I can tell you what I am doing....
READ!!!! I am reading a lot of books and papers in English, so I get used to the language....

Well done!!!!!!!!!
Just one hour!!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!!!!
Congrats and enjoy now!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started my PhD last year and the references I provided were both from my undergraduate lectures (I graduated in 2000, so it's 9 years ago), because my tutor from my second master was awful and we had really bad relationships (because I wasn't British, so, as he insisted, I shouldn't have been doing an MBA and because I shouldn't have been allowed to study in UK!!!!!!) and my tutors from my first master had left uni and I couldn't find them....
I didn't have any problems, so I guess that you won't either!
Good luck!!!

I am doing a part time PhD and working FT. I am based in Greece, so I don't have regulart contact with my sups (we meet every three months).
I have to stick to strict schedules, which I make every week. I also have a very supporting family and very supporting friends, who understand what I am doing and how important it is for me. Also, they know that I must do othre things besides working and studying, so the drag me out once a week... I think it is important to balance things and have a programme with weekly targets...
Difficult, I know. But you should sit every day for a minimum time (let's say 5 minutes) and do something. You will see that you will want to go on, that you will not want to get off the chair!
Good luck!

Well, I am from Greece and lately here we have major economical problems. The government, in order to deal with these problems, has decided to cut our salaries by 12% and to raise VAT by 1%. I agree with the strikes, because I, as a simple citizen, haven't done anything to harm the economy, but I have to pay the price.....
I joined the picket line, I joined the huge demonstrations, I had to breath tear ges....
I would (and will) do it again if I have to....

Poor you! I can understand how you are feeling, as recenlty I had a root canal treatment (is this the right term????)...
My tooth should have been removed, but because I am so unlucky and my dad is my dentist, he decided that it could be saved and I had to go through extreme pain!!!!!!
But now it i s over....
I would advice paracetamol and, if you can find any, Ouzo (you know the Greek drink) on the tooth.. ;-)

Education sociology, with a little bit of management and feminism....
But, also, due to my full-time job, I am interested in Special Needs and Special Education and I am doing some reserach for that field, too (already published some papers and presented at conferences). It's difficult as I am working on 2 different fields at the same time...Maybe I will save my second reserach for a future PhD...Who knows?????

My uni also has access to the first one from 2004....
Sorry

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Well DanB,
I guess you've found the first person!!! I found my 4-year undergrad much more difficult than my master (BEd and MA).
But I am talking about different countries (Greece for the BEd and Uk for the MA) and different systems....

Well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe that submiting in 3 years is not common. Most people tend to submit in 3.5 or 4 years, so in my opinion, no harm is done.
I guess you have lot of material and several chapters ready, so you just have to finish it up. Well, that's manageable. If you take 6 months more (or even longer) it's not the end of the world.
As far as your boyfriend is concerned, if he loves you and sees how much you are trying then he shouldn't be frustrated. Doing a PhD is not an easy thing. It needs much time, much devotion and a lot of support and understanding....

I think I have a different opinion than the others. I found my under-graduate (education) more difficult than my MA (special needs) as during my firts degree I had so many different things to study that I was confused (I had to study 58 different modules during my 4-year-course). During my MA I had to study 2 things per semester, so it was kind of more focused and therfore easier for me. Even the dissertation seemed easier, because I knew what I wanted to do from the time I decided what to study, so had my dissertaion finished by Christmas!!!
Well, the fact that my first degree was not in UK couls also have played an important role, but that's my experience

I am doing a part-time PhD and I am working full-time in Greece as a special needs teacher. I meet with my supervisory team every thre months (now that I ahve finished my research maybe we'll be meeting avery 4-5 months) and we discuss my progress and my porgramme. My research was about my country, si I could fit it aroung my work.
It is difficult, but it manageable....

Keep_Calm,
Thanks for your advice, but at my uni things are different. We should only submit written material that will form part of the thesis or will benefit the thesis preparation. It should not be written specifically for the review but should take the form of one or more documents produced during the course of any research recently undertaken. It can be bibliographies, draft literature reviews and research proposals, collection and analysis of data (including data collection proformas, transcripts), or it could be a draft chapter.
So, as you can see, it is fairly easy, but I have to decide what to send, as I have done my literature review, I have collected all my data and I have started my analysis. So much matterial....

This week I have to write up my year's report. I still don't know what to include. I have done so much this year, that I can't chose just one piece of writing to attach to my report (it can be anything I want up to 5000 words)....

I can't do anything else on my PhD this week, as I have a lot of things to do for my full-time job.