I'm an AHRC funded Classics PhD in my first year. I've just had my first paper accepted by the Classical Association of South Africa for their annual conference. Whilst CASA isn't the most prestigious place in the world, it's still really good to have had the offer of giving a paper at an international conference at this stage. I don't unfortunately know who else will be there, other than the key note speakers who are international names although not ones I'm overly familiar with. However, although I can manage the conference fees etc, the real issue is the flights which are about £500+.

As an AHRC student I can apply to them for up to £350 once in my 3 years which is probably the most I can get from anywhere. My department does offer grants but I've been told they're likely to contribute less than this. However, my supervisor has said she thinks I should "save" this for the future. I'm a bit concerned that while I understand this point - what if I get a paper accepted somewhere really good eg. in America in the next two years and then can't go! - I won't be able to go this time if I have to shell out that sort of money myself...

Anyone got any advice?!

Hi Meg. Well done for having your paper accepted. On the basis of the way that my research has developed over the years (I'm in my fourth year; full-time) I would save the AHRC money for a future conference and perhaps give this one a miss or explore other funding possibilities. It would be a shame if you couldn't get to a high-profile conference in the future (by which time your research will have inevitably progressed and you'll have a more advanced contribution to make) because you don't have funding.

Also remember that the AHRC's £350 contribution isn't guranteed and you still have to write an application, supported by your supervisor, so if he/she isn't 100% on your side you might not necessarily get the funding anyway.

Incidentally, I used the funding in my third year (mainly because the major international conference in my field is every two years and I wasn't ready to go in the first year as my fieldwork was just starting then) and my uni agreed to match the AHRC contribution, so if you can get them on your side it can have other perks!

I would suggest, if you haven't already, scope out the other conferences in your area, be aware of which months they take place, when the CfP tends to come out and keep an eye on things with a view to giving a paper in your second year or third year - although remember that the AHRC conference funding can't be used in the last three months of the award (I think) unless you've got a really good reason for waiting until then.

It sounds like you want to go, and I'm really sorry not to be more positive, but your post doesn't really sell the conference and I think maybe you might kind of know it might not be wise to use your funding on this one anyway.

On a related note, how many conference papers do people uually get to give during a phD (exclusing sphd symposiums of course)

...

I am getting the feeling that this is a vague question, soemthing I almost never ask :-(

I know people who do 2-3 conferences per year. I have focused on major conferences (straight in at the deep end) and have done 1 per year - 2 national conferences, and an international one in the USA. Honestly, that was enough for me!

By the way, my department has the same rules on conference funding as the Research Councils (£350), but I got extra as I promised to do some admin stuff round the dept (become the PG Rep and organise the next conference - you could try that!)

Thanks guys - especially good to know how many conferences people tend to do during the PhD. I'll have a chat about it with my supervisor tomorrow - apparently I could apply to the AHRC and department to see how much it would come up with (maybe putting all my eggs in one basket?) but I think I need another opinion from someone in my area as to whether it's worth it. This is the first conference that's been suitable for me to submit to and I haven't seen anything else coming up in the immediate future so it would be a shame to miss out, although it would also be a shame to bankrupt myself... :-(

Yep I agree with most posts - in your first/second year, your presentation will mostly be 'I will do this, I will do that, this bit is interesting' or you'll have some work which you'll invariably change, because you'll discvoer something in your third year that shifts your view a bit. I presented at a couple of national/postgrad conferences in my first and third years, and presented at international conferences at the start of my second and fourth years, and got a lot more out of the latter ones. You're more confident to talk about your research over dinner, and people ask more interesting questions of completed work, not what you plan to do. Conferences later on are better for networking too, because they know you'll be unemployed soon!