So there is an open day in December for PhDs in a sub-department and it is my top choice that I'd apply for (only thing stopping me from applying would be the rent that I'd have to pay for accommodation lol). However, the open day clashes with 2 lectures of mine in my 4th year and I'd say the lectures are fairly important (the lectures are on the 2nd to last week of the semester).

So is it really that important that I attend this open day for networking and/or to meet the potential supervisors and current PhD people? Or should I just not attend and go to my lectures? How helpful is it even to meet them in person?

Of course if I don't attend then my best bet is to cold email.

Idk if it helps but I'm in Physics and I'd mostly be applying for theory/computational projects but I am open to experimental projects if they are happy to take me (I haven't done labs since 1st year).

I see both examples for both cases; individuals in my supervisory team also have different opinions on this matter, so I guess it does not matter that much. Anyway, what practice do you use?

Hello,

I am an ECR based in the UK and I would like to revise and publish my thesis as a monograph. I am new to book publishing and I'd like to know if authors pay for their own copy-editing and proofreading? (provided the book is accepted and all)

I always thought there were no costs to publishing an academic book, but there are so many websites online saying yes there are. Nothing on the websites of publishers I'm interested in, though. The reason I am asking in the first place is that I am applying for a grant to support my project, and they ask for a budget including costs of copy-editing which is really confusing!

Also if anyone has experience in this area and can give me a rough idea of how to estimate these costs, (and possibly those of image copyright, which I'm not sure about yet), that would be great but if not no worries.

I would appreciate any clear responses please, thank you!

Hi all

I have a BSc in Sociology and Quantitative Analysis and I’m beginning to look into potential Masters degrees.

My options are: MA Sociology, MA Social Research and MSc Sociological Research

The MA Sociology course looks the most interesting to me, however I’m thinking I want a career in academia and social research, so would doing this degree over a social research degree limit my opportunity to do this?

Also, the MSc sociological research degree is at a different uni to the MA Social Research (where I got my undergraduate degree) so would going to a different university limit my chances of potentially working at the university I originally went to? I know a lot of the lecturers went to different universities but the majority of the newest members did their undergraduate, masters and PhD at the same university and I’m wondering if they were more likely to get a job there because they studied there so much.

I know how competitive jobs in academia can be, so I’m trying to be as employable as possible.

Also, I currently work 9-5, 5 days a week however my work place is very flexible, has anyone else completed their masters while working, how hard was it to juggle everything?

Additionally, any advice regarding masters, especially sociology/ sociological research would be greatly appreciated. (Bonus points if any have done this in Manchester)

I’ve mostly focussed on research in the past with a bit of teaching, but recently my duties have changed and I’m doing more university wide work. This has put me in the same room as our leaders — provosty dean pseudo VC types.

It seems that the years of experience I have is worth absolutely, well, nothing. These people don’t read anything, then pretend to listen, nod encouragingly and end up doing exactly what they thought anyway. And later you find out that because you used basic skills in critical thinking, you’re trouble, and the deck chairs are shifted to let some newly hired crony make a mess of things you had thought you were responsible for… I’m in awe of the small minded, lazy, self-centred, contradictory thinking that is utterly resilient to any form of learning, favouring instead to eliminate wisdom and alternate perspectives.

Am I just unluckily to be somewhere with apparently two failed VCs on the books or is this management lark as poisoned everywhere?

how long should my proposal be????????? on some websites it's 2500 words but on MRC CBU's own page it's 2 pages????

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it UK sorry

are there any free universities in UK if i hold a german passport?

Hi everyone,

I am from India and currently working in a Big-4 within its research division. I recently completed 2 years with the firm and want to pursue a PhD in Management. Prior to this, I completed my undergraduate in BCom Hons. with a UK-equivalent first class degree simultaneously completing 3 internships within consulting and research domains. I have also qualified CFA Level 1.

I have apprehensions about applying for PhD with my current profile, with doubts lingering me such as if I am eligible, will I be considered for a [funded] PhD since I have not done my Master's (and I also don't aspire to). So I want to understand from you all is should I apply?

Many thanks in advance!

