Hello

I'm currently studying a masters in Business Intelligence and want to go on to do a PhD after. The problem I'm having is I'm interested in data science but, because of family, I can't relocate.

My question is, for a full time (hopefully) studentship funded phd, how much time are you required to spend at the university? (Assuming you don't need specialist equipment)

If it's just a case of meeting with the supervisor at regular intervals I could expand my search area. I live in central England so most places a within a few hours drive.

For computer-based PhDs it's not usually a requirement to spend time at the university (actually for any PhD it's up to you most of the time).

But, there are several people on here that live far from their uni and I expect they would tell you it does make it more difficult. Supervisors can be hard to get hold of sometimes if you can't pop into their office and you lose some of the 'experience' of a PhD by living far away. PhDs can be lonely and difficult at times too, and it really helps to have the support of your research group.

I did my PhD remotely (4000 km away from campus) for most of the time. However what I did and recommend is that you spend the first 3-6 months based at the campus full time. This is important if you want to establish a good working relationship with your supervisor and make contacts in the department. After that, you could visit the campus every 6-12 months for some ‘face time’ to catch up with everyone. In the meantime, Skype and e-mail are a perfectly good medium for keeping in touch with your supervisor.
Living and studying in the UK certainly eliminates the tyranny of distance. In Australia, a few hours’ drive might get you to the next village/town! I had to sit on a plane for 4 hours to get to my university.

Greetings! After a long and stressful application season, I was fortunate to be accepted to all schools but two. I will start this Fall as a 21 year old. I suspect I'll be one of the youngest in my cohort and program. Is there any advice that you'd wished someone told you during your first year? Any advice would be appreciated whether it was age related, adviser related, studying, extracurricular activity, friends, etc. ALSO how much time do you really devote to grad studies, I have a dog and I'm wondering if I should give her away. Is grad school like 9-5 and then you work at home all night (spend time w/dog too) or is it more like a constant coming and going and not at all fair to my dog? Thanks! http://goo.gl/Z7yG70 |

Was their any necessity for the PHP training (AKA SPAM)? ;)

You should keep your dog: seriously, she could help keep you sane. There will be times that the PhD is taking your entire word, and the dog will be perfect for reminding you of the carefree life that you will have again, but seems so far away.

Yes; my profile pic shows I am biased :D