Doctoral development
Learn more about the training opportunities at King's.
Activities and resources from the Centre for Doctoral Studies to help you understand and navigate your doctoral journey.
Doctoral Essentials is one of our eight key doctoral development themes, designed to help postgraduate research students across King’s navigate the support on offer.
For guidance on booking live workshops and registering for on-demand services, see how to access our courses.
Please note, to access SkillsForge you will require King's log in credentials.
Getting the Best from your Supervisor (Access through SkillsForge PGR324)
This course will help you to understand your supervisor’s perspective and expectations and will highlight areas for autonomy and supervision throughout a doctoral journey. Learn how to be assertive and persuasive in the way that you communicate with your supervisors to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
Making the Most of Conferences (Access through SkillsForge PGR115)
Attending conferences is an essential part of being a researcher. Conferences provide opportunities to share research findings and questions, to build a research network and to begin research collaborations. This workshop is aimed at doctoral researchers who will be attending a conference for the first-time and aims to equip participants with knowledge and tips to enable them to make the most out of attending academic conferences.
Postgraduate Funding: Considering the Alternatives for Research Students (Access through SkillsForge PGR131)
Are you a current PhD or PGR student who needs extra funding for fees, living expenses, research, conference or 4th year PhD writing-up costs? If the answer is ‘yes’, then consider joining this workshop. It’s all about funding from unusual places you probably haven’t heard of! As well as explaining the more ‘usual’ postgraduate funding options available, it’s mainly about alternative grant-making bodies in Britain: principally charities, trusts, and foundations. Charities and trusts are seldom used by students, but often make grants regardless of subject, course, or nationality. They are an excellent – but underrated – funding option.
Preparing for the Oral Examination (Access through SkillsForge PGR105)
This course is intended for research students in the final stages of writing up the thesis. It will help you prepare for the oral examination. This workshop identifies the regulations, expectations and outcomes of the viva and aims to address questions and anxieties.
Preparing for the Upgrade in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (Access through SkillsForge PGR144)
This course is intended for research students in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences who are in the run-up to the upgrade from MPhil to PhD. The course will provide guidance on how to construct the upgrade report, prepare for the interview/presentation and what the differences are between an MPhil and a PhD.
Preparing for the Upgrade in the Sciences (Access through SkillsForge PGR174)
This course is intended for research students in the Health, Natural and Engineering Sciences who are in the run-up to the upgrade from MPhil to PhD. The course will provide guidance on how to construct the upgrade report, prepare for the interview/presentation and what the differences are between an MPhil and a PhD.
Starting your PhD in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (Access through SkillsForge PGR101)
This course, aimed at first year doctoral students in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, provides an overview of the PhD: what it is, what to expect and how to manage a research project effectively.
Starting your PhD in the Sciences (Access through SkillsForge PGR100)
This course, aimed at first year doctoral students in the Health, Natural and Engineering Sciences, provides an overview of the PhD: what it is, what to expect and how to manage a research project effectively.
The Seven Secrets of Highly Successful Research Students (Access through SkillsForge PGR237)
Find out what doctoral researchers do to finish on time, overcome isolation, doubt and writer’s block, and enjoy the process, while spending time with family and friends and perhaps even having holidays
Using Word to Create a Thesis Template (Access through SkillsForge PGR308)
This workshop teaches you how to create a template in MS Word which contains all the formatting, layout, and styles required for a professional and easily managed thesis, saving you hours of time and a template you can use for future pieces of work.
Writing up the Thesis in the Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (Access through SkillsForge PGR104)
This course is for research students who are entering the writing-up phase of their doctorate. In addition to addressing key questions about the structure and content of a thesis, it will also explore writing strategies and how to cope with ‘writer’s block’.
Writing up the Thesis in the Sciences (Access through SkillsForge PGR103)
This course is for research students who are entering the writing-up phase of their doctorate. In addition to addressing key questions about the structure and content of a thesis, it will also explore writing strategies and how to cope with ‘writer’s block’.
To find out more about our on-demand platforms and how to access them, see how to access our courses.
The Centre for Doctoral Studies has developed for King’s PGR Students a series of on-demand courses in the Doctoral Essentials section of the PGR Core Library on KEATS (King's log in credentials required). The courses cover all doctoral milestones, from starting the doctorate and the Upgrade to preparing for the oral examination, and there are additional resources for building a positive supervisory relationship.
Consisting of 5 courses, this 21-hour learner pathway gives you a good overview of the research journey, from formulating the research question and proposal to making a robust project plan and literature search strategy.
Learn how to use Microsoft Office tools more efficiently and effectively for your research, such as creating Word templates for your thesis and organising digital notes with OneNote.
Library Services provide a range of interactive e-learning materials for researchers through the King’s Learning and Skills Service (King's log in credentials required). Modules include literature searching, understanding and avoiding plagiarism, and specialised search skills for systematic reviews.
The Research Support site contains extensive guidance on how King’s Libraries and Collections can support your project, with information on copyright considerations, open access publishing, and managing your research data effectively.
The Bloomsbury Postgraduate Skills Network (BPSN) is a network of nine leading higher education institutions in the Bloomsbury area, created with the purpose of sharing best practice in generic and transferable skills training for graduate research students. King's is an established member of this network, opening up additional opportunities for transferable skills training for all of our postgraduate research students.
Learn more about the training opportunities at King's.
Training and development and careers support for health researchers.
Find out more about our Doctoral training partnerships.
About the Centre of Doctoral Studies and available student support.