PhD Ocean and Earth Sciences - Geology and Geophysics

University of Southampton

Studying a PhD at Southampton and being based at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is incredible! The access to world leading facilities, integration of undergraduates and postgraduates with active research, and a vibrant multi-disciplinary community are what make it special. Having the opportunity to assist with the teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate classes has been incredibly rewarding, developed my confidence and abilities, and opened up new opportunities for me. Studying an earth and ocean science course at Southampton gives you the fantastic opportunity to engage in fieldwork both onshore and at sea on the University's research vessel, Callista. There's even opportunities to assist on international research expeditions collecting data on regions of the ocean and ecosystems that the general public could only dream of seeing! Being separate from the main University campus (though not that far away) does present challenges and opportunities. We have formed a close, integrated, and supportive network of students from all branches of earth and ocean science, that has come together to look after and celebrate each others' work. Though, at times, it does feel like much of the activity and focus of the University, and the Students' Union (SU), are centred on the main Highfield Campus. The SU are trying to engage with us more and make a presence on campus which is great to see and I hope they continue to work at it as we do have a great community based at the NOC. I think the one thing I would like to see improved at the University is the availability of wellbeing and support services. Like most Universities, the support services are in high demand and so wait times can be extremely long, and some interventions are only short-lived, whereas many student's need longer-term support. This can be somewhat problematic being based away from the main campus so it would be great if there was a greater presence of support services based at other campuses.

Best- the nightlife is good, campus is pretty, lecturers are supportive, library is motivating, studying at NOCs is fun Bad- some lecturers speak really slow