My PhD journey at Queen’s isn’t just about the research - although there’s plenty of that. It’s also about finding connection and community, achieving that elusive work-life balance, and sussing out the best coffee spots in Belfast. In this blog post, I’ll tell you why I started, where I work and play (and eat out, because I’m highly food motivated), and what’s kept me (mostly) sane along the way.

Why I chose to do a PhD, and why I chose Queen’s

I’d been thinking about doing a PhD for a few years, probably because, by nature, I love to learn and periodically stretch my comfort zone. But I might not have considered it seriously if my mentors hadn’t consistently prompted me to think about it. I’d been keen to get my feet wet in nursing practice first after graduating in winter 2017, and then I wanted to wait until it felt like the right time and for the right project to commit to.

My desk

When my supervisor Gary approached me about a PhD exploring the lived experiences of pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2023, it struck a chord with me: “This might be the one!”. It would be meaningful for me personally, hopefully impactful because it was supported by NIPANC (Northern Ireland Pancreatic Cancer), and I was yearning to reconnect with people after working remotely as a research assistant for a few years.

I chose to study at Queen’s primarily because of the School of Nursing and Midwifery. I did my undergraduate degree in the School and worked as a research assistant there, and I couldn’t imagine going on the next leg of my journey elsewhere, given how encouraging and supportive the faculty and staff within the School have always been.

A breakdown of each year of my PhD

Year 1: Foundations

The first year of my PhD involved a lot of reading, learning my field, developing my research protocol, and applying for ethics. 

Recording some content with NIPANC for my PhD

Year 2: Methodology and data collection

The second year has been about getting final ethical approval, digging into my literature review and finalising it, writing my methodology chapter, and beginning recruitment. I’ve also had the opportunity to share my protocol and review findings at conferences and network with other psycho-oncology researchers. The rest of second year will be focused on data collection.

Year 3: Writing up

My third year will involve writing up my results and discussion chapters, generally getting my thesis together, ensuring my theory is sound, and preparing for Viva.

Meetings with my supervisor: flexible but focused

How often I meet with my supervisor depends on what’s going on and what stage things are at. Sometimes it’s twice a month, and sometimes it’s once a month. When things are busier, there’s an agenda for us to get through, and at other meetings it’s a quick progress update and a chat.

With PhD colleagues at a palliative care symposium at Stormont

PhDs are essentially training programmes, and so often these meetings help me to get something straight that I can’t get my head around, sometimes I get a healthy dose of perspective and motivation when I’m struggling, and sometimes they help for planning and mapping things out. How these meetings go really depends on your style, your supervisor’s style, and your working relationship.

Community

I often say to colleagues that no-one gets through a PhD on their own, and that’s because I rely so much on my community. I’m inspired by my colleagues and learn so much from them, and the thing is, is that they really get what I’m doing and what doing a PhD is like. My friends and family outside of academia try to understand, but I don’t think they fully can - which is why they ask things like, “Do you have much work to do?”. Ha! I do my best work with a pomodoro timer and an accountability buddy (or several), and I work most days in a Teams call with a writing group of colleagues who like to have a shadow/body double too.

Some of our School community

If I have one recommendation to anyone, it’s to find community or create community. Share the journey. It doesn’t matter if you’re at different stages and doing completely different things. You just need people who are rooting for you and who you’re rooting for, who will hold you to account and get you moving when you’re stuck, and who you can celebrate the wins (big and small) with. Big shoutout to the PhD Queen’s, my habibis, and everyone on Level 7. 

Workshops at the Graduate School: Take full advantage

I attend loads of workshops - probably too many, but we are so lucky to have access to them! Some of my favourites have been the PhD MOT, applying project management principles to your PhD, and turbocharge your writing with Hugh Kearns. Anything led by Fabiana or Abbie has helped me with my habits, practices, or thinking.

My favourite study spots (on and off campus)

I enjoy working at my desk on Level 7 of the MBC, but when that isn’t doing it for me and neither is working from home, I enjoy going into the Thomas J Moran Graduate School (such a beautiful space to work from!), the McClay Library (I hit a mode of being that’s probably a hangover from my undergraduate days), Sojourn Coffee on Elmwood, or somewhere further from campus for a change of scene.

