I can only speak from my experience, as other universities might have different regulations. When I submitted my thesis, it was clearly pointed out that it would be the final draft, and no edits or alterations are allowed once the thesis has been submitted, even if an incomplete or wrong draft was submitted by mistake. So, I would advise you to check the regulations of your institution to see if alterations can be made after submission. If not, your best bet might be to convince the examiners during the viva that it was an honest mistake due to time pressure, and that you are ready to answer any questions regarding the omissions.

Good luck with the viva.

Don't worry about the time given to you for the revision. They gave me 12 weeks for my minor correction, it took me about 3 hours. Congratulations, doc!

There was indeed an offer, but the offer is for the PhD place only, and does not include funding. That was made perfectly clear in the offer letter you cited.

Whether you want to accept the offer without funding is your decision. My advice is to look for alternatives/backup now if you are not prepared to go the self-funded route, in case the first choice candidate for funding accepts his offer.

The only question I can answer is that you can certainly use notes during your viva. As for the rest, it's best to check with your supervisors and read up on your university's guidelines. Best of luck in the coming viva.

I should really be over the moon, but somehow, I feel lost after the PhD. The viva itself (in late October) went OK. Both examiners were friendly and it had lasted less than an hour (both my supervisor and I thought that it was on the short side). I was given minor corrections and 12 weeks to revise the thesis. I didn't feel that it was a 'proper' pass after the viva, because of the 12 weeks correction time, which had made me wondered if a serious rewrite was needed. I got the list of corrections in early Nov, and it turned out it was indeed minor. I spent about 4 hours on the revisions, which my supervisors were happy for me to submit. Even at this stage, I was still worried that the examiners might not be satisfy with the changes. So, still no celebration at that stage!

I submitted the corrections in early Dec (my supervisors had been slow with the response), and the examiners confirmed that they were happy with the changes a week later. After uploading my e-thesis on the uni website, I was informed that I have been placed on the pass list 3 days later, and the PhD is now fully confirmed with no loose ends. So why am I still not in a celebratory mood? If anything, I feel a little lost now that the focus of the PhD is gone.

Not sure about STEM subjects, as I am in the social sciences field. All I can say is that it is virtually unheard of for a 2:2 degree holder to be offered a fully funded PhD place (or for that matter, a 2:2 plus a pass at MA as you have an integrated Master's) in the social sciences. Unless you have some exceptional working experience, I'd say your best bet might be to enroll on either a research Master's, and try to get a decent Distinction to offset your 2:2.

Good luck!

No, that is not your question, but your area of research interest. What you need to do is a quick review of the literature in this area, try to find gaps, and then frame your question/s based on that. You will then need to state why you think the question is both important and original (for example, wheels are important, but there is no point in trying to reinvent the damn things, unless you can show that a differently shaped wheel can be just as effective or even more efficient than a circular wheel), and how you will go about finding the answer.

No one expects a proposal to be up to finished PhD thesis standard, but what you will need to do is to demonstrate that your research can be a piece of work that has some original contribution to knowledge in the field, and that it can be done in the time frame of a PhD (3-4 years).

Based on your use of English, I am not really sure that it is up to the standard needed to study at a PhD level in the UK. Indeed, it probably falls below the standard needed to study at an undergrad level. However, in case I am wrong, and that your English is usually better than what you have shown so far, here are some very basic advice. The advice may only apply to the social sciences, arts and humanities field for the UK, as I have no idea how they do it at stem disciplines. For what it is worth, I went through the process last year, so do have a little current knowledge in the matter

1/ Search university websites for likely potential supervisors.

2/ Send an initial email with your academic CV and a brief outline of your research interest to see if they might be interested.

Note: it is very important that the CV should list all your degree classifications (1st/2:1/ distinction/merit/GPA, etc). I have a friend who deliberately omitted his Master's classification and just put down the title of his Master's. After receiving positive feedback from a potential supervisor at a decent uni, my friend was then told to submit a formal application to the university. It was then that my friend had to disclose his MA classification, which was a Pass. The potential supervisor replied politely that this did not meet the entry requirement of the university, and wished him all the best in his future studies. A total waste of time for both sides.

3/ Send the potential supervisors a copy of your proposal if they show an interest in your research topic.

4/ If the feedback is still positive, submit a formal application to the university.

That is all I can think of right now, as your question was so vague. Feel free to ask more specific questions and I'll do my best to answer.

No, a postgraduate doctoral loan of 8.3K a year over 3 years would not cover tuition fees and living costs, and that was not the intention of the loan. It's there to help, not to cover all costs.

Although the loan is not available to anyone receiving any form of RC funding, it does not prevent loanees applying for other forms of funding (university scholarships, charitable trusts etc).

The main funding for UK PhD students comes from the UKRC either in the form of funded projects (more in the 'hard' sciences'), or through the various different RCs with studentships. I think in your friend's case, it'd be the AHRC. Look up their website. There are also university scholarships and charities. Take a look at find a findaphd.com, or check on the websites of individual universities for more detail.

Paid teaching duties are only usually available to second year PhD students, although there is nothing to stop your friend doing other forms of paid part-time work to get by.

Hope this helps.

First time that I've seen UK academics described as 'direct'. Whenever I hear my argument being described as 'interesting' or 'good, but...', I immediately think of a total rewrite....

Now it becomes a little clearer, especially if the OP is female...'looked after' when translated into Chinese (zhào gù 照顧) can have certain sexual connotations. Being 'looked after', either voluntarily or being coerced, can mean being in a relationships with someone in a position of authority for possible academic/financial/career advantages in return for sexual favours. If it's voluntary, it is a form of corruption and an abuse of power. If it is coerced, it becomes sexual harassment/rape.

I can see why the OP had concerns with the wordings.

Well, that really depends, doesn't it? If the PhD proves useful to my future career, then it'd be a pleasure to pay it back, with interest. If, however, it does little to help my gaining useful employment in academia (what else is a PhD in the social sciences good for?), which is the far more likely scenario according to people wiser than I, then it's unlikely I would have to pay back any of the loan at my age. Therefore, the loan is essential a 'free gift' for all intents and purposes.

This may beg the further question as to why I would want to 'waste' 3-4 years studying for a PhD if it is unlikely to help me in a late change of career direction, the answer is really quite simple. It is a quest for knowledge in an attempt to satisfy intellectual curiosity. After all, isn't that what education in general, and research in particular, are suppose to be about?

I trump that by 2 years, and I will be starting my PhD in October...:)

Having been in business for over 20 years, I guess I am just used to having those little luxuries in life...so why not take the money if it's on offer?

Congratulations! I have given up on my ESRC application, withdrawn my acceptance of the offer of a place for the PhD, and have applied to another university that still had some (both fully and partly-funded) scholarships available.