Postgraduate transitions: stepping up to a PhD and moving to a new city

By Nitara, from England, studying PhD in Biological Sciences
Hi, I’m Nitara and I’m a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences. I’m studying social networks and how contagions can spread through them. I moved from London in autumn 2023, and I’m now in the second year of my PhD here at Edinburgh.
The transition between Master’s and Doctoral study
With a PhD, you have a large amount of independent learning and it requires self-motivation to be able to progress through all the work. You don’t have the same kinds of deadlines or marked assessments to tell you how you’re doing as you’re going through your studies as you would during your undergraduate or Master’s courses.
But that being said, I think the University of Edinburgh and other universities have restructured PhDs a lot in recent years to make it easier for the students to get a lot more feedback. For example, I had a meeting at the end of my first year where I met with my thesis committee, go over how my year had gone and although I wasn’t ‘formally assessed’ as such, it gave me the chance to write up my work and have it reviewed. So, my thesis committee were able to read it, provide feedback and chat over the next steps with me.
Although the transition can, at times, feel extreme, because you do have to motivate yourself to keep pushing forward, there are a lot of opportunities for training that are provided by the University and you can also attend lectures, courses or demonstrations. Just because you’re doing a PhD, it doesn’t mean that you’re stuck in a room with no interaction with anyone. You do have a range of social elements as well as learning opportunities that still exist. Although it is quite different, it’s not as scary as it might seem because there is still plenty of support to help you grow.
Adapting to life in a new city as a PhD student
I was a bit nervous moving to Edinburgh. I do enjoy the city life and, having been used to living in London, I thought to myself that it’s going to be really small…that it was just going to be like one high street and barely any shops. But I was pleasantly surprised as there is a lot to do in Edinburgh and I think the great thing is that there is something for everybody.
So, if like me, you enjoy going to restaurants, going to bars and doing random activities, there is all of that. But equally if you are someone who enjoys the peace and quiet, Edinburgh’s really well-known for just having loads of cosy cafes and book shops. And also, so much amazing nature – it’s so easy to get away into it.
My friends and I will just get a bus or train and head for the Pentlands (a range of hills to the south of Edinburgh). It’s really quite straightforward, by public transport, to go hiking and you can access nature really easily if that’s more your scene. In Edinburgh, there is something for everyone and I am always really pleasantly surprised by that.
I don’t feel homesick, I don’t really miss London. Edinburgh is diverse. There are a lot of different types of people here. There’s a very big international community. So, I am definitely happy with the city. In terms of feeling safe, obviously all of this is a generalisation, but you know, I’ve never felt safer in a city. I have not had any problems. Everything has been good, everyone is great. This is obviously all general, but in my experience, everyone is really friendly, really welcoming. The Scottish people that you meet are really happy that they have people coming into their city and you know, I find if you’re friendly, people will be friendly back. And I’ve only ever had good experiences. I’ve been here just over a year now and I’ve met lots of different types of people. You never know what can happen, but so far, all my experiences have been very positive.