LSE places its research community at the heart of its ecosystem and the PhD Academy is a testament to this philosophy. Located on the fourth floor of the LSE Library, the PhD Academy is a hub for the doctoral student fraternity and offers a dedicated private space meant only for PhD students at LSE. This blog takes you through some of the services of the PhD Academy and why it’s an important resource for you as a PhD student.

The PhD journey is a phenomenal and unique learning experience and the PhD Academy recognises this. While it offers a menu of services that you can avail of, the academy accounts for the distinctive needs of its PhD students and does its best to support them in not just academic training needs but also other important resources that are useful in building and shaping the careers and for the professional development of PhD students at LSE.

LSE Spring

LSE Spring offers training and professional development opportunities for researchers through mentoring schemes, micro-internship opportunities, and researcher development programmes. It’s hosted by the PhD Academy in collaboration with LSE Careers, LSE Generate and the Research and Innovation Division. LSE Spring helps PhD students discover the wider world beyond academia while still helping them hone their research skills, tap into the potential of collaborations with industry and presents them the opportunity for some meaningful research engagement and knowledge exchange. They also run several training sessions centred on the professional development of PhD students. Some of the past sessions have been on working in the industry, policy engagement, building and managing research impact.

PhD Academy training and coaching sessions

The PhD Academy offers the Academic and Professional Development Programme which is a series of short courses aimed at skill building. The training programmes run all year round and address a range of professional and personal development needs for researchers. These include academic writing, research communication, project management, overcoming imposter syndrome, and practicing mindfulness to name a few. Apart from these, the academy also runs one-to-one and group coaching sessions to help with the many challenges of managing a PhD which could include time management, work-life balance, and managing stress.

Collaborations with CIVICA, ESRC and LAHP

The PhD Academy has active collaborations with a number of prestigious research groups and councils. These partnerships open up access to a range of research and networking events, training sessions, seminars and workshops that are hosted exclusively for students who are part of these research alliances. In the past, training sessions have addressed topics like preparing your thesis for open access, metadata and research, publishing in journals to name a few.

The PhD Journey

The LSE PhD can take between three to six years to complete their programme depending on each student’s individual circumstances. The PhD Academy is the custodian of the guidelines and regulations that apply to PhD students at the School. For all issues related to the registration, progress monitoring, fieldwork, upgrading process, and examinations, the PhD Academy is your one-stop solution. The team at the PhD Academy will provide all the necessary guidance and assistance and can be contacted via email, online and in-person meetings.

Wellbeing support

The PhD Academy also offers mental health and wellbeing support services. The team would usually be able to resolve issues on the spot or could direct you to further resources across the School and beyond who could help with the problem you’re facing.

Essentially, the PhD Academy pools together a number of services offered by LSE to PhD students under one umbrella. They also offer a common space that is exclusively for PhD students. It provides a quiet space to work, network and make friends with other PhDs, or just to relax.