PhD student

Applying for a PhD in Geoscience: To do or not to do

Conor Farrell and edited by Michaël Pons August 27, 2025

"To do or not to do a PhD?", image generated by AI

Fresh out of your bachelor’s degree, or more commonly these days, your master’s degree, it can be tempting to pursue your PhD as quickly as possible. While there are compelling reasons to dive straight in, rushing into a PhD might not be your best choice. To be or not to be a researcher? Before you start firing off applications, take a step back. Forget any expectations you had ...[Read More]

Resisting self-guilt as a PhD student

Adélaïde Allemand August 6, 2025

Self-guilt is a common feeling among PhD students. It often leads us to devalue ourselves more harshly than is fair and to form unrealistic expectations. It is important to understand how it shows up in our daily work, what fuels it, and how we can resist it — because over time, it can quietly undermine both our well-being and our work. The ideas below are the results of group discussions that hav ...[Read More]

What’s the role of hotspot and oceanic transform faults at ultraslow spreading ridge?

edited by Yinuo Zhang and edited by Constanza Rodriguez Piceda October 4, 2024

Figure 1. Topographic map of the Mohns Ridge. The white double lines denote the axis of 17 ridge segments. (modified from Zhang et al., 2023)

Mid-ocean ridges (MOR) and hotspots are two types of magmatic activity occurring in the ocean. The MORs are typically associated with another tectonic feature—oceanic transform faults. While numerous studies have focused on the interactions within MORs, hotspots, and transform faults, there has been limited research on cases where a hotspot and a transform fault are located at the same end ...[Read More]

The Sassy Scientist – Academic Motion Sickness

The Sassy Scientist September 25, 2024

The first year of a PhD can quickly shift from an exciting adventure (“Ok I got this“) to an exasperating rollercoaster (“What I am doing here? What if I just move to a husky farm in Canada?“). Marina, has reached that stage and, after having exhausted her patience scrolling through <insert your preferred social media platorm here> in search of threads on how to boost ...[Read More]