PGRA

Welcome to the Postgraduate Research Association (PGRA)

We are an independent student group established by volunteers to support our fellow researchers on campus through organised research retreats and socials as well as acting as representatives and raising your concerns with the Graduate College at Canterbury Christ Church University.

What we do:

The PGRA oversees the organisation of the PGRA Annual Conference, where postgraduate students can present their research and network with their community. Throughout the year we hold informal Research Retreats on campus to help foster a research community amongst CCCU postgraduate research students as well as organising social events to help students get to know each other on a more informal basis. In addition to this, the PGRA works in collaboration with the Graduate College to elect representatives to sit on meetings such as the Research Degrees Board, where your feedback is presented.

Feedback on your Student Experience

Students who sit on research boards as well as the PGRA, are always keen to hear about your postgraduate experience. If there are any concerns you would like raised with the Graduate College and university you can do so through our Student Feedback Padlet as well as our email: pgra@ccsu.co.uk. We will then take your feedback to our monthly forums with the Graduate College team.

Information on accessing Padlet: To post or comment you will have to register and sign up for Padlet using your CCCU Microsoft Account with this link: https://cccu.padlet.org/

Calendar of Events for the Academic Year 2025/26:

Research Retreats

Research Retreats are a space provided by the PGRA Committee for all postgraduate students from across the university to write, read and network with each other. We offer both in-person and online sessions to reach even our distance researchers.

In-person sessions run on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:00-17:00 on alternate weeks and are accompanied by online sessions on Wednesdays, 18:00-20:00 and Saturdays, 9:00-12:30.

Upcoming Retreats, Sept-Dec:

Tuesdays, PG Space, Third-Floor, Augustine House (Library)

October: 14th & 28th

November: 11th & 25th

Wednesdays, MS Teams

October: 15th & 29th

November: 12th & 26th

Fridays, ER0.01, Graduate College, Erasmus

October: 10th & 24th

November: 7th & 21st

Saturdays, MS Teams

October: 11th & 25th

November: 8th & 22nd

In the event of any changes, please check on Research Space. You can also log your attendance here for the session to contribute to your project Log. Links to online retreats will be accessible on Research Space and can also be emailed out to students upon request.

PGRA Conference 2026

Information on our conference for June 2026 will be accessible early 2026.

Postgraduate Study Spaces

Canterbury Campus

Erasmus Building, North Holmes Road (Graduate College): newly refurbished and bespoke creative space for students to meet and relax, as well as state-of-the-art IT facilities which are for the exclusive use of postgraduates. This is where you can join with other postgraduate students for academic discussion and social interaction, not just within your field of study but across the range of academic disciplines.

Postgraduate Zone, Augustine House: co-located on the third-floor Collaborative Zone, in front of the moving shelves. Postgraduates are offered priority for the seating and computers in this location and we promote students connecting with their peers whilst studying in the space. The remainder of the third-floor Collaborative zone is for all student users.

Medway Campus

Medway postgraduate study room (DC118): located on the first floor of the Drill Hall Library provides a dedicated space for all Medway postgraduate students (both taught and research) to study and network.