Some Administrative notes for new (and not so new) PhD students

In no particular order....

1. Who?

   More or less in the sequence in which you're likely to encounter them in an 'official' capacity, the people you're going to need to work with are:

   • Your fellow students! Don't be afraid to ask your fellow postgrads 'obvious' questions – they were quite recently in the same boat as you are now (and are a fairly friendly bunch!).
   • Your principal supervisor, and second supervisor. (The level of involvement of second supervisors varies very widely, but even if they're "arm's length" they are there as a backup in case of any problems.)
   • The Group Graduate Tutor, Ian Howarth
   • The Departmental Graduate Tutor, Tania Monteiro.
   • The personnel of the Graduate School (they operate an 'open door' policy)
   • College offers a range of support services (academic, medical, and personal) if you have "issues" that can't be resolved by any of the above.
2. Administistrative offices

   There are three offices that provide administrative and other support (in addition to the College and University administrations). These are:

   • The Group A office. This office is opposite the tea-room in the main Group A corridor, and in principle staffed by the Group A administrator – the indefatigable and ever cheerful Kay Nakum. However, at the time of writing Kay is working in E2 (on the ground floor of the main physics building). It isn't clear where she'll be working in the long term, but she's often the person to talk to if you're unsure about anything for which your supervisor isn't the obvious contact.
     (You should know that the building that houses the Group A corridor is called the Kathleen Lonsdale Building, or KLB, in honour of a famous UCL physical chemist.)

   • The Departmental Office – just what it says on the label. Staffed by Christine Johnston et al.
     

   • The Head of Department's Office provides some key services to the troops, as well as the captain. Most importantly, financial matters are generally looked after there.

   The last two offices are in the main physics building, across the 'bridge' from Kathleen Lonsdale. You should locate them as soon as conveniently possible (if only to make sure you get your snailmail; see below).

3. What's going on in the Group?

   There's a schedule of regular events, some of which are mandatory for PGs. Once you've got an email account, you will get the "Group A newsletter" weekly mailings. Although some schedules tend to be moving targets, at the time of writing events include

   • Mondays – seminars (attendance mandatory for all postgrads; held in A1, top floor of the main physics building, 16:00-17:00; normally preceded by coffee in the KLB at 15:30)
   • Thursdays – Astrobiology and Planetary Exploration (APEX) seminars
     
   • Tuesdays (normally) – Postgraduate Lectures (attendance mandatory for FIRST-YEAR postgrads, optional for others.)
     
   • Individual research groups hold their own discussion meetings. The times for these may vary (e.g., Tuesdays, 'cosmology'; Thursdays, 'star formation and circumstellar environments')
4. I need a pencil/paper.

   Stationery is available in the the Group A office. Just pop in and ask for what you need (not forgetting to introduce yourself the first time you call in). Items not in stock (e.g. staplers) can be ordered on request.

5. What's this stuff about transferrable skills training?

   Something that's mandatory for STFC-supported students (and firmly recommended for all others). There's College info available, as well as points scores for activities associated with our Dept. Postgraduate Lectures are an important component of this.
   

6. I want to send/collect (snail)mail.
   • Boxes for official outgoing mail are in the Group and Departmental Offices. You can also use these for personal mail which already carries a stamp. There are separate boxes for external mail (i.e., stuff that goes out to the Royal Mail) and internal mail (i.e., internal to UCL; there are special internal envelopes for this, too). Items for members of the Department can be left in the pigeon-holes just outside the Departmental Office, which is also where you should collect your mail.

   (Academic and many research staff have individual pigeon-holes arranged alphabetically. Key support staff also have individual pigeon-holes, which are located towards the bottom right of the pigeon-hole panel. Postgrads and postdocs have to share the alphabetical slots along the bottom of the panel.)

   • Large deliveries generally go to the Departmental Office (you'll usually get email notification of such deliveries).

7. Faxes?

   Speak to the Group A administrator (Kay/Jo). Incoming faxes will normally go to the Group Office (G07), and you'll be informed of their arrival.
   

8. Photocopying?

   Group A printer room for small to moderate amounts. For large-scale copying, the Departmental photocopiers are on the ground floor of the main building (as you come in from the Union entrance, turn left instead of turning right into the corridor). They work with a card that you need to insert; these are available from Christine Johnston room E15. (You'll need to show her your ID card first time you turn up.) These machines have autofeeders, and will double-side, collate, staple, etc.
   Really large-scale stuff should go to UCL reprographics (printing is cheaper and faster than photocopying).

9. I need funding for...

   Travel, computer, booze... See your supervisor. For conferences and meetings, there may be funding available from the Graduate School and the Department (see the Information for Postgraduate Students for further details); for observing trips, STFC (not PATT) should normally pay.
   

10. I want to do some demonstrating/marking.

    There are opportunities to make some money by marking undergraduate problem sheets (you'll get model answers and a marking scheme!) or by helping out with maths problem classes or in the undergraduate teaching labs (including the Observatory). More details are available on-line, or you can try less formal routes of contacting your supervisor, and/or the academic staff responsible for the course of interest.
    

11. Everything is a complete disaster.

    Talk to your supervisor/second supervisor. If that's difficult or inappropriate, there's the Group A Postgraduate Tutor (Ian Howarth), the Departmental Postgraduate Tutor (Tania Monteiro), or central UCL student welfare services (including counsellors, for example).

    You also have student reps on the postgraduate staff-student consultative committee. General (or specific) 'policy' issues can be channeled through them as appropriate.