Coaching for Masters and PhD students
Postgraduate research asks you to work largely alone for months or years, manage yourself, and judge your progress against a standard nobody fully explains. Coaching gives you a place to think clearly about it.
- “I haven’t written anything properly in weeks, and I don’t know how to tell my supervisor.”
- “Everyone else seems to know what they’re doing.”
- “My results don’t match what I planned, and I don’t know what the thesis is any more.”
- “I’m not sure I want an academic career, and I can’t say that out loud.”
- “Submission is months away and I can’t see the end.”
Where postgraduate students often are when they first get in touch.
What we can work on
- Getting writing moving. Working out what’s actually blocking you, and building a routine you can keep.
- Your supervisor relationship. Preparing for difficult conversations, asking for what you need, and handling feedback without losing momentum.
- The thesis endgame. Deciding what’s essential, what’s good enough, and what can wait until after submission.
- Confidence. The sense that you don’t belong or will be found out is extremely common in postgraduate research. We look at it directly rather than around it.
- Fieldwork and time away. Long stretches in remote places, plans that change, and coming back to the writing afterwards.
- The viva or defence. Getting into a clear, steady frame of mind for the examination.
- What comes next. Academia, industry, or something else entirely, and how to decide.
How this fits with your other support
Your supervisor is responsible for your research; I’m not. I don’t assess you, and I don’t report to your department, which makes it easier to be honest about what’s really going on.
Coaching doesn’t replace supervision or academic advice, and I don’t write or edit any part of your thesis. It works alongside them, helping you make better use of the support you already have.
If you’re struggling with your mental health, your university’s counselling or wellbeing service, or your doctor, is the right first step. Coaching can sit alongside that support, but it isn’t a substitute for it.
Why work with me
I completed my own PhD at Murdoch University recently, researching the diving behaviour of large marine planktivores, with fieldwork in remote locations. The pressures of postgraduate research aren’t abstract to me.
You don’t need to be a scientist. The challenges of a research degree are remarkably similar across disciplines, and coaching works with how you approach the work, not the subject itself.
Practicalities and student rates
Sessions are by video call, so they work wherever you’re studying. You can meet fortnightly through the year, or more often in the run-up to submission or examination.
Student rates
For Masters and PhD students currently enrolled at a university.
| Session | Length | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory call | 15 min | No charge |
| First three sessions | 50 min | £20 each |
| Sessions after that | 50 min | £30 |
I may ask for confirmation of enrolment, such as a student card or university email address.
Book an introductory call
Choose a time for a free 15-minute call, or book a student session directly. Times are shown in your own time zone.
Prefer to write first? Email coaching@calvinbeale.co.uk with your stage (Masters or PhD, and roughly how far through) and what you’d like help with.