I’ve spent some really nice workdays in the Lyric Theatre, upstairs in Café Parisien with a hot chocolate, YALLAA CAFÉ (they serve Arabic coffee!), and in the DOCK Café and the Titanic Hotel in the Titanic Quarter. The MAC is a nice spot too – I keep meaning to head in there for the day.

Life outside the PhD

Touching grass/recharging

Although I don’t always succeed in it, I try to manage a good work-life balance! If I’m craving nature, but don’t have a lot of time to play with, I enjoy meeting up with a friend for a lunchtime walk in Ormeau Park or the Botanic Gardens. If I’ve got a bit more time, I love walking along the Towpath from the Belfast Boat Club towards the Lockkeeper’s cottage or going into the Lagan Meadows. It really feels like I’m not in the city anymore! In better weather, I love going to Helen’s Bay for a morning cold water dip, and I’ve recently rediscovered how accessible the Mournes are for a hike.

Morning dip at Helen's Bay

Grabbing food and coffee

For food spots beyond Boojum, I love Hi Burger (in Banana Block or the Boneyard) for a burger and fries. I’m vegan and so impressed with their vegan burger, so they make everyone happy! Jumon is one of my favourite spots in Belfast; it’s great to go with friends and get some sharing plates so you can try a bit of everything.

Jumon

For gloomy day comfort food, I really enjoy Ragin’ Ramen or Hustle, and it’s hard to beat brunch at Brew and Bake on the Lisburn Road. Bread and Banjo bakery on Ormeau Road is amazing for goodies, but you need to go early. The Ulster Museum in Botanic Gardens actually does a nice hot chocolate too for a rainy day, and if I’m looking for good coffee, I tend to hit up Sojourn, Napoleon, Neighbourhood, 5A/General Merchant’s, and Suntrap (if it’s a weekend)… and I’d probably better cut myself off there! 

Going out to play

When I’m not studying, I try to make time for play, which is so important for decompressing during, or after, busy spells. I was going to Boulderworld on the Boucher Road every week for a while and would love to get back into that. It’s fun and feels like you’re just monkeying around, but it’s great exercise! My arms and legs start to shake before I’m ready to stop. And it’s a great stress buster, because rather than chewing over a work problem or thinking about the PhD or life thing dominating your mind, you’re entirely focused on the problem on the wall and trying to work out how to solve the route.

Prison Island Country Finals

Prison Island is another great activity for that. I’m a big advocate for adult play - we don’t play enough, and we need to! My boyfriend, housemate and I got really into Prison Island last year. I went with the Wellbeing Ambassadors in June 2024 and afterwards told them “We have to go and do this, it’s SO MUCH FUN!”. Before we knew it, we were decompressing at Prison Island pretty regularly during a busy work season and competing in the Country Finals.

On campus, we now have a great hangout spot at Reboot on the Lisburn Road, and as someone who loves board games and gaming in general, it’s great to be able to meet up to play a bit of Catan or Pandemic (too soon?) or try something new with friends. I also appreciate that they have high speed gaming PCs upstairs so I can dip my feet into games like Dota2 every once in a while. I’m too busy to get on that train at home, so I only let myself play them at Reboot. The QFT is always a winner for a night at the cinema too.

Reboot

In summary

Doing a PhD isn’t always easy (it’s an endurance challenge), but having community, the right spaces to work from, and a variable rewards system in place makes all the difference. For me, that means a wee sweet treat and a nice coffee (small), an hour or two of thrifting or play (medium), or a day on the hills or night away (large). That makes all the difference. Queen’s has given me the space to grow - and Belfast has given me plenty of places to decompress along the way.

Find out more

PhD Opportunities at Queen's

The PhD Application Process

Postgraduate Research: Student Blogs

Lana Cook PhD Student at the School of Nursing and Midwifery | Postgraduate Student | Scotland, UK Originally from North Ayrshire, Scotland, I first moved to Belfast in 2013 to study for a BSc (Hons) in Adult Nursing at Queen’s and it quickly became my second home. After gaining clinical experience in Belfast, I spent time living in Canada and back in Scotland, before returning in 2023 to begin my PhD, which explores the lived experiences of people with pancreatic cancer in Northern Ireland. Feel free to reach out if you have questions about Belfast, Queen’s, or life as a PGR student. I studied abroad in South Carolina in 2015/16, so I understand what it’s like to be new here - or far from home.