Lucila Newel (2011), 'Rubbish Politics in Buenos Aires'.
Lucila is currently a mum, applying for post-doctoral research grants, undertaking consultancy work, and coordinating a reading group and a blog on feminist mothering, the focus of her future research.

Doing my PhD at The Open University was great. The Department of Geography hosts an amazing group of people that have been welcoming, supportive and stimulating.

Uli Beisel (2010), 'Who bites back first? Malaria control in Ghana and the politics of co-existence'.
Uli is currently a Research Fellow in the Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Angela Last (2010), 'Mutable Matter - An experiment in engaging publics with nanotechnology'.
Angela is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at UCL.

Simon Hutta (2010), 'Queer Geographies of Geborgenheit: The LGBT Politics of Security and Formations of Agency in Brazil'.
Simon is currently working in Berlin as researcher and co-coordinator of Transgender Europe's activist research project 'Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide'.

Ariel Terranova-Webb (2010), '"Getting Down the Road": Understanding Stable Mobility in an American Circus'.

Gurpreet Bhasin (2009), Public Space and Popular Discourse in Colonial Delhi: 1860-1920.

Elena Vacchelli (2009), Geographies of subjectivity: locating feminist political subjects in Milan.
Elena is currently an Associate Lecturer for The Open University.

My experience at the OU Geography Department has been very positive and gratifying for a range of reasons: firstly, I had the opportunity to carry out my Ph.D. in a friendly Department that happens to be groundbreaking within the academic field of Geography. In the time I spent here, there were always many opportunities for exchanging ideas and engaging in cutting-edge geographical debates during collaboratories and seminars. Secondly, the OU is a pioneer institution in distance learning, hence the mentoring aspect during the Ph.D. is taken very seriously. As a result, I benefited of an inspiring and supportive supervision team in a collaborative working environment.

Poshendra Satyal Pravat (2009), Understanding Environmental and Social Justice in the Developing World: A Case of Forest-People Interface in the Terai of Nepal.
Poshendra is working in the Ecosystem Assessment Programme, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center, Cambridge.

Shannon Hensley (2009), The Embodiment of Rumba in Cuba.
Shannon is currently working as an Associate Teaching Fellow for the School of Geography at the University of Exeter.

I chose the OU, really, because of my interests in Gillian Rose and Steve Pile's work. While I was studying there Gillian came to Kentucky for a geography event, we had the chance to meet and talk and that's how I found my way to the OU. Before talking with Gillian, I didn't really think of the OU as a 'real' place because of its distance teaching for undergraduates - I imagine that is a common (mis)conception. In other words, my choice of PhD supervisors was a key factor in my decision to pursue a PhD at all and the OU has some of the most well known critical geographers.

Liza Griffin (2007), The Good Governance of Fisheries: a North Sea Case Study.
Liza is now a Research Fellow on the Governance and Sustainability Programme at the University of Westminster.

Margo Huxley (2006) The Soul's Geographer: Government and the Emergence of Town Planning in the Twentieth century in England and Australia.
Margo is now Senior Lecturer in Town and Regional Planning at Sheffield University.

David Etherington (2005) Producing New Welfare Spaces: Local labour market Policies in the UK and Denmark.
David is currently Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) at Middlesex University.

The claim that it's an immensely stimulating environment simply doesn't do justice to the department's uniqueness. Both academics and postgrads are continually engaged in local and international events. These diverse experiences enliven the departmental seminars, research groups, and reading groups which act as inspiring focal points for the department's activities. The acceptance of postgrads as an integral part of the department's life provides incredible opportunities to go beyond gaining the usual research skills and learn different ways of what it means to be a generous member of the academy. The OU is unusual in that there is no ready-made postgraduate community, but for that, there is ample support and encouragement to create new networks and most importantly networks that work for the unique combination of students that are selected each year. This departmental life is complemented by a rigorous system of thesis supervision and individual attention. This can be intellectually intimidating at first, but the realisation quickly dawns that it's a tailored form of nurturing and encouragement that is envied by other students from other universities. I can't imagine a better department to do a thesis in geography!

Find the Faculty of Social Sciences on Facebook