, but the actual ‘journey’ you’ll take as a research student involves a lot of other sights, a few optional destinations and at least one very important fellow passenger.

Carrying out research

Unsurprisingly, you’ll spend most of your time as a PhD researcher… researching your PhD. But this can involve a surprisingly wide range of activities.

The classic image of a student working away in the lab, or sitting with a pile of books in the library is true some of the time – particularly when you’re monitoring experiments or conducting your literature review.

Your PhD can take you much further afield though. You may find yourself visiting archives or facilities to examine their data or look at rare source materials. You could even have the opportunity to spend an extended period ‘in residence’ at a research centre or other institution beyond your university.

Research is also far from being a solitary activity. You’ll have regular discussions with your supervisor (see below) but you may also work with other students from time to time.

This is particularly likely if you’re part of a larger laboratory or workshop group studying the same broad area. But it’s also common to collaborate with students whose projects are more individual. You might work on shorter projects of joint interest, or be part of teams organising events and presentations.

Many universities also run regular internal presentation and discussion groups – a perfect way to get to know other PhD students in your department and offer feedback on each other’s work in progress.

Working with your supervisor

All PhD projects are completed with the guidance of at least one academic supervisor . They will be your main point of contact and support throughout the PhD.

Your supervisor will be an expert in your general area of research, but they won’t have researched on your exact topic before (if they had, your project wouldn’t be original enough for a PhD).

As such, it’s better to think of your supervisor as a mentor, rather than a teacher.

As a PhD student you’re now an independent and original scholar, pushing the boundaries of your field beyond what is currently known (and taught) about it. You’re doing all of this for the first time, of course. But your supervisor isn’t.

They’ll know what’s involved in managing an advanced research project over three years (or more). They’ll know how best to succeed, but they’ll also know what can go wrong and how to spot the warning signs before it does.

Perhaps most importantly, they’ll be someone with the time and expertise to listen to your ideas and help provide feedback and encouragement as you develop your thesis.

Exact supervision arrangements vary between universities and between projects:

• In Science and Technology projects it’s common for a supervisor to be the lead investigator on a wider research project, with responsibility for a laboratory or workshop that includes several PhD students and other researchers.
• In Arts and Humanities subjects, a supervisor’s research is more separate from their students’. They may supervise more than one PhD at a time, but each project is essentially separate.

It’s also becoming increasingly common for PhD students to have two (or more) supervisors. The first is usually responsible for guiding your academic research whilst the second is more concerned with the administration of your PhD – ensuring you complete any necessary training and stay on track with your project’s timetable.

However you’re supervised, you’ll have regular meetings to discuss work and check your progress. Your supervisor will also provide feedback on work during your PhD and will play an important role as you near completion: reading your final dissertation draft, helping you select an external examiner and (hopefully) taking you out for a celebratory drink afterwards!

Professional development, networking and communication

Traditionally, the PhD has been viewed as a training process, preparing students for careers in academic research.

As such, it often includes opportunities to pick up additional skills and experiences that are an important part of a scholarly CV. Academics don’t just do research after all. They also teach students, administrate departments – and supervise PhDs.

The modern PhD is also viewed as a more flexible qualification. Not all doctoral graduates end up working in higher education. Many follow alternative careers that are either related to their subject of specialism or draw upon the advanced research skills their PhD has developed.

PhD programmes have begun to reflect this. Many now emphasise transferrable skills or include specific training units designed to help students communicate and apply their research beyond the university.

What all of this means is that very few PhD experiences are just about researching and writing up a thesis.

The likelihood is that you’ll also do some (or all) of the following during your PhD:

The work is usually paid and is increasingly accompanied by formal training and evaluation.

Conference presentation

As a PhD student you’ll be at the cutting edge of your field, doing original research and producing new results. This means that your work will be interest to other scholars and that your results could be worth presenting at academic conferences .

Doing this is very worthwhile, whatever your career plans. You’ll develop transferrable skills in public speaking and presenting, gain feedback on your results and begin to be recognised as an expert in your area.

Conferences are also great places to network with other students and academics.

Publication

As well as presenting your research, you may also have the opportunity to publish work in academic journals, books, or other media. This can be a challenging process.

Your work will be judged according to the same high standards as any other scholar’s and will normally go through extensive peer review processes. But it’s also highly rewarding. Seeing your work ‘in print’ is an incredible validation of your PhD research and a definite boost to your academic CV.

Public engagement and communication

Academic work may be associated with the myth of the ‘ivory tower’ – an insular community of experts focussing on obscure topics of little interest outside the university. But this is far from the case. More and more emphasis is being placed on the ‘impact’ of research and its wider benefits to the public – with funding decisions being made accordingly.

Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities to try your hand at public engagement as a PhD student. Universities are often involved in local events and initiatives to communicate the benefits of their research, ranging from workshops in local schools to public lectures and presentations.

