Postgraduate profile
Suzanne Müller, Education PhD
I’m a research student at the Education Department’s Centre for Research in Education and the Environment (CREE). My first degree was a teacher training programme (Biology) at the University of Education (Pädagogische Hochschule) in Freiburg, Germany.
Having worked as environmental educator before and during my studies, my first dissertation was also in the field of environmental education. I enjoyed the research aspect of this dissertation project a lot, so my supervisor suggested I consider doing further research in the field. He recommended CREE, which is the UK's leading centre for educational issues relating to the environment and sustainability and one of the leading institutes for environmental education research in Europe.
The Department of Education’s masters programme offers a degree in “environmental education” and provides a great opportunity for combining experiences gained in education practice with theoretical insights and debates with a diverse and international student body.
The work with CREE opened up multiple opportunities for learning and its international orientation has been especially valuable for me, providing an opportunity to get more familiar with the broader field of environmental education research.
I applied for PhD funding during my MA with support from the school and was awarded a combined University/ESRC studentship on the ESRC ‘1+3 programme’. The ‘1+3 programme’ is combined research training/PhD programme, including intensive research training in quantitative and qualitative methods through a MRes and then leading on to the University’s ‘regular’ three year PhD programme.
Being a postgraduate student in Bath is an exciting journey of growing into the international academic community and I enjoy having the opportunity to be part of this experience.