{"id":897,"date":"2018-03-12T08:55:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T07:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/?p=897"},"modified":"2018-03-12T08:55:45","modified_gmt":"2018-03-12T07:55:45","slug":"the-challenges-of-a-part-time-distance-pgr-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2018\/03\/12\/the-challenges-of-a-part-time-distance-pgr-student\/","title":{"rendered":"The Challenges of a Part-Time, Distance PGR Student"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Passionate about languages, cultures and international affairs, Anne gained her Bachelors Degree in Modern Languages from Coventry University in 1997 and a Masters Degree in International Relations from the Instituto Universitario Ortega y Gasset in 2002.\u00a0 In 2005 after four years studying and teaching English as a Foreign Language in Spain, Mexico and France, Anne embarked on a career in software sales.\u00a0 Her roles involved working with multi-national clients across the EMEA region, predominantly in Europe and the Middle East.\u00a0 Events in the Middle East over the past few years however, reignited Anne\u2019s interest in this region and a desire to return to academia.\u00a0\u00a0 In 2016 therefore, Anne enrolled as a part-time, distance Doctoral Candidate in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter, where she is furthering her research into the Kurds.\u00a0 In her free time, Anne loves to play tennis, swim and read as much as possible about the world around us.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2015, aged 41, I was feeling unfulfilled. Despite having built a successful sales career in the software industry, I was stagnating from an academic and intellectual perspective. At this time, the Kurds were back in the news as the front line against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.\u00a0 Since I wrote my Master\u2019s thesis on the Kurds back in 2002, the resurgence of the Kurds in the international media piqued my interest and I started to think about doing a PhD.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the first time I had considered it, but at my age and this stage in my career, it seemed like a \u2018now or never\u2019 scenario. By now however, I had a mortgage to pay, so returning to full-time study seemed like an impossible dream. Nevertheless, I started researching PhD\u2019s in Kurdish Studies and came across the University of Exeter.<\/p>\n

Having emailed the PGR department, Zoe Humble arranged for me to meet Professor Gareth Stansfield, who suggested that I enrol part-time.\u00a0 I had never even considered part-time study before. Not only were the fees lower, but also I could still work full-time, which meant I didn\u2019t need to worry about funding or paying the mortgage. No need to relocate either (I live in the North Cotswolds), as only monthly contact is required and this can be via Skype.<\/p>\n

I soon realized however, that getting accepted on to the Graduate programme was only the first challenge. Managing a stressful, full-time job that involved travel, combined with the demands of an aging Father and Father-in-Law, who live at opposite ends of the county, soon proved to be the bigger challenge. My job involved spending long hours in front of the computer if I wasn\u2019t on the road. This meant tired eyes that didn\u2019t feel up to more computer-based work in the evenings. On the upside, I got lots of reading done in my first year. As for the actual writing, well, let\u2019s just say I\u2019m playing catch-up and have to be extremely disciplined in my approach to writing.<\/p>\n

The other disadvantage of being a distance student is that I often miss out on seminars and workshops. This in turn means that I miss out on the social side of university and don\u2019t often get the chance to discuss my research with anyone. Attending more of the online webinars on offer has helped with this though. Since the sessions are interactive, you get to share your thoughts and opinions with others and hear theirs in return.<\/p>\n

It was through one of Kelly Preece\u2019s webinars that I \u2018met\u2019 Elsa, another student in a similar position. Together, we\u2019re now starting a Facebook page for part-time, distance graduates to share their experience and make us feel more like part of the student community. You can join our online community Facebook community here.<\/a> We\u2019d love to hear from more of you about the challenges you face and how you\u2019re overcoming them or if you need help that the university or the community can provide.<\/p>\n

Written by:<\/strong><\/em> Anne Blanchflower- Middle East Politics PhD researcher<\/p>\n

LinkedIn Profile<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Passionate about languages, cultures and international affairs, Anne gained her Bachelors Degree in Modern Languages from Coventry University in 1997 and a Masters Degree in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,27,31],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Challenges of a Part-Time, Distance PGR Student - Doctoral College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2018\/03\/12\/the-challenges-of-a-part-time-distance-pgr-student\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Challenges of a Part-Time, Distance PGR Student - 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