Housing experiences of doctoral students in Polish cities

The main scientific objective of the study is to understand the housing experiences of doctoral students in Polish cities. The study will provide insight into how changing housing affordability affects the future plans, including professional, academic and personal plans, of doctoral students. While there is rich scholarly literature addressing the housing situation of students, there is a lack of research specifically focusing on PhD candidates. Particularly in Poland, this topic is insufficiently researched, despite the extensive public debate on the affordability of housing for students. This study aims to fill this research gap by focusing on the housing experiences of doctoral students at universities in three urban centres in Poland - Warsaw, Krakow and Lodz. The primary research method will be in-depth interviews. The interviewees will include doctoral students representing different academic fields, with varying housing statuses (living with parents, living in dormitories, renting, homeowners) and different socio-demographic characteristics. The interviews will be supplemented by desk-based research on the doctoral student community in Poland and in the surveyed cities, as well as the housing situation of people aged 25-35.