Welcome to the PhD Life Blog
Real voices. Real research. Real life.
Doctoral research is one of the most challenging, surprising, and rewarding journeys a person can take — and this is the space where we talk about all of it, honestly.
The PhD Life Blog is written by and for the Warwick doctoral community. You'll find personal stories, practical insights, and candid reflections from researchers at every stage of their journey — from the first bewildering weeks of a PhD to the triumphant (and nerve-wracking) final viva. No polished press releases here; just authentic voices from the people living and breathing research every day.
Who is this blog for?
Whether you're a current postgraduate researcher navigating your thesis, a member of staff walking alongside PGRs on their academic journey, or an undergraduate just beginning to wonder "could I do a PhD?"— you're in exactly the right place. These stories are for anyone curious about what doctoral life really looks like from the inside.
So pull up a chair. There's a lot to explore.
Want to contribute your own story? We'd love to hear from you — get in touch with the Doctoral College to find out how to get involved.
Getting through your PhD First Year Review
It鈥檚 your first year as a PhD student, you鈥檝e gone through the inductions, months go by and you are attending classes as usual. But constantly looming around the minute you start your programme is the upgrade or more formally known as First Year Review. Unlike a Master鈥檚 programme, the first year review is pivotal in determining whether you can actually design and carry out a study that you will be working on for the next 2-3 years. Needless to say, it can feel daunting.
So, I thought it would be good to share the experience of the process that could maybe make some of us feel a little less alone. I come from the Department of Politics and International Studies which has its own set of required documents and presentation format so do check your own department鈥檚 PhD handbook for up to date relevant information on what your first year review requires from you.
At first, the process first felt exciting for me because I could finally design my own project. When you have spent a long time carrying out research projects for others, it feels good to be able to design your own study for what you are most interested in. Receiving feedback and ideas from my supervisors felt great too, adding to that sense of momentum.
However, the elation screeched to a halt when it was time to carry out the literature review. I suddenly felt overwhelmed. That was because I had so many ideas but each aspect of the project needed to be extensively grounded in a literature review. Not only do you now have copious amounts of reading to do with possibly no end in sight, you also have to make a critical assessment of what is missing in the literature. I found it difficult to assert confidently that my proposed study was filling in a very important literature gap in a sea of brilliant works that I have enjoyed reading and, in fact, inspired the design of my project.
That said, as you will need to engage with a great deal of the literature, it is important to allow yourself copious amounts of time to just read. There will come a time when you will find yourself recognising the journal articles and books recurring across sources, and that is when you know you have some grasp of the field. It will take a while but you will get there. I used to get so stressed in finding specific information that would enhance my argument and when I just couldn鈥檛 find it anywhere, I eventually realised, that鈥檚 a good thing. That absence is the gap that I can build my arguments on.
Therefore, the task of preparing for the first year review is not something that can be crammed into a few months of intensive reading. I find it also comes from a mix of attending conferences, ensuring you have enough material to discuss with your supervisors, engaging with other PhD students on the same journey with you, and allowing
yourself to write and rewrite as you learn more. It is a process where you have to be patient with yourself. I like to think of it as learning a new instrument where you already know the basics and a little bit of music theory, now you need to understand how others arrange their music in order for you to compose your own. And composing your own music takes a lot of trial and error.
Finally, do not overlook the research ethics forms as well. Rather than treating it as another form to fill out in the last month, it can be an important point of reflection on your study鈥檚 methodology. I found it especially helpful to come to it when I was feeling stuck in preparing for my first year review. They鈥檙e also an important exercise in reflexivity, in acknowledging your own positionality and assumptions and ensuring your research protects the rights and welfare of your participants.
Through all of this, the most important thing I can offer is the clich茅: trust the process. There will be days when your research feels directionless, when your arguments seem to fall apart the more you read, or when everyone around you appears to be further along than you. However, these moments of confusion and struggle are shared and dare I say, a necessary part in developing as a researcher.