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Faculty of Social Sciences

Welcome from Dr Rosalind Willis

Welcome new PhD students! I am the Faculty Director of the Graduate School, and it is my role to ensure our strategies and policies give you the best PGR experience here at Southampton. Our Graduate School prides itself on its student-centred focus, and the team will be working hard to help you throughout your studies. I am delighted to be working with doctoral students, whose research is among the most innovative in the academic community. I look forward to supporting you this year.

Dr Rosalind Willis, Associate Professor in Gerontology, Faculty Director of the Graduate School

Welcome from Dr Ben Saunders

Whether you're new to Southampton or not, I'd like to welcome you all to PGR study. I hope that this latest chapter in your educational journey proves to be a rewarding one. I'm the Deputy Director of the Faculty Graduate School, which means that I oversee our training provision for postgraduate researchers, whether it concerns your immediate studies or later employment. Any training requests can be raised at our regular Graduate School Committee meetings, via your PGR student representatives or Doctoral Programme Directors. I look forward to meeting you all in person, perhaps at our induction session in October.

Dr Ben Saunders, Deputy Director of the Faculty Graduate School

Welcome from Dr Ramesh Vahidi

Many congratulations for your well-deserved PhD position and the start of your journey with us! A warm welcome to our faculty’s dynamic PGR community. I am the Interim PGR Senior Tutor (ST). Together with my colleague, Dr Ruben Sanchez Garcia, we provide wellbeing and pastoral support to you, when and if an issue interferes with your studies and affects your expected progress (but hopefully, there will be none of those!).

The University provides a wide range of professional services related to mental health, disabilities or other difficult personal circumstances, to ensure you are well supported. We familiarise you with such services and signpost you to the appropriate ones. There will be regular social gathering for PGRs and the staff so we can meet and chat over a coffee or even more! PhD students are our future thought leaders, academics and practitioners in key positions, so a high-quality PhD experience will ensure our industry, academia and ultimately our society thrives. As PGR STs, we are happy to contribute towards any of these.

I look forward to welcoming you in person, supporting you throughout and celebrating your interim and final success together!

Dr Ramesh Vahidi, Interim PGR Senior Tutor