Hi, sorry for any typos as I’m on mobile

so I’ve recently applied for a funded studentship for a PhD. I received a good reference from my Masters supervisor and a really positive letter of recommendation from my proposed supervisor on the programme. I’ve submitted what I think is a well rounded proposal that fits the priorities of the studentship too. I’m coming back to education after 5 years in industry working as a teacher, where I’ve progressed to middle management overseeing curriculum and teaching and learning development for various Key Stages. My PhD proposal extends upon my MA thematically, and I also researched similar topics as they pertain to the experiences of young people in education while I was training as a teacher and getting the certification.

However, I guess in our teenage years and early 20s maybe we have different priorities than bettering ourselves academically! I achieved a 2:1 in my BA and a low Merit in my MA. I did have a serious illness during my BA which I didn’t mention on my PhD application because it felt a bit disingenuous and strange. It was a Russell Group uni although I’m not sure that matters. I’m very very aware that this makes me less competitive for funding, but I’m just wondering how much. Do you think my work experience will count for anything, as well as how my previous study in education and my subject both pertain to the topic I want to take to PhD study? I guess I’m hoping that this reflects genuine interest!

US grad schools usually just require undergraduate as a minimum requirement to join their PHD programs although many people do apply with masters. I was just interested in how some UK students with just undergraduate were able to get into US grad schools as I feel like UK undergraduate isn’t as strong as US ones. 3 vs 4 years makes a big different a lot of US students can take graduate level courses in their 4th year which aids a lot if you score well in them for admissions. The opportunity for research is far greater in US as a student. I’m currently doing a UK stem degree and a lot of profs rejected me for simply being in just 2nd year and being too young to be even a research assistant while many of my friends are able to publish papers in NA. So for those that got into US grad schools what were your stats when applying. Any input will be appreciated I’ll have to apply to grad school soon so I was wondering if it’s worth applying to US without a masters or no.

I'm going to guess this might be a controversial question here. But basically, what are the easiest to get into PhD programmes? Long story short I need to be doing a PhD for a legal reason. Not to do with immigration or visas in case that bothers anyone.

I'm going through the process of applying to a PhD I'm actually interested in doing, and I'm putting a lot of work into that. Its a fair amount of time to put together a good proposal, I can probably put together a few more that I'm actually passionate about to apply to reputable universities with.

But if that fails, I'd really like to have a reliable backup, simply for the aforementioned beurocratic reason. So in that case I'm not worried about the quality of the university or programme, I just need confirmation that I'm doing a PhD. My bachelors and masters are games industry related and I'm employed in the industry.

From what I know there aren't really any outright degree mills in the UK like there are in some other places, but if there's any lets say less stringent places, I'd like to know.

Hi,

I am doing a PhD in ecology with a minor in statistics with a research centre and a college, which are in two separate cities. My college supervisor is in the statistics department and therefore I am exempt from tutoring. However, I feel that this is an integral part of the experience and would be beneficial for my career. My college supervisor has said several times that I dont belong in the statistics department and she doesnt consider me a student at the college I am registered. I would like to bring up tutoring in another department, it's too late this year, but I was thinking for next year my final year.

Is there anywhere else that I can gain teaching experience? I do plan to push for teaching next year but I was wondering if supervisors are opposed to teaching in the final year?

thank you!

Hi all,

I recently passed my PhD viva in the UK in an engineering/science discipline with minor corrections (woohoo!)
I have 3 months to respond to all the comments / suggestions.

I have taken a few days off from my postdoc to go through all the comments and i've made some progress but my god is there a lot to do!

I need to add about 7 pages of text to expand the discussions and literature review, and add quite a bit more analysis.

I have planned out that if I work every weekend and a few evenings a week up to Christmas I can just about finish it all in time.

But to be honest I am exhausted. My new postdoc position is in a new city and a related but different discipline. I really want to make a good impression there, I often come home from work so tired I can hardly do anything. I feel like I really want my weekends back, after so many months of missing them during the PhD.

I am so burnt out and done with constantly thinking about work.
I absolutely love my field of study, but I have learned to hate some aspects of it because im so sick of obsessing over everything 24/7 365.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation for "minor" corrections or has any advice about burnout in general?

