Getting Started with Postgraduate Research

We hope this online course will help you settle into your degree by sharing essential information, tips and advice, and giving you an opportunity to interact with other students at the same stage.

Course dates: This course will run in October and February. The next course will start on Monday 12^th October 2026 and runs for three weeks.

Time commitment: we estimate you should expect to spend about 1-2 hours per week reading the materials and engaging with the tasks and online forums. It will be run as an asynchronous course, which means you can look at the tasks and post in the forums at a time that suits you. There are no 'live' elements to this course, it can be completed at your own pace. 

Structure:

Week 1: Getting to know you and starting out – this is to introduce you to the course and other participants and to cover the essential information and expectations

Week 2: Focus on achieving the first milestones – identifying milestones, planning and skills development, the supervisory relationship

Week 3: Overcoming common challenges – identifying challenges, tips and strategies to overcome

Course platform

The course will run in Learn, one of the University's Virtual Learning Environments.

Booking will be available from the 1^st September 2026. 

This is a self-paced course that you can complete in your own time, at a time that suits you best.  There are no 'live' elements to this course. The course will launch at 9am on Monday 12^th October and finish at 5pm on Friday 30^th October 2026.  You can complete the course at any point during this time.