Traditionally the PhD was a 4-year journey deep into a specific topic with the supervisor helping to guide the way. Around 2010, Maynooth University, together with the other Irish universities, decided to adopt a structured PhD programme, whereby the student would still undertake a 4-year research project, but would also be expected to complete 6 taught modules as well, in a range of diverse topics. The motivation here was to avoid a student becoming ?pigeon-holed?, i.e. to avoid the student becoming expert in a very narrow (but deep) topic, which may be disadvantageous to their future career prospects. The module subjects are designed to expand the student?s horizon, and to equip them with