Event Note on the “PhD Abroad” Workshop

As workshop presenters, Mieszkowski had recruited three of the University of Vienna’s Department of English Studies’ alumnae, who had all worked as tutors during their studies:

Theresa Stampfer started her PhD position in a third-party funded project in July 2024, is partly paid by this project and partly employed by the University of Magdeburg.

Esther Zitterl started her fully funded PhD at the University of St. Andrews in autumn 2024. 

Olivia Scarr started her PhD, fully funded as well, at Corpus Christi College, Oxford in autumn 2025.

The three presenters took the workshop participants through their respective experiences, the decision-making processes involved and the organisational challenges that presented themselves. They also pointed out the financial and administrative hurdles, provided links and information they had collected over many months, and offered them in a concise Powerpoint presentation that was shared after the workshop. Professor Mieszkowski supplemented this information from their applicants’ viewpoints with that of someone who sits at the other side of the table: selecting applications, at interviews, mentoring PhD students and supporting MA students in preparing for the first steps towards becoming an early career researcher.

Here are a few of the comments that workshop participants offered as feedback:

• “Thank you for Friday’s workshop, it was enlightening, and Esther, Theresa and Olivia were great! I particularly found useful that there were slides covering a variety of topics from making the decision to do a PhD to finding funding, sprinkled with the personal experiences of the presenters. I also liked the structure of the workshop with its step-by-step approach, which helped break down pursuing a PhD into smaller stages and made it feel less overwhelming. I appreciated that there were many links regarding how to find websites to apply for PhD positions and funding, but what made a real difference was how each of the presenters shared their experiences and guided us through this process from a first-hand perspective.”
• “Before attending this workshop, the thought of applying for a PhD was even more anxiety-inducing than that of actually doing a PhD. The workshop showed me that if you know what you are doing and go about it in a systematic way, it is not actually that bad - and that the horror stories are a result of students not receiving all the information that Olivia, Theresa and Esther so kindly compiled for us! I believe every faculty should offer workshops like this for (former) students who are interested in doing a PhD. I am certain it would encourage more students with potential who would otherwise feel deterred by the whole procedure simply because they don't have the information they need (esp. about funding!) to take this step.”
• “It was incredibly helpful, both for deciding whether doing my PhD abroad is for me in general and in understanding the process that gets you there. For me it was also not intimidating that there's apparently a lot of work going into researching, applying etc., but rather inspiring, because, for me, starting out is always the biggest obstacle due to there being so many things I have to do and not knowing what to prioritise first if I don't have experience in this particular area. This workshop absolutely helped me structuring all my thoughts and showed me exactly what to do when. Plus, we got a lot of insider information regarding specific universities that saves me a ton of research time. Thanks a lot again for organising this workshop! It was a total hoot!”
• “I want to emphasize that the workshop was extremely insightful and should be held again in the future. Olivia, Theresa, Esther and you not only provided us with a great deal of general information, but were also able to share many practical tips and experiences (regarding accommodation, day to day life, work life balance, finances, etc.) with us, which was very helpful as an initial orientation. I am very grateful that I was allowed to participate in the workshop, even though I am studying comparative literature, and I hope that similar events will be held in the future!”
• “Taking part in the PhD Abroad Workshop was truly inspiring and motivating, and it has strengthened my determination to pursue a career in academia. Hearing first-hand insights from students who recently navigated the process of researching and applying for PhD programs was invaluable. Their shared experiences made information that is often difficult to access much more approachable, helping me to expand my understanding of potential universities and locations to consider, as well as how to approach proposal writing (and re-writing). Especially as someone currently working full-time in a non-academic environment this access was crucial in helping me to keep up working towards this goal. The presentation materials shared by the speakers after the workshop will serve as a lasting resource in the months of applications and research to come.”

And here is what the workshop presenters thought:

• “When I myself began applying for PhD programmes abroad, a year ago, I remember how daunting and overwhelming it felt—so it was a really special opportunity to be able to share what I’ve learned, encourage others to go for it, and hopefully make the path feel a little less intimidating. It was a great experience to co-host this workshop with two amazing colleagues who brought their own unique insights to the table, and to be part of that important first step in other students’ PhD journeys.”
•  “A first-year PhD student in English at the University of St Andrews, I remember vividly how lost and overwhelmed I felt at the end of my MA. It was a real honour to try and offer the kind of insight and reassurance I had once longed for myself – from funding and relocation to social and academic adjustment – to such a motivated and thoughtful group of students considering the same path.”
•  "Working towards a PhD is an important and (personally) transformative effort to push the boundaries of knowledge. It is also a long and difficult process with many visible and invisible intellectual, economic and institutional hurdles – starting with the complications and opacities involved in attaining a PhD position. The idea that promising academic careers might be cut short and important scholarship might simply not happen because there is no structured support on the first steps towards attaining a PhD (position) in many institutions' MA programmes is troubling. I hope that, through this workshop, we were able to offer a micro-remedy to this problem at least with regard to the group of incredibly motivated attendants. Being part of the workshop was a highly rewarding experience for me personally. Despite the density and the length of the presentation, the students were extremely attentive, asked questions and shared their own experiences. I am confident that we were able to provide more clarity for students considering a career in academia and, should they decide to 'go for it', eased their paths at least a little."