Some PhD programmes include structured training in order to help students with activities such as the above. Your supervisor may also be able to help by identifying suitable conferences and public engagement opportunities, or by involving you in appropriate university events and public engagement initiatives.

These experiences will be an important part of your development as a researchers - and will enhance the value of your PhD regardless of your career plans.

What is a PhD for – and who should study one?

So, you know what a PhD actually is, what’s involved in completing one and what you might get up to whilst you do. That just leaves one final question: should you do a PhD?

Unfortunately, it’s not a question we can answer for you.

A PhD is difficult and uniquely challenging. It requires at least three years of hard work and dedication after you’ve already completed an undergraduate degree (and probably a Masters degree too).

You’ll need to support yourself during those years and, whilst you will be building up an impressive set of skills, you won’t be directly progressing in a career.

But a PhD is also immensely rewarding. It’s your chance to make a genuine contribution to the sum of human knowledge and produce work that other researchers can (and will) build on in future. However obscure your topic feels, there’s really no such thing as a useless PhD.

A PhD is also something to be incredibly proud of. A proportionately tiny number of people go on to do academic work at this level. Whatever you end up doing after your doctorate you’ll have an impressive qualification – and a title to match. What’s more, non-academic careers and professions are increasingly recognising the unique skills and experience a PhD brings.

Other PhDs - do degree titles matter?

The PhD is the oldest and most common form of higher research degree, but a few alternatives are available. Some, such as the DPhil are essentially identical to a PhD. Others, such as the Professional Doctorate or DBA are slightly different. You can find out more in our guide to types of PhD .

Is a PhD for me?

There’s more advice on the value of a PhD – and good reasons for studying one – elsewhere in this section. But the following are some quick tips if you’re just beginning to consider a PhD.

Speak to your lecturers / tutors

The best people to ask about PhD study are people who’ve earned one. Ask staff at your current or previous university about their experience of doctoral research – what they enjoyed, what they didn’t and what their tips might be.

If you’re considering a PhD for an academic career, ask about that too. Are job prospects good in your field? And what’s it really like to work at a university?

Speak to current PhD students

Want to know what it’s like studying a PhD right now? Or what it’s like doing research at a particular university? Ask someone who knows.

Current PhD students were just like you a year or two ago and most will be happy to answer questions.

If you can’t get in touch with any students ‘face to face’, pop over to the Postgraduate Forum – you’ll find plenty of students there who are happy to chat about postgraduate research.

Take a look at advertised projects and programmes

This may seem like a strange suggestion. After all, you’re only going to study one PhD, so what’s the point of reading about lots of others?

Well, looking at the details of different PhD projects is a great way to get a general sense of what PhD research is like. You’ll see what different PhDs tend to have in common and what kinds of unique opportunity might be available to you.

And, with thousands of PhDs in our database , you’re already in a great place to start.

Read our other advice articles

Finally, you can also check out some of the other advice on the FindAPhD website. We’ve looked at some good (and bad) reasons for studying a PhD as well as the value of a doctorate to different career paths.

More generally, you can read our in-depth look at a typical PhD journey , or find out more about specific aspects of doctoral study such as working with a supervisor or writing your dissertation .

We add new articles all the time – the best way to stay up to date is by signing up for our free PhD opportunity newsletter .

Ready to find your PhD?

Head on over to our PhD search listings to learn what opportunities are on offer within your discipline.

Our postgrad newsletter shares courses, funding news, stories and advice

Mark bennett.

Mark joined FindAPhD to develop our first ever advice articles in 2013 and now serves as our Director of Audience & Editorial, making sure our websites and information are as useful as possible for people thinking about Masters and PhD study. He has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Sheffield, as well as Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Kent and the University of South Wales.

You may also like...

What happens during a typical PhD, and when? We've summarised the main milestones of your PhD journey to show you how to get a PhD.

The PhD thesis is the most important part of a doctoral degree. This page will introduce you to what you need to know about the PhD dissertation.

This page will give you an idea of what to expect from your routine as a PhD student, explaining how your daily life will look at you progress through a doctoral degree.

PhD fees can vary based on subject, university and location. Use our guide to find out the PhD fees in the UK and other destinations, as well as doctoral living costs.

FindAPhD. Copyright 2005-2024 All rights reserved.

Unknown    ( change )

Have you got time to answer some quick questions about PhD study?

Select your nearest city

You haven’t completed your profile yet. To get the most out of FindAPhD, finish your profile and receive these benefits:

• Monthly chance to win one of ten £10 Amazon vouchers ; winners will be notified every month.*
• The latest PhD projects delivered straight to your inbox
• Access to our £6,000 scholarship competition
• Weekly newsletter with funding opportunities, research proposal tips and much more
• Early access to our physical and virtual postgraduate study fairs

Or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

or begin browsing FindAPhD.com

*Offer only available for the duration of your active subscription, and subject to change. You MUST claim your prize within 72 hours, if not we will redraw.

Create your account

Looking to list your PhD opportunities? Log in here .