Madeleine Kendrick

PhD Candidate

PhD Candidate (Scholarship Recipient, Full-time), Academic Research Assistant, Business Consultant

Academic writing phase: A day in the life of a PhD student

I am currently in the writing phase of my PhD and have been working hard towards completing my thesis. Here, I have compiled an actual to-do list, based on how I spend an average day, along with a couple of variations and exceptions.

Steering myself away from a discouraging supervisor

A supervisor let me down spectacularly, and now I feel that my skill set is somewhat lacking. Although I fired this supervisor due to a host of reasons that have negatively impacted my work, this short-term solution barely gets to the root of the problem at hand.

A lovely encounter with intellectual kindness

The other day, I had an encounter with an unfamiliar academic who has left a huge impression on me. Concerned with some public activity on their social media, I contacted them privately to voice my problems. Thankfully, they understood this approach and responded to my message calmly.

The road to scholarly independence is not a smooth one

A few weeks ago, I realized that I had finally hit the upward swing of the independence curve, often associated with a doctoral student’s research journey. My supervisors loosely held the reins until I was ready to take them back. So, I was able to achieve this independence within 16 months of beginning my PhD. Keep reading to find out how!