The Doctoral College

19/10/2026

Thinking about doing a PhD, but not sure where to start? 🎓

We're running a series of webinars designed to help prospective postgraduate researchers navigate three of the biggest questions:

🔎 Finding a PhD – identifying the right research opportunity and supervisor

💷 Funding a PhD – understanding studentships and other funding routes

📝 Applying for a PhD – what to consider when putting together your application

Whether you're currently studying at Southampton or exploring your next steps from elsewhere, these sessions will help demystify the journey from 'interested in a PhD' to 'ready to apply'

👉 Find out more and register to attend: https://bit.ly/4zF3SdW

14/10/2026

Our Beyond the Doctorate programme is back for the 2026-27 academic year, providing doctoral researchers with a comprehensive range of careers support

Whether PGRs are considering a career in academia, industry, the public sector or beyond, the programme will help researchers build the skills, confidence, and connections needed to shape their future

Upcoming workshops include:
- Exploring researcher futures
- Applying for jobs in academia
- Applying for industry and public sector jobs
- Job hunting beyond academia

Find out more and book your place: https://bit.ly/4zBDBNS

05/10/2026

PGRs, fancy a cuppa? ☕

Join us tomorrow for a relaxed morning of coffee & connection. Our PGR coffee mornings are a great chance to meet your fellow PGRs and the DC team.

So whether you simply fancy a chat, or have any questions, you are welcome to join us:
➡️ When: Tues 6 Oct, 10.30am - 12pm
➡️ Where: The Faith & Reflection Centre, Building 4, Highfield Campus

23/09/2026

Today was the first Induction Day for all our new PGRs 🎉

We wish you a warm welcome and hope that today was a great start to your time studying a PhD at Southampton - we look forward to having you!

If you have any queries and you're unsure where to look, the PGR Handbook is a useful guide: https://sotonac.sharepoint.com/teams/PGRhandbook

Or please feel free to email us at: [email protected]

Also look out for the Doctoral College Digest (an email newsletter to all of our PGRs that keeps you up-to-date with all the latest info & opportunities) -
Coming to an inbox near you on Tuesday 29th September 😎

21/09/2026

🎉Well done to our MINDS & SustAI PGRs for demonstrating at the British Science Festival! 🎉

On Saturday 19th, they showcased their research projects and engaged with members of the public of all ages to show how AI can be used to solve real-world problems

We're proud of their hard work in both the research they've conducted, and in working to bridge the gap between academia and public involvement

See here to find out more about the work of MINDS: https://lnkd.in/eQAHM5av

Find out more about SustAI: https://www.sustai.info/

18/09/2026

The British Science Festival is here! This week has seen plenty of fun events hosted across the University - but there's still lots more to come 🙌

Our MINDS & SustAI PGRs will be demonstrating their research projects tomorrow, on Saturday 19th at the Sir James Matthews Building in the city centre

Visit us if you'd like to learn how our PGRs are putting AI to use to help people & the planet

See here for more info:

The British Science Festival is one of Europe’s longest-running science festivals, hosted at a new location each year. The Festival provides a platform for …

16/09/2026

📢 PGRs, are you interested in Open Research, reproducibility, and improving research culture? 📢

The Southampton ReproducibiliTea Journal Club is an informal cross-disciplinary community that promotes Open Research and conversations about reproducibility, transparency and research culture.

The club is looking for PGR volunteers to help run sessions, promote events, and contribute ideas. No prior experience of Open Research is necessary, just an interest in building a supportive research community.

By becoming a PGR representative, you’ll gain knowledge and skills of good research practice that can directly benefit your own research, while gaining experience that can strengthen your CV.

Contact Anna Korzeniowska (Engagement Librarian) to find out more:
[email protected]

14/09/2026

Meet Mandy, a PGR in the Faculty of Environmental Life Sciences and a Black Futures Scholar.

She undertook a three-month internship in Saint Lucia jointly funded by Public Policy Southampton, University of Southampton and the Sustainability and Resilience Institute of Southampton. From a base within the Diaspora Affairs Office of Saint Lucia, she engaged with leaders across both governmental and non-governmental departments.

Through this experience, she gained valuable insight that informed her report on engaging the Saint Lucian diaspora, which was "a testament to the power of including people in the decision-making process".

Read more about Mandy's story here: https://go.soton.ac.uk/iec

11/09/2026

Do you fancy talking to a robot? 🤖 Or having a river talk to you? 🌊 How about getting those neurons 🧠 firing while playing a game, or spinning a deck as an air-DJ? 🎧

You're in luck - our MINDS & SustAI PGRs will be demonstrating their research projects as part of this year's British Science Festival (BSF)!

Head to the Sir James Matthews Building on Sat 19th September to hear about their brilliant research and experience it first-hand.

BSF is open to all and has hundreds of free events exploring the latest in scientific research and innovation

With less than a week to go, check out the events on offer and book your tickets: https://tinyurl.com/5afjsw5d

10/09/2026

Huge congratulations to Psychology PGR Mansi, whose PhD research has recently been featured on ITV Meridian!

Mansi is investigating how people distinguish between real and AI-generated images of human faces - check out the story on ITV to see if you can tell the difference: https://bit.ly/4A4s0aX