What I appreciated during the first semester was the flexibility of teachers and the administration to make life as easy as possible for all students, especially for those that hadn’t been on campus yet. I was very positively surprised about how well the hybrid learning worked out with help of the OWL system and I think it has been beneficial to take courses that focus on different research methods, so that we would all be on the same page and know where and how to start in our own research.

The doctoral training modules have been invaluable to me. We have developed our understanding in both quantitative and qualitative research methods, data analysis techniques, fundamentals of social science research and the best approaches for building a strong publication portfolio. They provided us with the opportunity to meet and collaborate with our peers and the chance to develop a brand-new research project from scratch with the hope to present at conferences and publish in a top journal.

I have had an enjoyable time studying at the Business School. During my past two years of PhD study I've been given a lot of opportunities and resources. I was able to attend various high-quality training and academic seminars. My supervisors are very experienced and supportive, and willing to offer suggestions. I also benefited from the collaboration culture of the School. Through interaction with faculty members and PhD peers, I’ve gained a lot of valuable feedback on my research.

I had an amazing time doing my PhD in Finance, and I honestly couldn’t imagine something I’d rather be enjoying more at this stage in my life. A PhD is a learning process about doing research. I have developed a solid knowledge in my research field and equipped myself with a lot of quantitative skills that helped me to find my post-doc position after graduating from Durham. The research centres in the School provided students with a very supportive research environment.