ABSTRACT
Changes, challenges, and the unexpected are, in fact, to be expected in any doctoral journey! A doctoral journey, like any multi-year period of one’s life, is not going to be entirely predictable, and it is important for any doctoral researcher to be able to respond to whatever changes or “bumps in the road” may arise. This chapter acknowledges this reality and considers how doctoral students can best navigate such experiences when they are based off campus. Recognising that no doctoral student is ever solely a doctoral student, the chapter surveys personal, study-related, and professional (employment-related) changes and challenges that may arise over the course of the doctorate and the ways each of these domains can affect the others. Some common strategies are offered that will help build distance doctoral students’ resilience and preparedness before changes or challenges arise, as well as core response strategies that will be important in most situations. Specific strategies are also offered aligned to specific scenarios, including the sometimes forgotten but potentially dramatic change that occurs at the end of the doctorate. Student voice from the authors’ international study of distance doctoral students’ experiences adds authenticity and personal insight to the text.
