The Graduate School

The University of Portsmouth Graduate School is home to a community of more than 1,000 research degree students across our 5 faculties.

Whether you're studying for a PhD, MPhil, MRes, MD, Professional Doctorate or PhD by Publication, the Graduate School can help you through every aspect of your research degree, from admission, registration, submission of your thesis, to your viva voce examination.

The Graduate School is where you'll find bespoke training and professional development courses to grow your research career – and is your first port of call for student and supervisor guidance and support, and for the latest postgraduate social and academic events.

Learn more about us - read blog posts from the Graduate School

Postgraduate researcher training

Our Graduate School Development Programme (GSDP) offers free online and in-person training, workshops and special interest groups covering topics such as research design, doctoral process and career development. They're delivered by our expert tutors, and support students at all stages of their research degrees.

Our online training also covers doctoral process and skills for researchers, and these fast-paced resources contribute to the 10 annual days of research development activities (5 days for part-time students), that we expect you to complete.

For more information on our training and development, visit our Graduate School Development page.

Research degree inductions

Your postgraduate study at Portsmouth begins each year with registration. After registration you'll receive your student ID card, which gives you access to the University Library, and a University of Portsmouth computer username and password.

We arrange a 2-day introductory programme to help you make rapid progress with your studies. The Graduate School induction event runs in October and February each year and is compulsory for all new postgraduate research degree students. The event will provide you with:

• Introductions to the key personnel involved in the Graduate School and registration of your research degree
• Understanding of what is different about doctoral level postgraduate study and how to prepare for it
• Opportunities to meet other research degree students and supervisors from your department, faculty and the wider University as a whole. During the two days you will be introduced to the Graduate School Development Programme (GSDP) and events, and shown how to login to the Skills Forge software.

Your faculty and/or department will also organise local welcome events. Before arriving at the University, you will be invited to attend these introductory events. If you require more details about induction, please contact your departmental office or the Graduate School at graduate.school@port.ac.uk.

Our next 'Getting started with your research' introductory programme is on Wednesday 4 October - Thursday 5 October 2023. All new students will receive an invitation to attend, with more details available in early September.

Supervisor training

The Graduate School also offers training and support for your supervisory team, to make sure that your supervisors have the skills and knowledge to support you through your research degree from start to finish. 

Events

The Graduate School holds various events throughout the year to enhance your research degree experience with us including our 3-day Thesis Boot Camp, the Festival of Doctoral Research and other special interest events. More information on these events can be found at our Graduate School Eventbrite page.

Vitae

Vitae is the global leader in supporting the professional development of researchers, working with universities globally striving for innovation, impact and research excellence. They provide some extremely useful advice on getting started with your PhD, including a downloadable professional development guide for new researchers. It also organises interactive Google hangouts with leading research professionals as well as useful advice on getting started, planning your time and developing your skills as a researcher. Visit the Vitae Website.