Hi Jashuapro1,

I can't tell you an exact figure as everyone is different. Some people can read through their lecture notes once and understand all there is to know and another may need to read several books to understand the topic more fully. It also depends on the course concerned as it may request you read outside of what's provided. This is usually the case when you get to Master's level.

Some universities work with credits. A credit is worth about 10 hours of studying, so for example a course may be worth 12 Credits so you would be expected to study 120 hours for it. For a completion of a Masters you may be asked to complete 180 credits, i.e. 1800 hours over the whole year.

Again these are just estimates as everyone studies differently.

Best wishes,
CB

Hi Nadoon,

I'm wondering, can you just quit your part time employment or is it related to your PhD? I think you should tell your supervisor your concerns, if you're worried about talking to him/her then there should be another advisor like the head of department that you could talk to, maybe see if a couple of months suspension may help. It's a big decision to make (not concerning the money, but the thesis) and it's worth speaking to someone in charge about your concerns before you've made up your mind.

CB

I lived in postgraduate halls in my first year and I found it a great experience. It's much much quieter than the other halls, most students tend to be mature and many were international so you had a range of cultures. Yes, the fire alarm went off a few times but much more rarely than the undergrads and it was a bonding session when we were all outside! I got to know most of the people living in the block as we were less than 100.

I moved 400 miles away to do my PhD, and I think if I'd have rented private in my first year, I'd have been very lonely. I shared with 5 others, who were all tidy and we went out for dinner/movies regularly. We've remained friends and still meet up for dinner often.

If you're considering postgrad halls, look up your universities halls group/page on facebook or 'google it' and see what others have said about their experience living there.

CB :-)

Sounds exploitative to me too. I wouldn't trust someone with only one or two years more experience than me to mark my work, especially undergraduates. Their judgement would be poor and they'd either be too harsh or too lenient because they wouldn't realise that citing Wikipedia does not count as a reference!

I prefer having a hard copy on hand as I don't trust computers much and my handwriting is easier to refer to than file number 2045 in folder X! But I tend to jot down little notes and such rather than lengthy paragraphs. I think with time, I've become rather impatient and just type it up as it comes along, particularly when deadlines approach!

That would sure make personal statements more fun to write up! :-) I don't know what else you could put... did you mention skills you've obtained? I would try to pad it out to reach just over 1000 words. No one likes a lengthy personal statement but the fact that they've given you a minimum and maximum word limit means it should lie between that.

Best of luck
CB x

Hey Lost,

Maybe a good place to start is by looking into websites like http://www.findaphd.com/ and http://www.jobs.ac.uk, to see a topic you like and apply. Checking out the university websites and the local area might give you an idea about the environment you'd be working in and the facilities available. Also try and secure a couple of interviews and see the supervisor in person to find out more about them.

Best wishes,
CB

Agree with what BB said, coffee and cake work a treat, as do shopping (if she's into that), or doing an activity together like paintballing, skydiving, go-karting, a beauty/health spa, painting the town red etc...

Me, personally - I have a friend who would call me randomly and rarely say anything serious on the phone, the conversations are seriously silly! He knows how to cheer me up no end :-)

BB - I'm in Scotland too and most people I know here will be taking it off. I'm in labs often but there'll be no staff in that day so I'll be at home (that counts as a day off for me!). I voted 'yes' but I might just work from home that day, otherwise I'll feel guilty!

Hey Alex,

I'm not a stem cell researcher but I've studied it and I'm based in Science and Engineering so I'll try to help. I don't think there's a special interview procedure for stem cell research compared to other PhDs. A lot of universities conduct stem cell research. Two good websites to search are www.findaphd.com and www.jobs.ac.uk:

http://www.findaphd.com/search/listprojects.asp?disc=allsci&location=&univ=&searchtype=b&keyword=stem+cell&scip=81&scif=3&socp=0&socd=0&socf=0&pd=0

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search.cgi?keywords=stem+cell+&salary_from=&salary_to=&jobtype=02&show=25&x=36&y=4

As for the PhD interview process, it's more relaxed than going for a job interview and your CV would need to list your academic achievements such as your grades and dissertation.
Some online interview tips:
http://www.findaphd.com/student/study/study-1.asp

Best wishes,
CB

...the rabbit had somehow managed to jump up and nibble his ear (well it did look like a cabbage!)

Hey Concerned3,

You're obviously a very valuable friend. If your friend is having problems with his supervisor, there is usually the department head that he could go talk to, so I would suggest he tries that first. They have dealt with situations like these before and are there for that reason. Your friend may also be able to get a suspension for a few months, but I think there has to be a very good reason as usually it's granted due to illness or family problems.

If he's made up his mind about leaving, there's nothing you could really do except be there for him. His hard work wouldn't be wasted as he'll be awarded an MPhil.

All the best,
CB

PhD life has its highs and lows but I wouldn't trade it for the world. If you read through some of the threads posted in this forum you'll get to hear about the successes and hiccups along the way with students so I hope you stay on this forum.
Best of luck with your masters and future PhD :-)

Hey, it depends on what you think is a normal salary! PhD's get between £12-15K depending on the course and funding, it's tax free so it approximates to £1k or so a month. For me, that's enough to go by, but everyone's different! :-)

Hey Alextam,

I think your results are okay for a PhD. A good way to know is to check pages like Jobs.ac.uk for current PhD positions and see their entry requirements. Stem cell research is really interesting, so good luck with that :-)

p.s funding is monthly, at least it is for me.

CB