Postgraduate Life at Newcastle University
Postgraduate life at Newcastle University is busy, exciting and (of course) educational. There are so many opportunities for postgrads to take advantage of. There are special interest groups for just about every area of linguistics you can think of, international conferences, and seminars with visiting speakers. There are lots of social activities, some organised by the Linguistics Society like the weekly LinguistLunch or a quiz night. And there are great opportunities to attend conferences, with a generous conference allowance to make this possible on a student budget.
I recently attended LAGB, the annual meeting of the Linguistics Society of Great Britain. I presented a paper, which meant I could qualify for a bursary and it didn’t cost me much at all. It was held in Edinburgh, and several staff members from Newcastle were there too (some of us travelled there together). The meeting lasted four days and there were three parallel strands so there was always something of interest. As well as lots of talks, I went to a workshop about teaching linguistics, which was really useful, and to a language tutorial on Scottish Gaelic, which was fascinating. We learnt all about just why there are all those extra letters in the words! I was very nervous about giving my paper as it was my first conference, but the atmosphere was very supportive and the feedback included some good suggestions. I met lots of nice people, and I also took the opportunity to catch up with friends in Edinburgh while I was there.
I also tend to take advantage of the chance to attend conferences held at Newcastle (usually, if you help at the conference, you can attend for free). Last year there was TADWO, a word order conference which was very relevant to my research and had talks from some big names in syntax. Then I also attended two which were not directly relevant to my work, but which still interested me: UKLVC (a variation and change conference) and BAAL (applied linguistics). To be able to go to these events is fantastic, and I feel very lucky.
There’s not really any such thing as a typical week, because so many different things are happening all the time. I suppose a representative week would include lots of time working on my PhD research, which I do either at home, in the CRiLLS space, or in the PG suite in my School. If I work in the PG suite I usually have a coffee and a chat with some of the other PhDs, as it’s a very friendly department and there’s always someone around to have a natter with when you want a break from work. And on Wednesdays, I often have my lunch in the Percy Building staff common room, where linguists from all across CRiLLS can meet up. I’ll also prepare seminars and teach during the course of the week – I’m teaching some first year syntax seminars this year. I might attend a faculty research training event and every other week I attend the syntax reading group. If there’s a seminar on I usually go, as they’re always interesting, and I like to stay for the wine and nibbles afterwards. I’m also president of the linguistics society, so I spend some time organising events like trips and meals, and this year I’m editing the Working Papers, so I’ll be spending lots of time on that.
Not everyone does as many things as me, of course, and if you prefer to just attend the odd thing now and again, that’s fine too. But if you want to fill your time with stimulating and enjoyable activities, it’s very easy to do so at Newcastle.Laura Bailey, PhD Student at Newcastle University
