What are the arrangements for office/desk space like in your department? Do you share a room and if so with how many? I share with two other PGs at the moment but will soon be sharing an open plan room with 18 other PGs. I wanted to check what position others are in before I start complaining! We are always told that we're lucky to have any office space because PGs at other universities don't have any. (I won't mention which university I'm studying at).

i share with loads of others - about 10. the problem with our office is the space. to many ancient computers occupying all the deskspace so it looks more like a store room than an office. no one really works there. about three people come in each day. i often work from home as i have more space here. and with 10 people in a small space, it is not easy to concentrate.

There is a designated postgrad space: it started as a large room where everyone had their own desk; then it became a smaller room, where everyone had their own desk. Now it's an even smaller room with a hotdesk setup.

I find it too distracting, so I use an old desk in my lab. It's not too comfortable but at least it's quiet.

I had a space in an open plan office shared with 30 students. It wasnt practical, not least because a lot of my research was telephone interviews, but even without that I found it very hard to concentrate. People did manage to work there - there was a stric rule of silence and most people wore headphones too. Third years got moved, supposedly a demotion because it was a portacabin 15 mins from the department, but it's actually an improvement because there are only 6 people per office. However, by then I'd already got into a routine of working at home.

Like you, it was hard to complain because I have friends in another faculty who get no desk space. A friend was in a situation similar to yours, and complained that she only took the place because she got told she'd have an office during her interview. she did get to avoid being moved into open plan but it was a huge fight.

I can't complain at all - I share an office with one other person and he's a postdoc. Lots of space for both of us!

At my uni there is a policy that every PhD student has space in an office in the department, which is great, but most offices are crammed to bursting (mine is shared between 12, but only has desk-space for 8, and we have to share 2 computers between us). Luckily not many people come in every day (three or so on a daily basis), and most have laptops anyway so luckily its really not that bad. I do worry what would happen if everyone decided to start coming in every day though!

I've got my own office space. My neighbours in the department are all academics and research workers. I would probably prefer an office space with other PhD students; as it gets a bit lonely after a while!

I can't really complain though.

Our uni has the same kind of policy where all PhD students are supposed to have a permenant computer and desk space to call there own. Saying that I'm in an what was originally a corridor but now doulbes up as an open plan office with shoulder height walls. There's about 20 of us, but there's so little storage space it's ridiculous - I've literally got a desk, computer and small chest of drawers. I asked to have some shelves put up but was told I couldn't have them as the wall would fall down! So I have desk space but nowhere to write!

I share an open plan office (more like a converted gym) with about 20 others. however, the research students have little room filled with pcs where they can come in and do their work (it gets steaming in there after a few hours)

at my uni research students in general don't get working space (there is of course the library). most departments provide a shared work room with a number of workstations. like, for a department with 100 or more research students, there are about 20 shared workstations, in two tiny and crowded rooms. nobody gets their own desk/computer and there is extremely limited shelf space.
some research centres at our university (i'm lucky to be in one) provide their research students with individual desks. so i am in a large open-plan office together with some staff and 12 other research students. i actually prefer this arrangement to having a single office and wouldn't complain - i feel very privileged.

Our office has four desks which completely fill the room, three computers (all of which are painfully slow) and six chairs between 12 PhDs. Worst of all we're not just PhDs, but Graduate teaching assistants who have to be in at least two days a week. Now, you try hotdesking that.

hi Soda, it will be fine, by the way, you are at Aberdeen, aren't you ????

I share with 6 others and we all have our own desk and computer. However at the university where I did my undergraduate degree PhD students did not get a desk, even the lecturers had to share an office, it was 2 to an office.

My lab group has three offices between us. My supervisor has his own and then there are 4-5 of us in each of the other two. I have my own computer and desk and there is quite a lot of room. I didn't realise how lucky I was to get this, I would have no where to go without this and how would I do any work without a computer?! I also have a computer in the lab I can use if I don't want to come all the way upstairs.

In my office there are 5 of us, all with our own desk, shelves and half a filing cabinet. There's also a large open plan office for some of the other PhD students, which they say they like. I cant imagine not having an office, I thought the fees we pay were meant to provide us with an office?? Really feel for you poor folks with no/over crowded/hotdesk office!