Course eligibility and registration

This course is ONLY for first-year doctoral students who have completed at least five months of their PhD.

Please click on the relevant course name to register. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. If this course is full and you are unable to register for it, there will be further course opportunities to practise speaking about your research in the coming months of your programme. This course is only being offered in person on campus in the autumn term. 

Autumn term 2023  classes

 This course only runs in Block B of the Summer term.

Course overview

This is a 4-week course (90 minutes once a week) preparing students for activities in the run up to the Early Stage Assessment (ESA) as well as for the ESA spoken element itself. It is therefore most beneficial to doctoral students who have completed at least 5 months of their programme. Students practise speaking about their research area and identifying connections with the research of others; they discuss gaps in the literature, outline methodologies they plan to adopt, give a detailed technical explanation of their work and practise answering questions. They are encouraged to be both concise and precise. It may also be beneficial to students in the run up to the Late Stage Review (LSR).

Course structure

• Each week there will be materials, accessed remotely, to prepare you for the scheduled live session. The remote session is not timetabled, but you are expected to spend a minimum of 30 minutes on the activities. 
• The group will then meet for a 90-minute live session in which you will have the opportunity to speak (usually in small groups), receive feedback and develop the effectiveness of your oral communication. Sessions focus on both specific tasks and key speaking skills. 
• After each session, you will be encouraged to reflect on feedback received in class (from your peers and your teacher), to build on this and to further practise in order to hone your skills. This can take a further 30 minutes.