Emma Dean

PhD in Rural Geography / Agri-food
School of City and Regional Planning
UK Student

I’d always dreamt of doing a PhD and was unsure what to do career wise in the final year of my undergraduate course.  When my tutor asked me what I wanted to do I mentioned postgraduate study and he was thrilled.  He offered me fantastic support to fill in all the applications for funding so I could continue with my studies.  It was his final year module that influenced my choice of research area, I’ve always been passionate about rural issues and his enthusiasm brought this out even more.

My research centre is very friendly and welcoming, whilst I’m ‘only’ a PhD student I feel very much part of the whole centre, I guess partly because I am often in my office and therefore get to see people. 

Cardiff is a great city.  The university is well placed to pop into town easily and very well connected for visiting friends at weekends who live elsewhere.  There are so many events in Cardiff and I’ve already taken advantage of the concerts and rugby matches that often occur here.  The parks are great to ‘escape’ the city life and lose yourself in thought whilst the Bay is a good area to go for a more sophisticated night out!  There’s near enough everything a student could wish for here in Cardiff.

The academic support, the friends I have made and the city itself have made my postgraduate experience the best that it could have been.