I tutor for two schools at my university. School A pays significantly more than School B (~£10) per hour because I have worked there 1 year consecutively. I would have earned the same in A if I didn’t have a break in tutoring last year, as my time working there does not count as consecutive time, which is why my pay stayed at the same grade.

I have more hours in A, but B has now offered me more hours. It’s a guaranteed hours contract, but tutors can quit any time. I don’t want to leave A mid-semester and leave them with issues like having to find a replacement, but also it’s a cost of living crisis and I really struggle to pay my bills. Could I use this as a way to negotiate my salary with A, and say I will withdraw from one of their courses to work more hours in B if they don’t match the salary?

I have also worked consecutively in a different role with the university’s professional services for over a year, but this role offers zero hour temporary contracts, which is why my pay has also stayed the same in this role, as the yearly salary scale increments don’t apply for temp workers.

So would it be a dick move to try to leverage this to get a pay increase, as I don’t want to cause problems, but I also I’ve been struggling a lot financially due to the cost of living crisis.

As in, can I apply to an ESRC DTP if my project is interdisciplinary (literature, political science, sociology, philosophy) but my home discipline, the one that I want to be based in, is literature?

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I am a current offer holder for the MRes experimental neuroscience at Imperial, and just waiting on my decision for the MRes translational neuroscience at UCL. Was wondering (if I do get into the UCL program), which one would be a wiser choice?

I just got my MA English results from Warwick and I have underperformed in my Dissertation. I expected atleast a A grade but got a C instead. Now my entire results have become skewed and I don't know if I can continue to study PhD at a top College. What should I do? I'm so upset right now

Is it quite normal to feel deflated after a meeting? I'm studying for an MRes in History Part-Time with an eye to take my studies further in the future with a PhD.

I understand it's (very) early days and that this feeling is probably all part of the research process. Still, it's good to talk about it!

I want to take my research down one route that will be accompanied with my passion and interest for the topic but may be more difficult to execute in the long run due to a stronger emphases on theory and scattered primary source material.

My Supervisor suggested utilising this robust and quite large primary source I've identified which is not related to the topic I find most interesting.

I want to take on board their advice if it means an overall stronger thesis with originality and potential adaption into a PhD. At the same time I am worried without passion for the topic I'll hit the wall and will struggle to persevere.

Anyway I'm remaining positive! Thanks for reading and I am interested to hear how the rest of you have felt in your early day conversations about research projects with your supervisors.

Hi all, I'm a current masters of social policy student with a phenomenal tutor who has offered to potentially supervise a PhD of mine. The issue is that I'm unsure if I'm going to be funded. I currently live about.a 5 minutes bus from my university with my parents who only charge £70 a week. My fiance and I have decent savings but nothing substantial (under 25k) and he lives with me and my parents. I am attempting to apply for ECHR funding for my field but I know it's unlikely due to it being non-stem. My tutor said the research topic is deeply contemporary so it's possible, And I presented my undergrad dissertation at conference so that's a plus.

I can financially get by on just the doctoral loan if I don't get funded, but I'm unsure if I should. I want to do the PhD for a few reasons, I find the topic deeply fascinating and am incredibly passionate about it. But I'm unsure if it will make me more employable. I don't want to be in academia forever, this is my passion project and I don't really care about working in research forever. I do also want the Dr next to my name haha.

What would you do in this situation if the funding falls through?

Hi there,

I'm applying to some Master's programs in UK which explicitly allow for professional references. I need 3 references. I already have 2 locked in (1 professional, my manager in a job super related to the Masters course, 1 academic from someone who I TA'd for who I got great marks in multiple courses with).

I have three options for the third:

1. Academic from my exchange uni that I published a paper with after she asked me to collaborate with her (who is on mat leave, however, and I really don't want to disturb her).
2. Principal data scientist that I worked directly with in a previous job, who knows my work very well and who likes me. Went to well-regarded Indian uni.
3. Head of strategy (very senior position) that I worked directly with in a previous job. We worked more at the abstract level (ie, they didn't review the technical details of my work). Went to Oxford themselves for undergrad, so can more credibly compare me to other Oxford students potentially. Has written a very good & kind job reference for me previously.

