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I had a fantastic time doing my PhD here. My research was on water ownership in the Himalayas. I loved the research: the topic was fascinating, fieldwork was life-changing and the process of writing it up was really great, too. My supervisor was incredibly helpful throughout, and even came to visit me in the field. Beyond that, the Department provided a wonderful community within which to do my work: doing a PhD can be pretty lonely, but the PhD students in anthropology meet at least once a week for seminars and pub trips. I was also affiliated with MIASU - the Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit - which provided another lovely centre of gravity for my life and research.
The transition to “post-PhD life” has been pretty great too. Since my PhD, I've been working as a Post-Doctoral Research and Teaching Associate in the department, doing lots of teaching of undergraduates and MPhils and working on a monograph based on the PhD. My PhD supervisor is still really engaged with my progress, and gives me huge amounts of advice - it's been fantastic that that relationship hasn't gone away. The other faculty have been really welcoming as I've made the transition from student to staff, too. I’ve made plenty of clumsy mistakes along the way – but everyone’s very nice about them. It’s a great Department to be a part of.
Theo Hughes-Morgan - 2019 cohort (April 11, 2025)
I could not imagine a better place to do a PhD. The programme includes rich and varied seminars addressing research methods, ethnographic writing and anthropological theory. Other post-field students and I find that suggestions and comments we receive during the weekly writing seminar, led by a senior member of staff, are more helpful than those received from any setting beyond the department. So too the ‘senior seminar’ series gives an invaluable opportunity to participate in anthropological discussion at the highest level. The Department offers students a fantastic environment in which to develop their work so that it speaks to anthropological theory in the most impactful way possible. Meanwhile, the many opportunities across the university for region-focused and inter-disciplinary discussion also help make this an exceptionally productive environment in which to develop one’s voice as a researcher.
Yet the most valuable and vital aspects of the PhD programme are relationships with other students. My cohort-mates and I have developed our work in conversation with each other, which feels incredibly exciting. Many of the ideas guiding our respective theses came out of shared discussion. I am profoundly grateful to be writing my thesis in a department with such a dynamic programme. The collegial relationships developed throughout my time in Cambridge are sure to be central to my life in anthropology moving forward.
Tom Powell-Davies - 2015 cohort (April 11, 2025)