Gao Shuang undertook a PhD in Language, Discourse & Communication, jointly awarded with the National University of Singapore (NUS).  She was one of the two PhD students who have now become the first to graduate from the Joint PhD programme.

‘I started my PhD at NUS in August 2009. After almost two years of course work, a qualifying exam (upgrade) at the Department of English Language & Literature at NUS followed by field work in China, I began my placement at the Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication at King’s in September 2012 to write up my thesis.

 ‘Working and living in different environments can be daunting in the first place, but in the end it’s all worth it. Throughout my study, I received intellectual and moral support from my supervisors at both universities, Associate Professor Joseph Sung-Yul Park at NUS, and Professor Ben Rampton at King’s. Doing a joint PhD also means being immersed in different academic traditions, joining a wider academic community, and in the process learning to challenge orthodoxies and push knowledge boundaries in creative ways.

 ‘As I am now graduating, I am most grateful to my two supervisors for their extraordinary mentorship. At the same time, I look forward to future opportunities to return as an alumna of both!’

 FASS is truly proud of Gao Shuang and we offer her the warmest of our congratulations as our first graduate of the Joint Degree Programme.

King’s College London article – http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2014/August/First-students-to-graduate-from-Joint-PhD-programmes.aspx