Exploring int'l opportunities for postgraduates

One of the major benefits of pursuing a postgraduate degree (especially at PhD level) is the range of collaborative international experiences which lie at your fingertips. This article takes a look at how you can take advantage of them.

1.  Attending conferences

Perhaps the most obvious way in which you can spend time abroad is by attending an international conference. Most highly ranked universities will provide each PhD (and in some cases masters) students with a research allowance which they can spend on flights and accommodation to attend international conferences (you can also find our article on how to approach conferences here).

2.  Visiting student

If you can find a link between your research and the faculty of an international university, then it is a relatively straightforward process to spend time overseas as a visiting student. Visiting students have a flexible schedule and are able to choose whether they spend a semester or a whole academic year abroad. It is important to first check with your university’s relevant department which will provide you with more information on how much time you can spend away as a visiting student and any financial support which the university may be able to provide.

3.  Visiting fellowships

Unlike visiting student status, visiting fellowships are a fixed-term (often funded) research position which allow you to carry out some type of research which is related to the library, institute or university to which it is affiliated. For example, the Huntington Library in California (https://huntington.org) offers numerous visiting fellowships to Humanities postgraduate students who can convincingly argue that they require access to part of the library’s collection for their research.