I know this will widely vary but I'm starting my PhD in October and live quite a bit a way from the university. Was just wondering if people could give an indication as to how much time they are required to be in Uni. Can you do most of the work from home? I get that when the primary research has to be done this will require time on campus or elsewhere, but is it ok to work on the Lit review etc from home?

Appreciate anyone who can give me advice

Thanks:-)

Yes you can write most of your lit review from home. I think this situation depends a bit on your supervisors. I was 'encouraged' to come into the office most days for things like networking, getting used to the department, making friendships, getting to know admin staff, etc etc!

However I know of a couple of people who live a few hours from their Uni and go in once a week/once a fortnight for supervisory meetings only.

I'd recommend bringing it up with your supervisor when you have your 'welcome to the PhD' meeting, in whatever guise!

LAC30, I have always worked from home and have had no problem and I am in the humanities. I had to do some modules in my first year and also was teaching so I generally tried to mix with other PhD students and staff on the days that I was there for teaching or attending class. Personally I find I get so much more work done at home because I can just get up and get stuck into it whereas if I was going to work on campus I would have to put on better clothes, do my hair, travel all the way in and get distracted talking to people ;-) I also saved a lot of money on travel expenses.
Everyone's different. You'll find what works best for you. But to answer your question it definitely is possible to get your work done at home.

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Ed: double post

Thanks folks, have started now. I'm going in 2 days a week and studying from home the rest of the time. Although Its all a bit overwhelming just now, trying to figure our what direction I'm going in.:)

That sounds fine - I'm in my second year and live 60 miles from campus, which is just under two hours on the train; I'm usually in two or three days a week and work from home the rest of the time. I actually find I get more done at home, especially if I'm writing. I'm also in the social sciences.

Well I'm 3 months into my PhD (still the honeymoon phase, lol) and Im spending all available time I can in Uni. I have found it excellent for interacting with other academics and already after just a few months some great opportunities have come up such as working with uni owned subsidiary companies. I suppose I am lucky because my department has given me dedicated workspace, although a lot other PhD students at our campus use other facilities and seem to be milling around and getting involved in Uni life. I took the stance of treating this like a job but still get involved with Uni life and being a student, which is officially what we are :)

Good luck!

I'm hardly on campus, maybe once a month on average - although this has its difficulties and wouldn't be for everyone.

Hi LAC30,

I'm in the Humanities and just starting my second year. To answer your question: I'm very rarely, if ever, on campus. I go in if required by the department (ie training session or staff meeting) and to meet my supervisors (once a month) but other than that my time is split between home and research archives, I'd say about 70-30. When I begin teaching in January I'll be on campus more, but only one day a week as luckily all my teaching has been squished into one day and I was also sneaky and able to book office time on that day as well.

I do often feel guilty about not really being a 'presence' in the department, but I'm getting tonnes of work done at home and as far as I'm concerned, it's the quality of the research which will determine my future opportunities, not networking. I have made a promise to become more involved in the final year, if only for the selfish reason of getting my face into the view of Professors selecting post-docs; other than that I really have not found a reason to go to University much.

You also cannot beat the comforts of home - writing and reading in your joggers, not spending money on the train, having the TV on in the background, being able to errands every now and then, etc. Having said that, I do have a determined work ethic. As my wife leaves the house for work at 7am, I'm up then too and start work around 8am and usually go right through until the missus gets home at 5pm, and most the time without a lunch break. So whenever I feel guilty about not being on campus, I'm usually always consoled by the crap-load of work I manage to get done. And the missus loves it as I do a bit of house work too!

Best wishes,