Applying for a PhD can be a long and difficult process, with not many opportunities for you to hear feedback on your application. If your application was not successful and you're not sure why, here are some of the most common reasons for PhD applications to be rejected. If you plan to improve your PhD application this autumn, download our free guide "How to successfully apply to a PhD in Economics".

When you think about what skills a student needs to be successful, you probably think of academic skills like research or academic writing. If you're becoming a student for the first time, this can be intimidating – you've never learned those skills before! But there are lots of other skills you will have picked up in your life which will help you through your studies. Consider the following:

Your supervisor should play a helpful and supportive role in your PhD – but you should also be realistic about what to expect from them. Here are 8 things you'll never hear your PhD supervisor say:

When you're starting out as undergraduate student, there is so much to think about and to remember that it can be hard to know how to manage your course load. With that in mind, these tips can help you balance your courses so that your undergraduate experience can be as rewarding and positive as possible.

Writing up your master's thesis is a big job, and you need to take some time to think about administrative issues as well as the content of your thesis. We've talked before about the final steps you need to take to make sure that your PhD thesis is ready to submit. Today, it's the turn of the master's students. If you're finishing up your master's, take a look at this checklist and make sure you're ready with everything you need to submit your thesis.

If you're applying for a PhD, the process can be rather complex, so here are our answers to some frequently asked questions about applications. If you plan to start your PhD application this autumn, download our free guide "How to successfully apply to a PhD in Economics".

The big day is here – you're finally ready to hand in your PhD thesis! Years of work have culminated in this one piece of work, and you're prepared to submit it to your university office. You're almost certainly stressed, exhausted, and very glad to be done. But there are a few quick points you need to check before you formally submit your thesis, so take a look at this checklist and make sure everything is in order.

Do you want to study at a university at the undergraduate or postgraduate level, or join a professional organisation in an English-speaking country? Then IELTS Academic is designed for you.

Managing a multicultural team can be exciting and challenging. While employers might know what to expect from employees with the same background as them, a multicultural team demands more time and dedication since not all management and motivation techniques will work the same way with all team members. Last month we talked about diversity recruitment and how to hire multicultural talent for institutions. In this article we will address different suggestions that will help you keep your employees and students engaged.

Globalization has had a significant impact on the structure and function of organizations. Nowadays, HR and student recruiters are eager to offer positions to candidates from all over the world who provide a diversity of talent, the best skills and cultural adaptability. Previously we have discussed why hiring an international candidate can benefit your workplace and the multiple benefits of international students for universities. Now we want to go deeper into the topic of diversity recruitment and present some techniques to gather the best talent for your institution and maintain a happy, multicultural team.

If you're working your way through your degree, you may well be required to write a number of essays for your assessment. This can be tricky if you don't have a lot of experience in essay writing, so today we're sharing tips on how to manage the essay-writing process.

Applying for an academic job, like in most other professions, requires a long and sometimes exhausting process of applications and interviews. And like in every other profession, every applicant wants to be as efficient as possible and quickly succeed in getting his or her dream job with as little effort and fuss as possible.

For most academics, when they consider their future careers, they think of two options: academia or industry. There are other options, however, such as one we will be discussing today – working for the government. Academics can serve on councils and advisory boards, or work as part of a civil service, or as advisors to policy makers. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of working for the government? This is the topic we're considering in this article.

For academic careers, the big question is always: academia or industry? But why not a bit of both? If you want to combine teaching and working in industry, there are possibilities for part-time teaching work or tutoring jobs which fall outside of traditional work hours. You can have an industry job and try teaching too. Below we'll look at some of the options.

One of the great advantages of performing your research within an academic setting rather than a commercial one is the degree of research autonomy which you posses. This means that you have the freedom to pursue the work which you think is interesting and worthwhile, and to pick the methods and research approaches which you find to be most suitable. In fact, having flexibility and freedom over your work was identified as one of the top advantages of working in an academic institution in our 2015 Academic Institutions Report. Clearly, this is an important issue which is one of the major differentiating factors between academia and industry. 

One issue for those working in academia that can be difficult to deal with is the problem of job insecurity. It is common for postdocs or junior lectures to be employed on short-term contracts of a few months to a few years, meaning that they must secure a new job when their contract ends. Today we have some tips on how to manage this insecurity if you're working in academia.

When you're been abroad for a semester or longer during your studies, you're bound to have picked up lots of new skills and knowledge that can help you to stand out when applying for a job or course of study. But in order to take advantage of this, you need to know how to convey your extra skills to potential employers or universities. So today we're offering advice on how to show off the best of your study abroad on your resume. You can use the following ideas as skills to highlight on applications, or find ways to include this information in your cover letter, letter of motivation, or to answer interview questions.

When you're teaching, it's important to find a way to engage with all of your students, to keep their interest and to make sure that they understand the information that you're conveying to them. However, the size of a class can make a huge difference to what teaching methods are most appropriate and effective.

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For graduates of the social sciences, there is a wide range of career possibilities open. For people who are curious, self-motivated, and capable of both good organisation and creative thinking, research can be an extremely rewarding career.

When you want to learn a new language, there's no better way than to immerse yourself in that language's culture. If you have to use your new language for your everyday needs, for example in shops and restaurants, in dealing with paperwork, and for socialising, then you'll pick up language skills much more quickly than you would from casual use.