My PhD research will involve a multi-sited ethnography across three universities in the North of England to explore commuting students’ experiences of HE. Using go-along interviews whilst accompanying students during their commute will provide an empirical understanding of commuting students’ experiences in travelling to campus and the impact this has on their academic and social activities. The Bourdieusian concepts of field, habitus and capital will provide a theoretical framework for analysis in order to understand the ways commuting students construct a sense of belonging in HE between peers, their institution, and their identity as a university student. Institutional policies will be compared across the three universities in order to assess the impact these have on commuting students’ experience in both their academic and social spheres.
