I was just wondering what the process is after you have accepted a PhD.
Do you get a letter? (in addition to an informal offer email/call)
Do they give you an outline of the proposal for the PhD?
Do you get any communications between you and your supervisors during the summer months/winter months before starting in oct/jan?
Are all those things above something that you have to ask about? make the effort yourself to get?
What else did anyone do/receive?

Thank you

I got a formal letter in the post and returned the acceptance slip (July).
Then I didn't hear anything for ages.
I then got a pack from the Uni in early September with information on induction, training, departmental stuff etc.
When I went along to enrol I had to make contact with my supervisors. There was no contact until my official start date (October).

As I was giving up my job, I contacted the Uni before I gave my four weeks notice to double check everything was ok, but otherwise it was very casual. That might have just been my institution though.

I didn't get an outline of the proposal, I just had what I had put in when I applied. I then used this as the basis of initial discussions with my supervisors.

Well done on being offered a PhD!

I just got an official letter via email in April after I accepted it, and then I applied online formally. I didn't hear anything else until September, when my supervisor contacted me and told me I didn't finalize the application process so I needed to apply again... Then I got a few emails from the admin staff telling me about the introduction process etc and I think I got an information pack from the admin staff a few weeks before starting in October.

I didn't get any PhD specific information, just departmental stuff.

If you are starting in October, I wouldn't worry until the end of August, because you are not likely to have to do anything before then. If you haven't heard anything by then I would drop the admin staff an email.

Thanks for the peace of mind. It sounds like the process is similar in both of your situations, so its probably the same for all universities. I think I will stop worrying and just wait for the uni info comes through. Thanks!

It does sound like they are all quite similar. I remember finding it stressful, as I had to give a month's notice to my employer, and had already told him informally, and then the uni just seemed to go completely quiet over the summer months. If you are in the position of needing to give notice, keep an eye on the dates yourself and chase the uni a little when the time is approaching for your notice to go in, because they won't necessarily feel any pressure to do things by a certain date. Oddly enough my supervisor did initiate contact and invited me to attend something over the summer, so I knew things were ok, but the admin side of things was slow.