This might sound like a stupid question, but will I need to bring my own copy of the thesis to my viva? (I'm in the humanities, so my thesis does not contain any equations or formulas that I'll need to refer to).

I'm guessing feedback times are discipline specific. I'm a humanities student: I arrange a date to meet my supervisor, email her my work about two days beforehand, then she'll read it in time for our meeting so we can discuss any problems/issues that arise from it. Does no one else work like this?

coastman, I know what you're saying about everyone studying different things, but I don't necessarily mean "competitive" in that way. I mean more like, "oh my god, everybody in the dept. has a publication except me" which leads to feeling inadequate, depressed, etc.

I'm not really worried about the information being personal or embarrassing (although as Otto points out, it's important to remember people can google you - something that seems funny now, might not in a few years). I guess my main concern is the effect it will have on the students. Doing a PhD is hard enough already. If we can look up our fellow students - that is, people we actually know - then surely it can only create an overly competitive environment: people checking what everyone is up to, and trying to do 'better' than others. I don't think that kind of pressure is necessarily helpful.

My dept. has just decided to update their website so that every PhD student gets their own page. Basically, it'll be a photograph, biography and lists of research interests/publications/conferences attended. They've asked everyone to provide their information so it can be included, but I've got some reservations about the whole thing. Any thoughts from anyone?

By the 18 month stage, I'd written drafts of two chapters, written (and published) one paper and presented a conference paper.

Thanks guys. I was just having a momentary lapse of logic!

Does anyone use JSTOR to access articles? How I am meant to reference articles I get from JSTOR - is it enough just to include the Author, Title and JSTOR URL, or am I supopsed to include the specific journal info JSTOR gives you, like the journal it gets the articles from, and page numbers, etc.?

I was wondering how everyone addresses their supervisors when emailing them? Are you on first name terms, or is it more formal, like "Dear Dr [Lastname]"?

I refer to my supervisor by her first name, but if I email any other members of staff I use Dr [Lastname] for the first email, and then however they address themselves in reply for any further emails.

Postgrad conferences are the best - everyone's at more or less the same level. It's a good opportunity to meet other students too. Don't worry too much about the content of the abstract: by the time the conference comes around, the topic/direction of the paper has often changed considerably from what was first envisaged. It's all part of the learning process! I would definitely recommend you send an abstract. Even if your abstract isn't chosen for the conference, it'll be a good opportunity to do a structured piece of writing for a specific purpose. (And it'll persuade your supervisor that you're keen and willing to make an effort). Good luck.

I'm just starting the 3rd year of my PhD and I don't get a desk, never mind an office! (Although that might be cos I'm doing English.)

I'm just starting the 3rd year of my PhD and I don't get a desk, never mind an office! (Although that might be cos I'm doing English.)