Do you have any suggestions on which to pick? I'm guessing that 1. is likely the best option, but I'm loathe to try to disturb her (she has auto-respond on saying that she can only respond to extremely urgent administrative matters if raised via her assistant). If you think it'd be an extremely strong benefit to have her reference, then I'd consider trying to reach her.

I'm considering 3. simply because she can credibly compare me to other Oxford students.

Hey y'all! I'm a student in Msc Analytical Chemistry program at a top 10 UK university. I know this might seem like a common issue but I'm 25 and still have no clue on how to decide my career ahead. I'm still deciding between pursuing a PhD or getting into the industrial jobs. Certainly getting a PhD and then going into the industry would pay me more. But I'm unable to gauge how much of a difference it might create if I'm joining industry after a PhD and will it be worth it? I'm really struggling with my indecisiveness and hate myself for it. If I'm to get into industry soon after my Masters, I need to start applying now and can't delay any further. I also have student debt of around £35k from my current course. Could anyone (with experience) please throw some light into this and help me make a decision so that I may have peace of mind and some financial stability? Also, in terms of industrial jobs, I'm thinking more into the environmental testing sector. I would also like to know how I can excel and grow in this field. Thanks a ton in advance!

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I was/am an international student and completed my BA and MA in England. I attended different universities for both degrees, with a focus on social sciences. Both universities have strong reputations in their field and overall. I didn’t achieve a First in either my BA or MA, but I received a high 2:1 and a high Merit. So far, grades haven’t been an issue in finding a job, but now that I’m considering applying for a PhD, it feels like I should have performed better academically. I received a 68 on my MA dissertation and don’t have any publications.

When I look at people who have been accepted into PhD programmes at prestigious schools (like Oxford and LSE), where I am planning to apply, most seem to have publications and strong academic records. I’m feeling really anxious about how I can compete with them. Some of my friends decided to do another Master’s to improve their grades before applying for a PhD, but I honestly can’t afford to pay another £20-30k for a Master’s. To make myself and my CV more competitive, I’ve applied for several research assistant positions, but they pay quite low (under £26k) in London. In the final stages of the interviews, they always ask about publications, and I’m really wondering how many junior researchers have managed to publish journals or books at this stage.

In this situation, I know I need to focus on my PhD proposal and thesis, but it all feels a bit vague, and I’m unsure how to prepare. To complicate things further, all my research has been qualitative, and many people have told me that getting funding for qualitative research is nearly impossible.

Is anyone here currently doing or has completed a PhD in social sciences, particularly in social policy, or other social science studies? I would love to hear how people started preparing for their PhDs and whether it’s important to contact professors. If so, when is the best time to reach out?

Hi guys, I'm (26M) a recent master's degree graduate currently in Birmingham, UK, and planning to apply for a PhD program, which requires me to have GMAT/GRE certification. I've tried looking in the internet, but since that I graduated from an oversees uni for my undergraduate, I can't find my undergrad uni or "other" as an option when asked about my undergraduate school by the GMAT website. I wonder if there's someone who can I talk to to solve this problem. Cheers

I just finished a BA in french and english but I'm realising I really want to do science. I chose my a levels and degree with no idea what I wanted to do just that my teachers made me feel like couldnt do sciences (despite three A*s) so I haven't done any stem subject since GCSE despite continuing interest. Since COVID, I've got really into environmental science/ecology but everything I see about academia says that I'd have to work from scratch and completely redo my undergrad to follow that path which is probably not financially viable. Does anyone have any thoughts?

If anyone is in that field, do you see any opportunity for someone with humanities based skills? Its really dispiriting to see so many job posting and everyday discourse convinced that arts grads can't do basic maths and science when I know that I'm capable of that. I was just insecure at 16.

I am 36 yr old and an IT burn out, i am done with corporate jobs n wish to move into teaching physics or astronomy in tertiary colleges or universities.I am planning to pursue an astronomy masters in the UK but i wil be taking a huge loan as i am from India..just wanted to check whats the job scene in UK for astronomy masters degree holders, note that i dont want to go to the IT or corporate world again. If i complete Master in Physics and then go on for phd will the stipend be enough to pay off student debt after paying off living expenses.?

Are there any alternate career after msc physics or astronomy in the UK that i can do?