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Welcome to ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº if you are new and welcome back if not.

I am Pro-Provost of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº's Doctoral School which has responsibility for ensuring high quality doctoral education at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. We have over 4500 research students, the majority of them working towards a PhD. We have recently changed our name from Graduate School to Doctoral School to reflect our concentration on postgraduate research degrees only.Ìý

¹û¶³Ó°Ôº covers a very wide range of research areas and we are very proud of our research training environment where research students work with world experts in their field.Ìý Our new intake of research students is joining a truly vibrant community of researchers working at the frontiers of knowledge. ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº is an exceptional place to undertake a research degree: you have already achieved much in securing a place here, but this is just the beginning of a journey that will excite, challenge and inspire you as future leaders in your chosen fields.

If you are an undergraduate or a Masters student let me encourage you to consider the opportunities for research degrees here at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. The PhD aims to train researchers able to develop their own original ideas, to plan and execute a project to 'prove' their ideas, and to communicate these complex issues to peers and increasingly to wider society. People with PhDs are sought for a wide range of careers beyond academia, wherever creative yet rigorous solutions to complex problems are required - in industries large and small, commerce, government, the third sector and elsewhere. I often wish the media would recruit more PhDs to enable them to give more rigorous and informed comment on complex scientific and social issues. If you are a PhD student already you may recognise this feeling.

There is a wealth of support and advice available to help support our research students with current research and future plans.We have a very comprehensive Ìýto help research students develop skills needed for the PhD project and for future careers, and a with experts with experience of the breadth of research careers. Supervisors, PhD Administrators, Departmental and Faculty Graduate Tutors as well as the Student Centre and colleagues in Student Support and Wellbeing are all on hand to guide and advise our researchers.

I would encourage all doctoral students to look at our regularly updated where you will find much essential information, including all the procedures and forms you will need as you progress through your programme, full information and online booking for our Doctoral Skills Development Programme, and news of Events and Competitions (look out for our Research Images as Art Competition in December). You will also find information for research students undertaking teaching roles (PGTAs); important information on research integrity and research ethics, and on opportunities for international study.

Whatever your programme of study I wish you all the best for the coming year - and do look at the wide range of activities on offer for research training here at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº. It may well help you achieve your career goals now or in the future.

Professor David Bogle, Head of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Doctoral School