This paper examines the challenges presented by the PhD journey in the internationalised environment of UK Higher Education and gives voice to the experiences of students. It focuses particularly on the issue of isolation and marginalisation. Through semi-structured interviews with students and supervisors at three institutions, it reveals that social interaction, lack of academic community and the individualised nature of the supervisory relationship are key factors in feelings of isolation. In addition, findings suggest that academic discourse and the maintenance of academic conventions and hierarchy exacerbate feelings of marginalisation. The paper offers important insights for universities regarding the management and support of doctoral students and suggestions to improve their experience, thereby enhancing the appeal of the UK doctorate.

本文探讨了在英国高等教育国际化环境中攻读博士学位所面临的挑战，并表达了学生的经历。它特别关注孤立和边缘化问题。通过对三个机构的学生和导师的半结构化访谈，它揭示了社会互动、缺乏学术社区和导师关系的个性化性质是孤立感的关键因素。此外，研究结果表明，学术话语以及学术惯例和等级制度的维护加剧了边缘化的感觉。该论文为大学在博士生的管理和支持方面提供了重要的见解和建议，以改善他们的体验，从而增强英国博士的吸引力。