Thanks!

I have now finished, graduated and even went to the ceremony (which I can highly recommend!) The next stage is to publish some articles (as I didn't publish anything while studying). There are lots of books about publishing academic articles but I wonder whether anyone has any recommendations?

I remember your post! Hard as it is, I don't think you can help. It is going to ruin your relationship and you need to distance yourself from it (not her). Is she depressed, do you think? Does she enjoy the research? I went through a long period of procrastination and doubt myself so I can understand that it is sometimes very difficult to "just get on with it". If she can't motivate herself though, she really needs some outside help to do this which I don't think you are in a position to give her. I was also studying from a distance and what really helped me was to meet up with other students/researchers to get feedback - it made me feel like I was actually a "proper" student. Would this be an option?

I'm going! I don't know anybody there apart from my supervisor as I was never on campus but I think I would regret not going - should be fun!

Congratulations! Enjoy the celebrating!

My advice would be to make it as big as possible! I looked at the maximum size allowed and decided it was too big and made mine smaller - everyone else used the maximum size so mine looked tiny!

Don't give up now GM, you are so nearly there! I really understand how you feel - corrections are so hard to work up any excitment about and yet, so essential. You know you have to do them so just keep at it! Will you be graduating in a ceremony this summer? Maybe keep that in mind to spur you on.

I do for my degree but not for my MA - I can't remember what I got for my MA!

Did you get your upgrade in the end?

Congratulations! Actually it sounds as if you are pretty much prepared. As long as you are doing a little bit of reading to remind yourself of your topic every day then I think you will be fine. (My memory went to pieces when I was pregnant and I never really got it back!)

I don't think you're mad at all! 25 is a good age to embark on a new career. The National Trust funds some PhDs which might be worth looking into too.

Did you finish??

I can answer the first two!

- any advice on balancing study and family commitments (I have two young children)

It really depends on how old they are and what childcare you have available to you. I started my PhD with a four year old and had twins during my first year. It was tough. It probably would have been anyway, but for a long time I kidded myself that I could study while the babies slept. Unsurprisingly, this never worked. You really need to work out exactly how many child-free hours you will have and if this answer is "not enough", work out how you can get more help. And yes, time management is essential. Another thing to bear in mind is where you are going to be studying. I was mainly studying from home which was very stressful (no study + two toddler = chaos). Ironically, I have now moved house and have a study. (I finished a few months back).

- how it feels to return to FT study after a long period working
Really good! I loved being a student again and am missing it already. However, as a parent your university experience is going to be different to your young, free and single colleagues - far less socializing and networking, and possible lonelier too.

As for your last question, I am still working that out. I do currently teach at a university (abroad) but I am not a researcher. I am hoping that might change in the future but for the moment, I cannot realistically move jobs or areas.

Hello everyone. I have a question for anyone who has been/is a long-distance student. I have just finished my PhD and got a letter confirming my award today but was a bit surprised that it read "Doctor of Philosophy in DL in ML PT". DL (Distance learning), ML (Modern Languages) and PT (part-time). When I started the course I was full time and on campus and later moved away for my field work and writing up. I was under the impression that I wasn't "distance learning" officially. My questions are: does anyone else have this written on their official qualification? Does it actually matter (I'm a bit worried it makes it look less serious...) and do I always have to specify that it is PT and DL? And in any case, doesn't the wording sound wrong? It makes it sound as if I am studying distance learning. Or am I reading too much into it and I should just be happy?!

My advice would be just to get writing. My first literature review had just about nothing in common with what I finally used, but it was only through writing and thinking about it that I managed to get to the final version.