AIBU - students and travel

[JaneS]

Posted this in student parents, but hopefully will get more responses here.

I'm not a parent but DH and I are hoping I will be before the end of my course. I'm just starting the second year of my PhD. When I started, I agreed with my supervisor that I could do the course by commuting, since my then DP had just got a job in the city we lived in, and the research facilities are better there. I think it worked well, and I love the city I live in. There were downsides, and I know the department I'm attached to would have liked me to be more involved with life there - but to be honest, I'm not sure I would have been any more involved if I'd lived there.

My supervisor has now got a new job, and my new supervisor (though lovely), isn't fighting my corner so much. The head of department wants me to move much nearer to the university, which is 200 miles from DH's job (and my research). He thinks I need the community of students there, but to be honest, I have a perfectly good community here, and I chat with people over the internet too. I'm pretty sure the research community in my home town is better than the one at my university town, so I think he's being an idiot.

Could you tell me what you think of the situation? Are there advantages to living nearer my university that I've overlooked, or would you be happy to work long distance? Am I BU to tell the head of department he's being silly?

You have to do what is best for your home life and not let work dictate if there is no valid reason. If it is not part of your contract then I would do what works for you.

I don't see the problem and think its very common. I certainly know people who are based in one university city but are actually affiliated to and teach at a completely different university. If they can do it for teaching it must be possible for a PhD. I'd push as hard as possible for everything to stay the same. In the worst case scenario, is there any way you could transfer the funding etc to your current hometown university?

Thanks! I thought it was completely strange of him to be so bothered and really unnecessary.

I can't transfer the funding though azaz - I already turned down my local uni as they didn't have anyone who could supervise my project, and they don't offer the same PhD I'm working on, so it's a no-go really.

I'm two days into a full-time PhD, so my opinion is that of a mature student who knows very little. My funding is from the department and I have as part of that an obligation to do some demonstrating (I get paid, but I can't say no), so for me it's a non-debate: I live within walking distance, anyway.

That said, a friend of mine completed her PhD in the early 90s whilst living variously in Oxford and the US with her supervisor working in two northern England universities while her registration was in the Midlands. Everyone had email (universal these days, but in the early 90s this was a bigger issue), and it all seemed to work out. However, she was working for companies which were themselves research focussed in related areas, and it could be argued that the communities she was amongst were more relevant to her research than the universities themselves.

tokyo, you must be excited right now! Hope you enjoy it all.

I am required to do some teaching, but I managed to do my trainee teaching at 9 am once a week last term, so I think I can show there's no problem!

It sounds as if my head of department is just being a bit over-zealous and silly - which is what I thought, so I am reassured.