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Your life in the School

If you undertake your PhD with us, you’ll join an active community of PhD students in our School who are making a real impact with their research.

You’ll also become part of a large, diverse community of doctoral students across the University.

Our School collaborates with other University departments and research centres as well as with external institutions.

Learn about the wider PhD community at Reading

I selected Reading for the expertise and support of my two advisors – their statures in the field and their generosity with time and resource. I knew that my work was sure to benefit from the world-leading reputation of the team at Reading.
Vincent DeLuca, PhD graduate

Delivering research with impact

Our School fosters a culture that values and promotes the impact of its research, and we ensure that our research has real-world benefits.

During your PhD, you’ll have opportunities to communicate your work with other researchers, present seminars, and speak at conferences and workshops.

Research seminars

The School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences hosts regular research seminars, where researchers discuss their work with the public.

Following each seminar, attendees have the opportunity to meet with the speaker to ask any questions and learn more about their research.

Fairbrother Lecture

The Doctoral and Researcher College hosts an annual public lecture – the Fairbrother Lecture – delivered by a current or recent doctoral student.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a wider audience to hear about high quality doctoral research taking place at Reading.


Doctoral Research Conference

The Graduate School also hosts an annual Doctoral Research Conference to showcase Reading’s variety and excellence of postgraduate research. It provides an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues from across the University.

Students from the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences have won several competitions at past events.

PhD Researcher of the Year finalist 2019 (Health research theme)

Finalist Emma Pilkington presented her PhD, Jargon busting: the cognitive mechanisms underpinning Jargon aphasia and perseveration, at the 2019 Doctoral Research Conference.

“After a stroke, some people have difficulty organising the sounds within words, causing a word production problem called Jargon speech.

“Existing treatment options are limited. My research explores techniques to improve Jargon speech with a view to identifying more effective treatments."

Watch Emma discuss her research and her experience of presenting at the conference.

A student using their laptop outside

Life on campus

Whiteknights campus is set on 130 hectares of beautiful parkland, so you'll find plenty of places to relax. It is home to a thriving community and features the Students' Union, Library and places to eat.
Two students in Reading town centre

Life in Reading

Step off campus and you'll find yourself in a bustling town centre offering a variety of shops, restaurants and activities. We're also well-connected – you can reach London Paddington within half an hour by train. 
Athena SWAN Silver Award