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Katherine Harrison
PhD Gender Studies
The dissertation she wrote while doing a full-time MA at King’s College London gave Katherine a taste for research, and she decided to do a PhD in the field of gender and technology. Birkbeck was ideal, as she was very keen to work with Lynne Segal, but she also needed somewhere that could accommodate students who were working at the same time as studying.
'I wish to pursue a career in academia and obtaining a PhD is the first step towards doing this. But when I started my degree, I was living on an extremely tight budget and having to work as a private tutor in the evenings (in addition to a day job) in order to cover my fees.'
Her fellow PhD students told her about the College Research Studentships available to Birkbeck students, so she applied, and was delighted when her application was accepted:
'Getting the studentship meant I could devote more time to my research. It was also a huge confidence boost, as it meant that my research was considered good enough to merit receiving a studentship.'
Even with financial support, doing a PhD part-time while working is a challenging proposition. How did Katherine cope?
'Juggling work and study made me very organised and time-efficient. I also became much more careful about my health, as I couldn't afford to lose time through being unwell! But I have a group of very close friends among my fellow PhD students, and we socialise outside college. We also organised a reading group together.
'Generally, I find Birkbeck students very friendly and genuinely keen to build community among themselves - more so than at other universities I have attended. Moreover, I have found my supervisors have been supportive and encouraging.'
Katherine's research has been recognised beyond Birkbeck:
'In the final year of my PhD, I was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship for Early-Stage Researchers called GenderGraduates Interdisciplinary PhD Training in Gender and Women's Studies, hosted at Tema Genus, Linköping University, Sweden.'
And as for her plans for the future?
'I am currently applying for funding for a postdoctoral project I wish to pursue, after which I hope to find employment as a lecturer, either in the UK, US or Europe.'
