PhD Questions

I may be brave and apply to do a PhD.

I work for one of the supervisors, and the topic is what I already work on.  I've been studying it for the last 6 years at a biotech company, and here in the UK at a hospital.  Really, it looks like the perfect opportunity.

I had a look at the website, and have a few questions:

1.  It's listed as a PhD studentship with an annual stipend.  Does that mean the tuition is covered, and the stipend is supposed to be for living costs?  A big thing holding me back is funding... DH doesn't make enough to cover all the living expenses if I don't have an income.  But if the stipend is to help with living costs while you're not working, that may be do-able.

2.  It says the funding is for UK/EU students.  I have ILR, and in a few weeks, will have been in the UK for 3 years.  I understand that despite not being a UK citizen, I can still access home fees for education at that time.  Does that mean the funding is for the UK/EU citizens who can command home fees, or is it actually restricted to citizens of the EU and UK regardless of if you can use home fees?

3.  I'm on a contract with my workplace that ends in 1 year.  The application deadline for the PhD is end of October with interviews in November.  Say, hypothetically, I get the position... when would the programme start?  Is there a set fall/spring date for beginning doctorate programs here in the UK?  Do you set your own date?  Has anyone deferred their start date for a year to finish a work contract or something similar?

1.  It's listed as a PhD studentship with an annual stipend.  Does that mean the tuition is covered, and the stipend is supposed to be for living costs?  A big thing holding me back is funding... DH doesn't make enough to cover all the living expenses if I don't have an income.  But if the stipend is to help with living costs while you're not working, that may be do-able.

The stipend for a PhD is usually about £13,000 per year and is tax-free. It's supposed to cover both your living costs and tuition as well, I think (i.e. I think you pay the tuition out of it), then you can usually top it up with teaching or marking papers and things - for about £10 an hour.

Two of my friends were studying for PhDs while I was working in retail - they were earning more than I was in my full-time job (their earnings were tax-free and they were exempt from paying council tax)! One of them was getting their funding from the EU and with the exchange rate, he was receiving £20,000 a year, tax free to do his PhD (compared to my post-tax income of about £10,000)!

2.  It says the funding is for UK/EU students.  I have ILR, and in a few weeks, will have been in the UK for 3 years.  I understand that despite not being a UK citizen, I can still access home fees for education at that time.  Does that mean the funding is for the UK/EU citizens who can command home fees, or is it actually restricted to citizens of the EU and UK regardless of if you can use home fees?

I believe it's usually for people who qualify for home fees (i.e. hold ILR and have been living in the UK for 3 years), but you would have to check with the university - it may depend on exactly where the funding is coming from as to what your status has to be.

3.  I'm on a contract with my workplace that ends in 1 year.  The application deadline for the PhD is end of October with interviews in November.  Say, hypothetically, I get the position... when would the programme start?  Is there a set fall/spring date for beginning doctorate programs here in the UK?  Do you set your own date?  Has anyone deferred their start date for a year to finish a work contract or something similar?

Typically, people start their PhDs at the beginning of the academic year - in September/October - but technically, you should be able to start at any time of the year, as long as it's okay with your supervisor.

If the interviews are in November, I would imagine that perhaps the PhD isn't scheduled to begin until September 2014. That was how it worked with Bristol Uni when I was a masters student there... applications were lodged in the Autumn for the next academic year. Sometimes, it's longer than a year in advance - I was going to apply for a PhD at UEA back in June 2009, but then I found out that it wasn't scheduled to begin until October 2010!

It may be different for the uni you are looking into, but at Glasgow Uni the stipend is in addition to the tuition fees being covered, so you would not be paying your fees out of the stipend.

The PhD I am looking at says there will be an annual stipend of x, with fees covered at the UK/EU rate.  I interpret that to mean the fees are covered on top of the stipend.

To apply, I need to send a covering letter, two reference details, and my CV. 

What's a UK PhD covering letter like?  I'm thinking like a personal statement?

I have been invited for an interview!

OMG, I am so nervous and excited.  I just bought a new smart suit today!

Anyone done one before?  What is it like?

Congrats!

Good luck for the interview. I've only had PhD interviews over the phone, so I can't say what in-person interviews are like.

One was a phone interview because the PhD was with a US university - I can't remember much about it but I think we just talked about my research interests and what I'd been doing in my masters... the professor already knew me because she had been one of my professors during my study abroad year and had actually said to me that if I wanted to come back for grad school, I should contact her... so I did .

The other was a very unexpected interview that I was not prepared for at all. It was the summer after I finished undergrad and I had just got home from working at Boots. The phone rang and it was the PhD supervisor on the phone asking for a phone interview/chat... completely out of the blue!

He started asking all these questions that I had no time to prepare for - some about my research project and my degree, but also questions like: "What are Maxwell's Equations?" - I had to scramble to remember them off the top of my head (I didn't quite get them right)!

On the plus side though, I was offered both PhD places, so the interviews seemed to go okay .

I have been invited for an interview!

OMG, I am so nervous and excited.  I just bought a new smart suit today!

Anyone done one before?  What is it like?

No clue, but good luck! 

Good luck E! I know you'll ace it. 

Good luck E! I know you'll ace it. 

No clue, but good luck! 

Just wanted to echo these thoughts........

Perhaps not the best one to give advice, as I had an interview for a PhD studentship but was not offered the funding (although they liked what I said and offered me a place at the uni., but I couldn't afford it.) My husband was successful in getting a studentship and offered me the advice, though!

If you know the other people on the research panel, try to investigate a bit more their areas of research, I appreciate you've said you already research in this area, but trying to link back in to what they do and how your work would link into current projects might help.  My husband also said to ask if there is additional funding with regards to attending professional conferences, presenting papers, etc., or if your PhD would require any travel (sounds unlikely-mine was for rural internet users in Wales and had NO extra funding for travel, so it would have been an expensive undertaking.)  Try to read up as much as you can into new areas, projects, ideas that are coming out of there to give your proposal a good side of things, too.

I was in front of a panel of 4 and I was only completely confused by one question, but I tried to stay calm and asked them to rephrase it until I understood it-I think I just blanked. 

Again, I didn't get it, but it was a good experience!