I am considering applying for an overseas university visit for three months as part of my PhD. This interests me but I'm not really sure what is involved. The idea is that you continue your research but work at another university with benefits that can not be met at your own university.

But I guess there is more to be gained than simply continuing by studying in a different room (i'm a sociologist btw).

Has anyone participated in a university visit / exchange as part of your PhD?

What did this involve? What tasks did it involve? Did you find it beneficial? How did you go about finding a host / mentor?

Any experiences or stories from anyone who has visited or knows someone who has done something similar would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks :-)

Hi Kizzy

I did an OS uni visit, but it wasn't for as long as that, it was only for a couple of weeks. My uni had a partnership with a US uni, and so I knew who I was going to be working with. Beforehand I organised a study tour for myself - I emailed all the experts in my area, sent them background info about my research and then went and interviewed them all. They all provided really useful feedback. I think if I was going for a 3 mth visit, I'd have a discreet research project in mind, one that could only be done by visiting that country. I'd use it as a small research project which would fit into the larger research in my thesis. In my case, I'm using some theories developed by American academics, and so I used my visit to talk to academics about these. I also interviewed some industry people too.

Could you think of something along these lines maybe? Go to a campus which specialises in your area, work with academics on a small research project to support your larger one?

My 2 weeks were invaluable, not only for the knowledge I gained, but also for the self confidence it gave me, knowing that I could get around by myself in another country, something I'd never done before and which I was really nervous about. Go for it!