Hi everybody!!! I'm 31 and starting my Phd in January at Nottingham University, however I'm living in Manchester and I can not move to Nottingham. I'm planning to stay there only 3-5 days per month and maybe travelling (by train) 1-2 more times during the month. Do you think that this plan is realistic? I'm afraid that I will miss key-contacts, additional non-compulsory lectures or seminars and other facilities that the University offers. It's a good opportunity for me to study at this specific Uni but it includes a lot of travelling I'm afraid and I'm not sure if I can make it...

A friend of mine is staff at Notts and lives in Manchester. He spends two days a week in Notts (crashing at a friends) and it works pretty well. yes you will miss out on some stuff, but there's normally quite a bit of notice for events, so you shouldn't have to travel last-minute. The train journey is horrible (4 hours) for not a very long distance, but if you acn discipline yourself to work whilst travelling, its not a massive issue.

It's impossible to say because you don't mention your subject area.

If most of your research will be via internet databases then it's very possible to work away from university, but if you need to be in a lab well that's a different story.

You will miss out on becoming a more integral part of the university; however, I know lots of PhD students who live on campus or near their respective university and will never attend anything.

Some academic staff live further away from their places of work (cf. to Manc. to Notts) and they manage fine.

Thanks for your replies! I'm starting feeling that maybe it is not impossible. My area of study is Business and Management with specification in Tourism, so I have no labs to attend. Concerning the train is less than 4 hours (its about 2.5-3) but there is no direct train (2-3 changes) and then 20-30 minutes from the railway to the campus.
There is also an interest from Leeds Metropolitan University about my research...It's only an hour from Manchester but Nottingham Uni seems to be more organised, reputable and much higher in the rankings.

Hi, I'm in a similar situation, as i am also based away from university (although a little closer than you are, with a 1.5-2hr commute). the thing i find most difficult is fitting into the department during my once-a-week visit. the other students have a closer relationship with our supervisor, as they see her every day, whereas i mostly communicate via email, and when i do see her i keep having to explain all the things i've been doing over and over and remind her what my topic is! i also don't really feel a part of the dept, as they have not even bothered to sort me out a desk for when i am there, so i end up taking my laptop and working in the library, which kind of defeats the object of going in! i also feel a bit isolated as i have no real friends in the dept, and cannot socialise with them at all in the evenings/weekends etc.

having said all that, the rest of the time when i am away from the dept i am quite happy with the situation! in fact, i would prefer it if i didn't have to go in at all (apart from meetings with sup), but they have asked for me to attend on a regular basis to go to the occasional lecture or seminar. but being able to work my own hours away from the eagle eye of my sup is quite nice!

basically i think it is possible, as long as you are prepared to feel like a bit of an outsider at uni (at least at first), and occasionally feel like you come quite low down on the priority list of your sup if they have other students who are in the dept full time. going in regularly to show your face and attend group seminars/lunchtime pub trips etc will really help to make sure no one forgets about you!

Thanks very much for the tips smoobles. It seems to be difficult but possible. By the way, do you carry huge amounts of books home or do visit Uni anytime that you need an additional book or journal?

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i have ended up buying a few of the books that i need just so that i don't have to carry them round all the time - when i'm at home i use my copy, and when i'm at uni i use their library copy. not ideal, but better than backache!



as for journals, my uni has a VPN (virtual private network) that you can install onto your home computer, and this basically means that you can login to and access your university network from home. therefore you can access subscriptions to journals etc as if you were using a university computer. it also means you can get full access to all your own files that you have stored on your uni network. i use this to backup my files onto the uni server from my home computer. i think it allows you access to some software that the uni has installed too, although i never use this so not too sure!!



my uni library also has an ordering service, whereby if you need a journal article that you can't access online, it can order a copy for you and either send it by post or email it to you as a pdf. this only costs a few quid so is well worth it, especially if it saves you going all the way into uni just for one article! so i would definitely look into all the things your uni can offer to make life easier for you.



i also got my supervisors to email me all the lecture notes from any relevant courses, so that if i can't go to all the lectures they recommend, i can still go through the notes myself. this can also help you decide whether or not it is worth going all that way for the lectures in the first place!

Thanks for your speedy reply smoobles! It seems that I need to organise and plan things (and especially time) very well if I want to make it. The fact that there are alternatives is very positive.
However, I'm still considering the option of Leeds Met Uni. I have a meeting there next week and I will make up my mind after...hopefully.

You're rather unfortunate, a few years ago there used to be plenty of direct services from Manc-Notts.
Two hours ten on the train -- it depends how far away from the station you live. If you're planning on going from Nottingham Station - Uni add 30 mins.
I commuted from Oxford to London last year twice or three times a week; it was only 1hr by train (+45 mins tube allowance) but I was poor so I got the bus = up to 2hrs30 + 45 mins tube.

It's fine, be prepared for tiredness though, and spending too much time thinking about how long its going to take you to get home....

It's fine, be prepared for tiredness though, and spending too much time thinking about how long its going to take you to get home....

Thanks for your reply pamplemousse. What worries me most is what you said: spend a lot of time thinking when I'll get home!!!

I don't have a long commute to get to uni, but I do have a very inflexible boss, which makes getting to things during the day during term time is very difficult. When I first applied etc. it appeared that there was no need to actually be at uni  for anything, but then i found they had a compulsory induction week, there is an expectation that you will attend seminars and other things, which isn't easy. You also miss out a bit when it comes to seminars (you may be able to work your days in uni to fit with these of course), So you may want to check on these things. Also there is a bit of a problem getting to see people or getting bits of paperwork signed. Luckily I have good e-mail contact with my supervisors and that counts as supervision sessions, otherwise life would be even more difficult, so my advice is check how much you will be expected to be in uni and how your supervision will be undertaken, it may be more than you think.

Hi there! Just thought I'd chip in and share my experience with you.

I too commute (longer commute than yours) because my husband wasn't ready to move this year, and I wasn't willing to give up the chance to work with a dream supervisor on a dream project and a GTF post (a very very very long maternity leave makes you do weird things...).

The commute is more bearable (4 hours in total) than the wrench of not seeing my child for 2 days - I stay on campus (with friends) for 2 nights/days and try to attend seminars and/or compulsory sessions (yes there are some...) on these days whenever possible (luckily they all seem to happen early/mid-week), so my uni days are tightly time-tabled. I also make a point to socialise with people in my school (for coffee or a quick chat in corridors/lifts...). You really have to show that you are in control of your time even though you may (and will...) sometimes feel that you have no time to breathe.

From my experience if you are very committed, extremely well organised and pro-active, it is feasable. I personally do feel a huge sense of professional fulfilment even in these very early days despite all the sacrifices I have to make (mind firmly fixed on the bigger picture); for me it definitely is working for now, probably because I know it's short-termish as I'll be moving nearer to uni next year, but also I don't have a choice, which helps keeping focused!

Beware however of the emotional implications - in those days you are home, you have to spend your time very constructively: domestic stuff seem to take up twice as much time, something always seems to creep up just before you have to submit (sick childminder/child on my days home in my case), which can be draining. This means a lot of work late at night/early in the morning and very very little time for your partner. Mine resents the fact that he is bottom on my list of priorities even though he seemed reasonably supportive at the start (on paper situation very different fron actual situation). Also, my weekend is entirely dedicated to my child, so no work then = extra pressure to work any other time (on the train for ex).

Hope this helps.

Whatever you decide to do - good luck to you.

I want to say my experience, too. I am in my first year of my PhD. I live not in another part of the UK than my uni is, but in another country. I have very good communication with my supervisors and we arrange our meetings a long time beforehand so that I acn make travel arrangements. Of course, it helps that I am a part-time student.
It is difficult, but I believe it can be done if you want to do it.